"1
Rico
14 What'sNewS Issue 7'July 1998
Hands on knowhow for all
E-commerce -
the future today?
M&A around the world
A lot is talked about
knowledge, about knowledge
driven and the need to deploy
our knowledge to increase
competitive edge, enhance our
reputation as experts in our
niche markets and build
customer loyalty. Everyone
would also agree that there
are vast amounts of
ntass of sector information,
carefully indexed for easy
access. And you can use it
today.
This was one of the most
popular workshops at RICO
'98, not least because
Knowledge Capture came up
with a practical, hands on
session to show participants
how to use this new tooi. And
It's another of those buzz
words - e-commerce is the
latest way to get the best out
of IT and the potential uses of
interactive and commercial
internet connections. For those
who think the e-commerce
concept, ie. the use of the
internet for business to
business and business to end
consumer marketing and sales,
is only for retail, think again.
This workshop looked at how
it can be used as a means of
marketing products and
knowledge to wholesale clients
on a customized basis. Science
fiction, perhaps? If so, then the
future is closer than you think.
Clients are already exploring
the medium for ways to
exploit direct interactions with
customers - financial
institutions cannot lag too far
behind. For more information
on E-commerce, please contact
Maarten Gieseman on
telnummer.
Sector experts Gordon Butland (left) and Peter Spitters had all the answers
knowledge in the bank. The
only problem is actually
getting at these huge
resources. Until now, access
has been easy primarily for
those already in the know. But
this has all changed now as
FAR and APFT join forces to
create a user-friendly, more
than accessible food and agri-
data base that everyone can
consult and use. It comprises a
Accessing F&A info - head of the Netherlands'branch Hans Megens
(right) surfs our very own datebase
because we're a competitive
bunch, the learning process
was linked to a prize for the
best knowledge-based solution
to a client's requirements. The
challenge was to recommend
an acquisition in the poultry
sector based on information
contained in the database. All
you had to do was learn how
to get at that information and
ultimately to evaluate it
against cliënt needs. 'But
perhaps equally important
was the fact that participants
also had to decide what fee
should be charged for the use
of this information,' FAR
chief Frans van Bijsterveld
explains. 'We wanted people
to start understanding that
knowledge has a price tag. We
are so used to giving it away,
that we have to learn it all
over again.'
Workshoppers were supported
by a team of people used to
working with this kind of
information system. In
addition, two sector
specialists - Peter Spitters and
Gordon Butland - were
online, ready to answer any
queries - by e-mail. W
Knowledge Capture won the
best rating in the evaluation
partly because it was a
learning curve that was also
fun. You can download the
challenge from the public
folder on your intranet and try
it yourself. The time given was
two hours and you'11 find all
the information you need in
the data base stored in the
very same public folder. It
includes comprehensive
information on a variety of
sectors, including beer, fresh
fruit, poultry, beef, dairy and
so on. Online from June, the
data base represents the start
of a real F&A knowledge Ék
system without tears.
How do you get in? lts easy.
Go to:
MS Exchange;
click on ';!S to open
Public folders;
click on b toopen
Food Agribusiness
click on toopen
look through the listing for the sector
you're interested in
select the sector and
click on Tl toopen
It's all yours.
Seen as a showcase - and
very profitable - activity and
with a brand new global
head Brian Havill, M&A is
expected to do great things
for RI in the coming years.
If Havill's enthusiasm about
the existing team and our
prospects, specifically in
emerging markets is
anything to go by, then they
will succeed. Havill used the
workshop as a network
opportunity. He showed
why M&A has to operate as
an international entity in
what he ca lis 'a global H
partnership structure'. Full
interview with Havill in our
next issue - look out for it
in August.
