 
12/03/1998
Journal of Internet Banking and Commerce
The Experience of the
NUOVA BANCA DI CREDITO DI TRIESTE
with Electronic Commerce
(part 1/3)
By Contributing Editor Pecenik Miran
translation by Michele Clara
Miran Pecenik
is Webmaster and Head of IT at the Nuova Banca di Credito di Trieste.
Putting a bank on line is not enough unless a whole range of other
actions are undertaken simultaneously, such as raising the awareness
of its employees and its clients, strengthening the ties with the
environment where the bank operates, or delivering a whole set of
information that is adequately updated and relevant.
Let us analyze and explain in details these statements.
There is little doubt that we are experiencing changes that represent
a watershed, to say the least. In a few years we will have to back
up (or put up with?) a far more stringent and comprehensive European-wide
integration as a result of the monetary union; without a doubt we
will have to tackle (with more or less serious implications) the
so-called 'millennium bomb'; many enterprises are already undergoing
significant restructuring to adapt to the new ISO standards; on
top of all this there is a clear trend towards a greater degree
of technological integration determined only partially by the spread
of Internet.
The emergence of new technologies and of new modes of organization
presents significant advantages for many firms but also the challenge
of restructuring and of absorbing new skills to make the best use
of these new opportunities.
In the 80s, Time selected the personal computer (PC) as the "Man
of the Year". The significance of such an event is only slowly
being realized. The rapid downsizing of powerful mainframes and
the emergence of network computers are nowadays observed coinciding
with demise of the large-scale processor of the 60s and the rise
of the "small-scale" PCs which can connect among each
other.
Our bank started to experiment with the Net because of its regular
relations with overseas clients such as other banks, but also firms
and private citizens. For this reason we initially envisaged the
Net as an inexpensive and innovative channel to get in touch with
our foreign clients. Over the first few years the reaction was slow
and the real boom, in terms of connections, was reached only in
1997. Contrary to our expectations (focused on the overseas market),
the greatest number of connections (and of our virtual business)
came from the local residents.
One of the first services we decided to offer to our local customers
was a Web page with the name and the address of the shops that accepted
the debit card issued by our bank. Altogether we published about
one hundred pages with a wealth of information about these shops.
This contribution increased the visibility of these businesses so
much that we started to receive e-mails from potential clients who
wanted to contact our customers. Over this initial period we were
in other words acting as a mail-man.
As time went on, we organized a number of workshops to help our
clients (but also non-client firms) improving their presence on
the Net. Even though it is commonly claimed that 1996 was the year
when Internet boomed, when one looks more in depth one finds that
most of the firms on-line had initially only a few pages filled
with information, often only temporarily free, to experiment with
the potential offered by the Net.
If 1996 has been for us the year when the Net boomed, in the States
it will be probably remembered as a bit of a set-back. Many enterprises
reduced their presence on the Net, or withdrew entirely because
of the lack of responses. It should be however remembered that Europe
is on an entirely different wavelength (i.e. mentality) than the
United States.
Why should a firm be on the Net?
It is no use talking about electronic commerce if the majority of
firms are not on line or only use the Net as a show-case. This technological
innovation is meaningful only if it is adequately supported. Electronic
commerce will be successful only when PCs will have spread among
households, when firms will have realized the importance of this
medium, when public investment will be poured on the much-needed
infrastructures and when electronic transactions will have proved
to be sufficiently profitable.
Even today we do hear questions such as: ' ... these mounting investments
are only needed to make the usual thing in a new way?" or "
.. what sort of return do you have on your investment on the Net?".
A first answer to these simple questions can be found with the help
of these two quotes:
The Internet is having the same impact on computers as electricity
had on illumination. Oil-lamps did illuminate, but they were an
entirely different thing (Confindustria -Confederation of Italian
Industries)
Internet is today what television has been for advertisement (Macromedia
- advertisement agency).
In light our experience, we identified the main steps that a firm
should take if it intends to step into the Net.
1) Establishing a link to the Net through a mailbox
At his initial stage the need is to gain a first-hand understanding
of how the Net works, how to access and to gather information, to
see how the competitors present themselves to the customers, and
to start interacting via e-mail with the clients and the suppliers.
2) Creating a home page with information
This option offers the opportunity to introduce the enterprise to
the audience of users who navigate on the Net. The potential of
the medium are made available to the virtual visitors but also to
the employees of the firm through an enterprise-wide intranet to
be integrated with the pages open to the public. An option to increase
the visibility of the home page is to make sure that it is indexed
at one or more of the largest search engines, both at home and abroad.
3) Setting up an interactive pages to communicate with the visitors
At this stage the Net effectively becomes a means of communication
very much like the phone or the fax. It becomes possible to use
'forms' to learn about the demands of the potential clients and
to have some kind of after-sale feedback from the actual clients.
4) Integrating the databases of the enterprise
As a result of this option a valuable service is offered to the
firm's clients (but also the non-clients) because the opportunity
is made available to evaluate the relative merits of the firm compared
to its competitors.
5) Allowing transactions on the Web
This step is the necessary one for those firms which intends to
break into electronic commerce. For a bank, this step coincides
with the so-called home-banking (even if only based on the diffusion
of information). For an enterprise, it creates with the opportunity
to interact dynamically with its suppliers, its retailers and its
employees. It become possible to test the opportunity for home-working
but also to implement security measures to ensure secrecy and data
integrity.
6) Launching electronic commerce
The traditional distribution channels are complemented with a new
one characterized by lower costs, continuous operation and a high-fidelity
relationships with the clients. New clients, which would have otherwise
been beyond the firm's reach, are added to the traditional customer
base. This development coincides with a change of relationships
with end-consumers: it becomes necessary to process orders rapidly
and faultlessly. For some enterprises such a development might require
a complete internal restructuring (such as operating 24 hour a day).
7) Full integration of the applications - the virtual enterprise
The enterprise can operate even without physical outlets; customers
and clients alternatively replenish and empty the firm and software
becomes the key behind its profitability.
Copyright Miran Pecenik, 20-Feb-1998
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