Workshop held on electronic commerce for small to medium enterprises in the Illawarra

Dec 03, 2004

The University of Wollongong's Centre for Small to Medium Enterprises (SME) Research and Development held a half-day workshop on Electronic Commerce for Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs) yesterday (Thursday 2 December).

The workshop was sponsored by the NSW Department for State and Regional Development (DSRD) and represented part of the SME Centre's ongoing involvement with small and medium-sized businesses in the region. Previously, the SME Centre has organised a number of international conferences on the theme of SMEs in a Global Economy. The first two of these were held in Wollongong in 2000 and in 2002, and the latest was held in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, in July 2004. The SME Centre is also involved in research, teaching, and consultancy activities.

The workshop was intended to be the first of a series for small businesses on a range of topics. This first one, on e-commerce, was aimed at SME owners and managers who wanted to find out more about what electronic commerce is, and the benefits it offers. The speakers came from business, government and academia.

The program included the following topics:

o What is e-commerce? How can e-commerce help your business?

o Strategies to help you implement e-commerce for your business

o The Swedish and the Illawarra experiences compared

o A proposal for a web portal for SMEs in the Illawarra

o Case study of a successful implementation of e-commerce in a small business in the Illawarra

o Government assistance programs for small business