‘The dot.com boom has shown that although the internet makes a significant difference to business, the main beneficiaries are companies that find ways of doing things better or cheaper – new markets and processes are surprisingly rare.
The timber industry is no different – there are several ways or "levels" of using the internet for the sector, and they’re all aimed at optimising existing processes. They are:
As use of the internet matures, and especially as it becomes more secure, further integration into the industry will follow.
For businesses wanting to make use of the internet, ironically the first thing to do is to ignore it until you have identified what you aim to achieve – it is a means to an end, not the end itself.
The place to start is your business objectives and the question as to what you want to achieve from the internet should be answered from a business viewpoint, in a statement of business requirements.
When it comes to evaluating the best and most cost-effective way to achieve these goals the internet could be a major or minor part of the solution. Once a company has reached this point, it can identify, in a more detailed statement of requirements:
To implement services a company must identify the resources and management systems needed to maintain internet relationships. It also has to decide how it is going to monitor and develop those services and allot responsibility.
We reach the final questions for ongoing management of the internet service:
