NEWHAM KICKSTART INITIATIVE supporting East London companies through the use of ICT

1. EISCO 2005 Session B: ICT for Business Cracow, 2nd June 2005 NEWHAM KICKSTART INITIATIVEsupporting East London companies through the use of ICT Martin Scarfe, London Borough of Newham Peter Duschinsky, The Imaginist Company

2. London Borough of Newham • 250,000 population • High deprivation • High population turnover • Low skills base • NO big business • Significant local spend N

3. Newham

4. Newham Kickstart - Background • UK public sector moving to e-procurement • Aggregating low-value spend  fewer, larger suppliers • Potentially disadvantaging local SME suppliers • But also has responsibility for economic well-being of local community • SME suppliers not e-ready • 70% have access to internet but only 10% have e-commerce • Broadband availability no longer a constraint • Cost of e-commerce not a barrier • Real problem is lack of time, skills, understanding

5. Newham Kickstart – Background (2) • London Borough of Newham • Pioneer of e-procurement in local government  London Marketplace 2002 • Recognised SME exclusion issue • National e-Procurement Project 2002-2004 • One of 22 national projects to achieve e-government  efficiency and cost savings • Imaginist • Led work for NePP on local government supplier adoption and economic development • Developed KickStart model with Bristol Council and @UK PLC

6. Newham KickStart • An Neighbourhood Renewal Funded scheme launched in 2003, started work in 2004 to encourage local SMEs to trade online • Brings together local government with training and support organisations in a joined-up initiative • It works because: • Government as CUSTOMER is telling them to do it (not government as supporter) • Its cheap and easy • Companies are supported from start to finish • It means more business from ALL their customers

7. Newham Kickstart - Project Aims • To increase the number of local businesses using modern e-trading methods • To increase the number and percentage of Newham-based suppliers trading with Newham-based public sector agencies • To promote local awareness of the benefits of the types of e-trading available to them and their customers

8. Partners in the Project • Newham Council (project sponsor) • Kickstart Project Team • Newham College of Further Education and Ufi/learndirect • Newham Chamber of Commerce • Sunflower Resources • @UKPLC

9. How does it work? • A Kickstart team is created within the council to contact local companies • A needs analysis is carried out to establish their ability to bring in new processes • The companies are invited to monthly workshops at local College to set up own e-commerce sites - there and then! • e-Commerce website, technical support provided by @UK PLC Business change support and training, subsidised Broadband, PCs etc by Ufi/learndirect

10. The Portal: eastlondononline.co.uk • Why East London Online? • Business is no respecter of Council boundaries and the new technology is making this even more the case • Newham is committed to playing a leading part in stimulating skills, jobs and economic growth across the whole East London community to which it belongs

11. Setting up a catalogue online is easy A basic catalogue entry,displaying product details,codes and prices.

12. …or an online service offer If you offer a service thethe listing shows the buyera ‘request info’ buttonrather than ‘order’

13. The Purchaser’s order process • Order is created • checks your catalogue entry • gains authorisation • returns approved order • Enters details into accountspackage if required

14. Order or quote notification by email Full details of your orders/quotes are sent to you via e-mail.

15. A product listing page This is where your product or service range is listed, along with a short description of each product.

16. E-Commerce options You can choose how you receive orders and what methods of payment you accept (e.g. online banking).

17. The Purchaser’s order process • Order is created • checks your catalogue entry • gains authorisation • returns approved order • Enters details into accountspackage if required

18. Order or quote notification by email Full details of your orders/quotes are sent to you via e-mail.

19. Payment by credit card / account If you have online banking, transactions will occur as soon as orders are placed.

20. Statistics to help manage sales Graphs of sales per month allow you to quickly spot trends

21. Keep track of orders Information such as total number of customers and total number of transactions is instantly available

22. Developing new business • GOOGLE SEARCH • East London Online • @Schools • @Devon • @Health • @Dorset • @Music • Over 80 more authorities in negotiationwith @UK PLC at present Your company

23. What does it cost? • Alpha 1 ecommerced product €30 p/a * • 5Live 25 ecommerced products €60 p/a • 200e 200 page ecommerced catalogue €160 p/a • 2000e 2000 page ecommerced catalogue €320 p/a * Free to first 100 companies

24. KickStart - Where are we now? • The project has fulfilled its objectives: • It has succeeded in bringing together key partners in a joined-up approach to tackling SME e-enablement in Newham • 400 SMEs of the SMEs contacted have expressed interest in joining the scheme • Over 40 have attended workshops • 20 now have an e-commerce website and are starting to trade online

25. What next? • It is expected that over 200 local SMEs will have been helped to adopt e-commerce by March 2006 • Workshops are being increased to 2 per month to cater for the demand being generated • A shared supplier analysis is being carried out by at least 17 London public sector organisations which will identify SME suppliers at risk • It is hoped that all will participate in the extended scheme in 2006

26. Thank you You can find this presentation and other related materials on our website: www.imaginist.co.uk And do visit the portal: www.eastlondononline.co.uk