www.nb2bc.co.uk Supported by: The National B2B Centre Welcome to E-Business 2008: Creating a future advantage www.nb2bc.co.uk The National B2B Centre We are here to… “Provide expert, impartial e-business advice and support to growing businesses to enable them to successfully adopt and exploit technology, creating real business value from the Internet” TODAY © 2008 The National B2B Centre ADOPT ADAPT EMBED TOMORROW www.nb2bc.co.uk B2B Centre – E-Business Success Stories Rainbow Signs & Safety • Business started taking-off with the smoking ban • Needed to convert to full eCommerce to take online orders • Website now provides a platform to test new popularity of new products • B2B Centre has helped to focus Rainbow Safety’s vision on what the opportunities really are. © 2008 The National B2B Centre www.nb2bc.co.uk National B2B Centre Facts & Figures Founded in 2002 by WMG & DTI 100% focus on small and medium businesses 4,000+ membership in a peer-to-peer support network 17,000 unique visitors to our website per year Hundreds of downloads of eBusiness tools and articles per month We are the only UK public sector organisation to have been awarded “Premier Practice” status by the Institute of Management Consultancy © 2008 The National B2B Centre www.nb2bc.co.uk B2B Centre – E-Business Success Stories Lasan Restaurant • Looking for service innovation • Happy to try out new technology • Understands that clients are now comfortable using mobile phones for transactions • B2B Centre advice helped Lasan to build an SMS menu and ordering system for take-aways and delivery orders © 2008 The National B2B Centre www.nb2bc.co.uk The B2B Centre’s Key Themes The National B2B Centre provides advice and support across a range of eBusiness themes E-Marketing Supply Chain E-Trading Open Source Solutions E-Collaboration Mobile & Wireless Solutions © 2008 The National B2B Centre www.nb2bc.co.uk B2B Centre – E-Business Success Stories 50Fifty Clothing • Football-mad, multicultural founder looking to counter racism • Developed a range of clothing to make a “X Kultural” statement • Came to the B2B Centre for advice on optimisation and promotion • Achieved a massive increase in traffic and sales © 2008 The National B2B Centre www.nb2bc.co.uk Our Partners © 2008 The National B2B Centre www.nb2bc.co.uk B2B Centre – E-Business Success Stories Penstamps • Opportunity to market an exclusive and innovative product range • eCommerce was a must to allow clients to customise their product choice and buy on-line • Focus on site usability to make it easy to order • B2B Centre support to get the site visible and achieve good keyword ranking © 2008 The National B2B Centre www.nb2bc.co.uk E-Business Tools on the B2B Centre Website Use our range of tools to optimise your website, help you collaborate with staff, clients and suppliers, and assess your mobile readiness. http://www.nb2bc.co.uk/toolboxes © 2008 The National B2B Centre www.nb2bc.co.uk B2B Centre – E-Business Success Stories Advance Track Outsourcing • Local accountant doing business globally • Created a web-based collaboration tool to allow accountants to work from anywhere and let clients see project progress online • Advance Track is expanding rapidly and selling services around the world © 2008 The National B2B Centre www.nb2bc.co.uk Business IT Guide – Partner Website The Business IT Guide provides guides, articles and tips to help small and medium sized business use IT and Communications technology more effectively. http://www.businessitguide.com/self-help/home/ © 2008 The National B2B Centre www.nb2bc.co.uk B2B Centre – E-Business Success Stories Juliette’s Interiors • Started off on eBay. Needed the flexibility and branding potential of her own website • Search Engine Optimisation (SEO) has been key to success. B2B Centre was there to help • Turnover has quadrupled in little more than a year • As seen on “The Dragon’s Den” © 2008 The National B2B Centre www.nb2bc.co.uk The National B2B Centre Today Seminar programmes E-Adoption 1:1 Support Light Touch Training programmes 2004 100% 0% 2007 65% 35% 2010 20% 80% Members’ network E-Transformation 1:1 Support Light Touch Online toolkits 2007 100% 0% Business IT Guide partnership 2010 65% 35% 2013 20% 80% e-Business showcasing MSc research Commissioned research e-Business policy consultancy © 2008 The National B2B Centre Light touch support is a combination of: • Online self-help tools for SMEs, • Advice delivered through “channels” www.nb2bc.co.uk B2B Centre – E-Business Success Stories KSOL • Creating learning opportunities online • Understands that children are comfortable using computers and allow them to learn at their own pace • Online tests help teachers pinpoint areas child is failing behind in and focus on those areas • Internet allowed the business find success not only in the UK, but globally © 2008 The National B2B Centre www.nb2bc.co.uk Future Direction www.nb2bc.co.uk SME e-Business Centre of Excellence Based in the International Digital Lab Enhanced research programme Developed channels for dissemination/delivery • • SME channels – e.g. CIM SBG, AccountingWeb, … Public Sector partners – Business Link, e-Skills, … Expanded training programme, especially to support channels Expanded online resources, especially toolkits Enhanced members’ network, supported by online community © 2008 The National B2B Centre www.nb2bc.co.uk B2B Centre – E-Business Success Stories Inserts Direct • Brand new business model • Low volume orders, fast delivery and credit card payments • Threaded inserts and fixings for the Aerospace and Electronics markets • Our assessment and recommendations have been used to help Inserts Direct achieve Page 1 rankings for a wide range of keywords. © 2008 The National B2B Centre B2B Centre in the International Digital Lab The National B2B Centre is now located in the brand new International Digital Lab, a multi-disciplinary research centre. Businesses wishing to engage in hi-tech R&D are being encouraged to come and discover the potential for costeffective research at the Lab. © 2007 WMG Warwick Digital Lab 19 www.nb2bc.co.uk B2B Centre – E-Business Success Stories Defensive Driver Training • Company provides training to reduce accidents (and insurance claims) for fleet operators • Looking for a way to target prospects and speed up the sales cycle • B2B Centre workshop highlighted the potential for using Pay Per Click (PPC) • Massive reduction in marketing expenditure but large increase in turnover © 2008 The National B2B Centre www.nb2bc.co.uk Want to be a B2B Centre Showcase? The B2B Centre has a few spots available to showcase West Midlands companies Your business must be at least 18 months old and located in an objective 2 area of the region You need to have used E-Business to make a difference in your company. New business or new markets Innovation Collaborative working Improved processes For more details go to the B2B Website http://www.nb2bc.co.uk/become_a_showcase © 2008 The National B2B Centre Your company name here www.nb2bc.co.uk B2B Centre – E-Business Success Stories DAW Consulting • A business consultancy that spotted the opportunity to promote via the web early on • Wanted more features and more control • The B2B Centre introduced DAW to the Joomla open source content management system • Provides access to features such as newsletters AND site content is easily customisable © 2008 The National B2B Centre www.nb2bc.co.uk Forthcoming B2B Centre Events Data Security: Policies to Passwords Members Networking Event Thursday October 16th. IMC, University of Warwick Thursday October 23rdth. Aston Science Park If you think your data is safe...think again! One of the best networking events in the Midlands. Be there or be square! Presentations and demonstrations by experts from the University of Worcester and the Digital Lab eSecurity team. Member presentations and pitches, free buffet and lots of new contacts and old acquaintances Sign up at http://www.nb2bc.co.uk/events © 2008 The National B2B Centre www.nb2bc.co.uk Supported by: The National B2B Centre Enjoy The Day