Unexpected On-Line Benefits

Connectivity is transforming how companies - notably small ones - work.

The on-line experience of Ostergaard, a Danish auto-parts manufacturer, illustrates how a company's business can be transformed in unexpected ways through electronic commerce. Ostergaard's customers are auto-repair shops, and the problem that brought them to e-commerce was a simple one: Each morning, the switchboard would overload as shop mechanics called in to place their orders for the day.

The company consequently decided to create an on-line catalogue listing its 20,000 parts. Now, every auto mechanic can place his orders by computer, and the order desk has become a help line. The result was greater responsiveness to the mechanics, but it revealed another problem: out-of-stock inventory.

Ostergaard connected its inventory with its suppliers, arranged automatic triggering of reorders when supplies were too low and also connected to alternate suppliers to make sure that it would never be out of stock.

Now, it can guarantee 24-hour parts availability to its customers, resulting in greater efficiency at a lower cost and increased customer satisfaction.

Claudia Flisi