Minch Norton is currently in discussion with two major brewing companies on how to develop ebusiness partnerships and the e-business project has helped to develop and cement the relationship between Minch Norton and these two companies. The development of a joint web site along the lines discussed above is well advanced.

One of the major barriers encountered in the development of the project was integration of existing systems. The main issues related to deciding what information to gather and how to digitise it. This was made extremely difficult by the fact that the plant had been added to on a modular basis over the years, so there were different types of technology operating in different parts of the plant. The plant operates continuously, so stopping it to install new systems was not a viable option. Existing systems had to be modified and upgraded and this took longer and proved to be more difficult than originally anticipated. However, a major benefit emerged as a result of this process. The upgrade of the production systems identified bottlenecks in capacity. By removing these bottlenecks the company has increased production efficiency and capacity by 3,000 tonnes per annum.

In addition, the project has improved the image of Minch Norton with customers - it is seen to be modern and innovative and capable of discussing e-business from an educated standpoint. The company now understands how e-business can fit with its strategy and the project gives it a competitive advantage over competitors. The sales people are so positive about the need for the project to help them sell malt that they are pushing for the ERP system to be developed as soon as possible.

Learning:

• Ensure that you have a clear strategy and vision of how e-business will fit with this strategy.
• Talk to your customers about their needs.
• Prioritise the key technical aspects of the project early on, what solutions will be employed and how they will be financed.
• Define what you are not going to do as well as what you are going to do and ensure that the project links into the business strategy and is not some tangent or side project.
• Take the aspects of e-business that help you to fulfil your strategy and ignore the rest - don't get caught up in the hype - be critical.
• Get the infrastructure right.
• Make sure the Board of Directors understand and are behind the project.
• Talk to other companies involved in e-business - they may have useful solutions and learning.
• Unanticipated benefits and efficiencies can emerge as a result of a better understanding of existing systems gained from implementing this type of project.