Combilift

1 . Overview

Combilift Ltd was the first company in the world to develop an engine-powered all wheel drive four-way forklift that is now being successfully exported to 32 countries around the globe. The Combilift is a unique type of forklift used for lifting long loads and has the advantage of requiring less operating space than previous models of forklifts on the market.

Turnover has increased by 98% in the last year, a solid achievement in a highly competitive marketplace. The longterm aim is to develop Britain, the US and Germany as the company’s main markets. It began exporting to the US a year ago and this now accounts for 15% of sales.

The objectives for the eBusiness initiative that is the subject of this case study were threefold:

• Network everyone within the company to improve internal communications, process management and speed of response to customers.
• Develop web site to draw in more customers.
• Develop extranet to improve communication with the international dealer network

These objectives were designed to underpin the five-year goal of selling the product in 50 countries worldwide.

Key to this development was establishing the Combilift as a “solution sell” business. The web site was a key component of this communication strategy. The challenge was to communicate the unique value proposition offered by the innovative Combilift product and to create contacts to be passed on to local dealers.

The eBusiness initiative was part funded by a grant that was obtained through Enterprise Ireland’s Acceleration Fund.

There were a substantial number of lessons learnt during the implementation to date of this project.
1. Suppliers may push what they want to implement rather than what you need.
2. Planning is critical to successful and timely implementation
3. Ensure that there is enough dedicated resource on the project
4. Ensure that the supplier has the appropriate implementation experience
5. Search engine optimisation is key

Overall, a key future challenge for Combilift is to make the necessary investments in infrastructure to enable to continuing growth of the business. The ongoing eBusiness implementation has made a significant contribution to that aim and has positioned Combilift well for their business to develop.