HOW
ICT HELP SMALL ENTERPRISES
Information and Communication Technology (ICT) allows everyone to
contribute to the development and implementation of initiatives. ICT reduce the
time and effort required to find essential information about doing business. In order
to be more competitive, innovative, open, agile and value creating, future
organisations require new technologies, applications and services which enable
them to work as networked knowledge-based businesses, and new policies and
regulation which support their development and growth.
Small enterprises strive to survive and grow in the business they are involved. They make efforts to utilize different resources and technologies available to this end as long as it is affordable and productive. Information Communication Technology or ICT are among those technologies that take the front line. It takes five small enterprises involved in import and export business to perform case study research on the issue and examines their utilization level of the technology. The findings show that small enterprises in the country are on a very low level of utilizing ICT and e-commerce due to several reasons among which are scarcity in infrastructure development and expertise in the area coupled with barriers from government policy and bank regulations.
Information and communication technology (ICT) and e-business applications provide many benefits across a wide range of intra- and inter-firm business processes and transactions. ICT applications improve information and knowledge management inside the firm and can reduce transaction costs and increase the speed and reliability of transactions for both business-to-business (B2B) and business-to-consumer (B2C) transactions. In addition, they are effective tools for improving external communications and quality of services for established and new customers.
ICT and e-commerce offer benefits for a wide range of business processes. At firm level, ICT and its applications can make communication within the firm faster and make the management of the firm’s resources more efficient. Seamless transfer of information through shared electronic files and networked computers increases the efficiency of business processes such as documentation, data processing and other back-office functions (e.g. organising incoming orders and preparing invoices). Increasingly sophisticated ICT applications such as KMS (Knowledge Management System) and ERP (Enterprise Resource Planning) allow firms to store, share and use their acquired knowledge and know-how. For example, customer databases with a history of client-specific correspondence help managers and employees to respond more effectively to customers. A company-wide electronic data source aims to disseminate employees’ professional experience, for example tips for winning a contract, from which others in the firm can learn (Box 1).
At inter-firm level, the Internet and e-commerce have great potential for reducing transaction costs and increasing the speed and reliability of transactions. They can also reduce inefficiencies resulting from lack of co-ordination between firms in the value chain. Internet-based B2B interaction and real-time communication can reduce information asymmetries between buyers and suppliers and build closer relationships among trading partners (Moodley, 2002). In fact, adopters of e-commerce tend reduce transaction costs, increase transaction speed and reliability, and extract maximum value from transactions in their value chains (OECD, 2002a).
In the B2C context, the Internet and e-commerce can be effective tools for better communication. A corporate Web site that provides information on products, services or technologies can enhance the quality of a firm’s services to customers and attract new customers. By collecting information on customers’ needs, it can be used for product development or innovation. A home page with a direct link to the corporate e-mail account provides an easy-to-access contact point. For those in different time zones, 24-hour availability of the contact is especially attractive. Eurostat’s E-commerce Pilot Survey shows that SMEs’ motives for Internet commerce include reaching new/more customers, geographic expansion of market and improvement of service quality.
ICT FOR SMALL AND MEDIUM ENTERPRISES
In conclusion, ICT help small Enterprise by :
- ICT help to reduce the time and effort required to find essential information about doing business.
- ICT help Ent in import and export business to perform case study research on the issue and examines their utilization level of the technology.
- ICT and e-business applications provide many benefits across a wide range of intra- and inter-firm business processes and transactions
- ICT and e-commerce are effective tools for improving external communications and quality of services for established and new customers
- A home page with a direct link to the corporate e-mail account provides an easy-to-access contact point
- ICT can reduce inefficiencies resulting from lack of co-ordination between firms in the value chain.
- At firm level, ICT and its applications can make communication within the firm faster and make the management of the firm’s resources more efficient
CSC 134 ASSIGNMENT
PROF. MUSTAFA BIN MOHAMAD
INTAN NURHANI BINTI ROSLAN
2014135571
