In the morning of 29th November in Madrid, the e-Business & Moda public event was opened by a message of the Secretary General of Consejo Intertextil (the Spanish Textile apparel national association) who clearly point out the relevance of new ICT applications for the sector, while stressing need for collaboration to bring fashion goods to the market, on time.
Two presentations from the eBIZ Project Team elaborated on the eBIZ initiative as a whole and on the gap analysis for e-Business (digital communication in the supply chain); this set the scene for the following round table titled: “Benefits, actions & needs for better e-Business” moderated by Inescop and which featured contributions by both technology and fashion companies, namely: Tag Ingenieros, Trasluz, Clave Informática, UNISA, and Informática El Corte Inglés.
The companies’ representatives introduced impressive business cases on the use of RFID-technology in management, logistic and up to the point of sale; some speakers shared successful experiences on the eBIZ integration in companies’ ERP, and finally different points of critical reflection with regards to the use of e-Business between companies and their business partners were addressed.
After the meeting in Milan, Italy which took place in July, the event in Madrid was the second ad-hoc meeting with the fashion business community organized in a European Country by the eBIZ Project Team.
Earlier in the morning the Plenary session of the CEN eBIZ Workshop took place gathering all Workshop’s Experts and local Workshop members from different parts of Spain. The Chairman and three of the Experts briefed participants on the progresses achieved, highlighting the delivery of the gap analysis for e-Business requirements and the public actions undertaken to mobilise fashion companies towards harmonised e-Business. Members of the Workshop brought their perspectives on the locally experienced barriers to digital communications, on the predominant role played by big retailers, and about concrete benefits for SMEs. Validation of progress and an outlook for the next 7 months of the Workshop activities completed the meeting agenda.
Drawing conclusions on the full event, the Chairman of the CEN eBIZ Workshop, Mr. Francesco Marchi Director General of EURATEX, welcomed the event as another, important, step to promote use of e-Business in Spain across the sectors’ value chains; he stresses the need to intensify efforts and to increase collaborations during the next 7 months of the CEN eBIZ Workshop activity.
Thanking the speakers for sharing their contributions about digital innovation in everyday business life, he marks the companies’ ability to attract young skilled employees and to reduce costs by using ICT in management operations.
The Chairman finally welcomed constructive comments which advocate ICT-simplicity of use while stressing at the same time that eBIZ supports new business models and above all a change of mindset in the way companies administrate processes; a change which is necessary to enjoy the full benefits brought by the digital area into the modern Textile/clothing and footwear productions.
Brussels 4th December