WP4 IRG test cases – Imbal Center (Italy)

1. IMBAL CENTER is a family owned company, located in the South of Italy and involved in the production and management of wood packaging. It offers to its customers innovative value added services such as: the management of the empty packages, the withdrawal and recovery of the already used packaging, the design of customised pallets according to the customer’s specific needs for the revision and reengineering of logistic processes. According to this approach the main strategy that Imbal Center is trying to pursue is to differentiate its offer towards the final customer: in fact products are not very complex and therefore margins not very high, moreover competitors pressures always stimulate the management to increase the internal efficiency in order to stay in the market. WP4 IRG test cases – Imbal Center (Italy) IRG test case business scenario

2. FBR which is mainly involved in the production of wood straight bobbin for telecommunications cable. This line of product, together with specific semi finished products, are responsible for the 70-80% of the turnover, whereas the remaining 30% derives from the selling of wood product. The straight bobbin market is characterised by a low number of competitors and a cyclic trend, this is the reason by which the company is very interested to leverage on semi finished products (all the items for straight bobbin assembling) in order to have a higher number of potential customer. This company has a stable relationship with Imbal Center, offering specific services for the procurement of raw materials mainly from European countries (Germany and Austria) and selling some wooden parts. CED Romano mainly involved in the administrative and financial services, is a long term partner of Imbal Center. LGM recently joined, it offers commercial services and specific support in the suppliers selection and rating. WP4 IRG test cases – Imbal Center (Italy) IMBC EE main players

3. WP4 IRG test cases – Imbal Center (Italy) • Imbal Center shares information on production schedule and available inventory with FBR, integrating the e-procurement process. • Supplies procurement lead time ranges from three to six months, so the integration of this process enable Imbal Center to reach relevant benefit. • FBR, thanks to the long term experience in this industry, has a wide knowledge of the sourcing market which implies a significant efficiency during the purchasing process. • High quality intra extended enterprise processes are enabled by the certification ISO 9000 reached by all the member.

4. WP4 IRG test cases – Imbal Center (Italy) • Most of the IMBAL CENTER customers, are big player of the infrastructure and Telco industries, so one of the problems that the company faces is the high flexibility requested and the following punctuality of the deliveries. This issue is now faced by defining carefully the size of the available inventories and at the same time trying to ask the customers for a plan of their needs. It is in the intension of the management to start a closer collaboration with some first level customers in order to share information on production plan. In particular Imbal Center is now setting up a project with one of the main customer for remote inventory management: it is trying to become the sole supplier of wood packaging and therefore manage for this customer the inventory of all the items of delivered products. This could allow Imbal Center to considerably increase its own turnover (because this potential agreement means higher quantity of sold products) offering added value services, the remote inventory control, enabled by a direct electronic connection with this customer. • Within the EE, even if the ICT equipment is not the state of the art, information on administrative and financials issues are shared by using a simply but effective mini ERP, which has been now enriched by adding several modules dealing with operations/production. The locations (all these SMEs are in the same industrial district) of these SMEs allows frequent face to face meeting useful to increase the internal collaboration. Problems and benefit

5. WP4 IRG test cases – Imbal Center (Italy) • Synergy on the supplier’s side (FBR purchasing process allows high savings) customers delivery of final products are shared) gives high benefit, whereas on the customer’s side, even if specific value added services are available, there is not a structured approach within the EE. • In fact the two companies which are involved in the operative processes are now defining a unique selling proposition in order to have a wider and completed products portfolio, being the product they offer to the market complementary and made by the same raw materials. In order to offer the customer value added services on the web the two companies are intentioned to modify their own web sites, with the creation of a single enterprise portal allowing automated orders entry and catalogue browsing by the customers. • These projects (Imbal Center is intentioned to implement) represent an opportunity but at the same time a threat: • an opportunity because the management see the importance of the e-business solutions in order to support the differentiation strategy they are carrying on; • a threat because of the high amount of funds requested by these projects. • They are therefore interested to take part in the e-volution project in order to receive a deep knowledge of e-business strategy methodology which can contribute to validate or not the management ideas about the e-solutions they are interested to implement. In fact the identified projects (the potential e-solution that aim to support the business) are not the outcomes of a structured approach but of an imitative strategy that not always become the winning strategy. • The possibility to test a web based tool supporting strategic decision within the EE, represents another important reason that convinced Imbal Center to join, few months ago, the IRG groups and now to participate in e-volution project as test case in order to apply the principles of a collaborative e-business strategy. Strategy and goals for the future

6. WP4 IRG test cases – Imbal Center (Italy) • Defining Products and Market areas • Data about PM areas are inserted in the MM software; • The manager Romano, among the PM areas available, chooses: • Consumer - wood pallet • Food – wood pallet • The selected check box identify the PM areas chosen: the ones on which the PM assessment analysis will be carried on.

7. WP4 IRG test cases – Imbal Center (Italy) • PM Matrix data • Financial data about the two chosen PM areas are displayed in matrix for a synthetic view; • Turnover • Contribution Margin • Contribution Ratio Financial figures for the Consumer Market as a whole;

8. WP4 IRG test cases – Imbal Center (Italy) • EE position visualisation • The Questionnaires’ answers provides by the manager Romano allows to identify a specific position on the matrix aside: • Wood Pallet-Food, the violet bubble; • Wood Pallet-consumer, the red bubble; • The table in the bottom provides details for each PM areas: the competitive assessment represents the bubble’s abscissa, whereas the attractiveness identify the vertical position of the bubble.

9. WP4 IRG test cases – Imbal Center (Italy) • Sensitivity analysis matrix • The feedbacks received by Imbal Center led UNISA to implement the Sensitivity Analysis: questions related with the Wood Pallet - Consumer PM area were modified in order to analyse the impact on the bubble position inside the matrix; • The starting point of the PM area is in the “stay on the current position” areawhereas the arriving point is in the “invest in order to increase the market share” area;

10. WP4 IRG test cases – Imbal Center (Italy) • Intermediate OT Analysis data insert • At the end of the PM assessment analysis the manager can insert intermediate opportunities and threats for the PM areas under consideration: • Products sold are not complex, therefore it is easy to enter the business (low enter barriers); • Low margins on products: seen from customers as a commodity;