essenceEasy eServices to Shape and Empower SME Networks in Central Europe
Easy eServices to Shape and Empower SME Networks in Central Europe
NewsNr. 1of Essence Project
ContentsBackground & PartnershipObjectives & BenefitsActivities & Contacts
essenceEasy eServices to Shape and Empower SME Networks in Central Europe
What is ESSENCE?10 partners, coming from various regions and backgroundsand having different experience, share the same problem:how to address the present problem of enterprises’ lack of efficiency. Therefore 6 CENTRAL EUROPEAN regions decided to cooperate and find a common solution to thatproblem, by more effective use and integration of ICT inbusiness processes for making companies more innovativeand competitive in today’s market. Through ESSENCE project, those partners aim to create an ICT platform offering solutions for SMEs in reaching their transport effectiveness, reduction of environmental burden and thereby for overcoming their present deficits and increasingtheir competitiveness.
ESSENCE project is implemented since July 2012 till December 2014 within CENTRAL EUROPE Programme andco-financed by European Regional Development Fund.
The ESSENCE Project focuses on SMEs working in differentindustrial sectors with the support of business partners,
suppliers & subcontractors and on their supply & distribution networks. Most SMEs in Central Europe belongto this category as they lead their own networks & behaveat the same time as suppliers or subcontractors of higher-level customers.
SMEs are the backbone of Central Europe economy. The distributed nature of SME-led networks is characterizedby 2 main aspects: (a) each company in the network provides components & adds value to the final products;(b) this generates regional & transnational business relationsand related freight traffics to move materials between network nodes.
The ESSENCE project intends to tackle these critical problems by developing and deploying to users a solutionbased on the easy and free access of companies toknowledge, new organizational models and intelligenteServices. The proposed solution will help companies toshape their own supply network, to coordinate and operateit, to optimize the generated transports, and to evaluatebehaviours to find out inefficiencies.
essenceEasy eServices to Shape and Empower SME Networks in Central Europe
Who are we?The ESSENCE Project partnership has been open to the Public authorities from national, regional and local levels,Public equivalent bodies (e.g. associations, universities), Private institutions, including private companies havinglegal personalities and International organizations. The ESSENCE Project belongs to the projects implemented underCENTRAL EUROPE Programme “ Cooperating for Success”.
The ESSENCE Project Partnership includes following partieswhich accepted the rules and agreed the PartnershipAgreement between the Lead Partner and themselves:
Marshal Office of the Wielkopolska Region (Wielkopolska Region, Poland) as the Lead Partner:Marshal Office of the Wielkopolska Region is the executivebody of the Regional Self-Government and implements selected programmes, projects and development strategies.
Institute of Logistics and Warehousing (ILIM) (Pozna /Poland) widely recognized as the center of logistics competence in the Wielkopolska Region. It is an interdisciplinary state-owned R&D unit.
Province of Bologna (Emilia-Romagna, Italy):Province of Bologna has an important role in the field ofterritorial planning, infrastructures, local development andservices for enterprises. Province of Bologna has a deepknowledge of the entrepreneurial and innovation system;moreover it has a closed linkage with the main local actors.
Institute for Transport and Logistics Foundation (ITL) (Emilia-Romagna, Italy):Deeply involved in many logistics projects, it has skills andknow how on SMEs logistics, logistics market, supply chainmanagement, ICT for logistics, logistics nodes. ITL holds thePresidency of the European Network of Logistics Competence Centers. ITL has a no profit public mission & it relies on a network of 3 operational premises in Emilia-Romagna (Italy): Bologna, Piacenza and Ravenna.
S.A.T.A. Advanced Technology Application srl (Emilia-Romagna, Italy): SATA is a software house established in Modena in 1983.Its peculiar feature is the ability to study, design, prototypeand realize innovative & advanced software solutions for
a variety of application domains, especially transportationand logistics, advanced document management through intelligent data capture, distributed planning and work optimization for SME networks.
Aufbauwerk Region Leipzig GmbH (Leipzig-Halle, Germany):The Aufbauwerk Region Leipzig GmbH is a joint projectagency of the City of Leipzig and the districts of Leipzig andMittelsachsen (all NUTS III public authorities) that has been created specifically for the acquisition of European fundingand for the support of the region's local public authorities'participation in EU programmes.
University of Leipzig (Leipzig-Halle, Germany):The University of Leipzig guides the elaboration of transnational eServices for SME networks, provides assistance during the testing of the beta-version of theeServices and during tasks leading to the achievement ofthe eServices full service stage. The highly experienced research team of the Logistics Service Engineering and Management will contribute the ESSENCE dissemination results.
AREA m styria GmbH (Steiermark, Austria): The AREA m styria GmbH was founded on the basis of aninter-municipal cooperation to provide sustainable supportfor the economic development of the technology region ofeastern Upper Styria. It is a virtual impulse center for development and international marketing of the regionbased on its unique core competences in technology andmaterials.
SINERGIJA Development Agency (Pomurje Region, SIovenia): DA Sinergija is a reference centre for promotion of e-business among SMEs in Pomurje Region – since 2002,authorized by Public Agency of the Republic of Slovenia forEntrepreneurship and Foreign Investments – JAPTI (PCMG).
ICEG RESEARCH AND POLICY Public Benefit NonprofitPlc (Kozep-Magyarorszag, Hungary):ICEG R&P has been founded by researchers who realizedthat there is a need for an independent & enhanced information flow to the wide public on the main socio-economic trends formulating EU policies as well aseveryday economic life.
essenceEasy eServices to Shape and Empower SME Networks in Central Europe
What are our objectives?The project’s general objective is to create an ICT platformthat will help SMEs to make transport more effective and reduce its environmental burden, as well as to overcome current deficiencies in SMEs and to increase their productivity and competitiveness. SMEs will be enabled to customise an individual network coordinationmodel from a general collaboration framework. They willbe free to enter and leave the system with no constraintsand, while in, to select and use the eServices of interestwhen wanted. The project will concentrate on the following specific objectives:
■ creating a comprehensive network management framework covering SME needs,
■ setting up a dedicated knowledge base and eService platform realizing the network management framework,
■ providing tailored eServices to a number of SMEs starting from pilot cases to behave as living successful examples.
Potential Benefits for enterprises: Developing eBusiness,eNetworking and eLogistics services for SMEs by:
■ Comprehensive business network management framework
■ eService platform serving every single SME with preffered ICT functions for daily business activities
■ Access to eServices for SME in pilot projects duringproject and after its end
What do we do?within Work Package 3Strategic focus and main objective of Work Package 3 ofESSENCE project is development and implementation ofthe joint strategy for SME’s network shaping and empo-werment. This strategy is going to be an engine for deve-lopment of transnational eServices for SME networks inWork Package 4, for execution of pilot cases of eServicesuse by SME networks in WP 4 and will help in elaborationof the roadmap for joint management of eService provisionduring the project and after it’s termination. Challengesdefined for successful execution of tasks in WP 3 are:
to develop innovative solution useful for companies,leading to increase of its effectiveness and efficiencyof executed processes (in the framework of WP 4)
■ to convince company to use it through well defined scenarios
■ to show company how to use new solutions through well suited training actions and deeply prepared pilot cases
■ to measure results of the project at micro, mezo and macro level and compare situation “as is” with “to-be”
The first phase of activities in WP 3 included preparatorymeasures such as definition of methodology which will beused in involvement of regional stakeholders as well asdesk research of SME’s needs to knowledge and eServices.Another important step was conducting interviews with regional stakeholders potentially interested in ESSENCEeServices.
As the result of this first preparatory phase partners in allproject regions described examples of good practices showing potential benefits of ESSENCE solution for enter-prises, identified and described regional stakeholders potentially interested in ESSENCE project results, inter- viewed them and organized regional meeting for them.
The main aim of stakeholders involvement activities is to attract their attention to ESSENCE stakeholders programme which includes such benefits like firstly participation and contribution to eServices development.Stakeholders expectations will be fine-tuning for development functionalities of the ESSENCE eService platform. Secondly participation in ESSENCE pilot project –possibility of giving feedback according to own needs ofeach particular company. Thirdly consultations with ESSENCE partnership during defining of ESSENCE roadmapwhich will make assumptions concerning further development of new functionalities and creation of shortand long term business model for ESSENCE eService platform.
The next important task resulting from previous activities is definition of operational scenarios for work packages 4,5 and 6. Recommendations will be output forESSENCE eServices platform based on stakeholders expectations as well as desk research. Gathered informationis a fine-tuning for development functionalities of the ESSENCE eService platform and the ESSENCE knowledgebase. It will consist of list of functionalities which are in linewith SMEs expectations and trends which are foreseen intransport and logistics. Scenarios will present recommen-dations for the pilots cases concerning major topic andchallenges related implementation of new solutions withinSMEs addresses by the regional stakeholders. Finally operational scenarios will be basis for development of thebusiness model with ideas of its financing in short and longterm-period. This scenario will also make assumptions concerning further development of new functionalities,maintenance cost, and services of developed eServices.
essenceEasy eServices to Shape and Empower SME Networks in Central Europe
What do we do?within Work Package 4The work package WP4 “Transnational eServices for SMEnetworks” is aimed at implementing a number of functionsspecifically conceived for enabling the SME network leaderand members to easily communicate and coordinate their(often transnational) daily work. The intended functionstake the form of eServices, provided through the ESSENCEplatform, which are made accessible to every user companywith no initial investments or technological restraints.
The ESSENCE eServices include functions such as eCataloguewith SME profiles and offers, network shaping based ondistributed process modelling and what-if simulation, network planning from order management to task assignment and transport optimisation, network operationwith process and transport monitoring and exception handling, biz doc management exchange and translation,and the underlying centralised multilingual knowledgebase.
In order to accelerate their implementation in the per-spective of pilot experiments it was decided to take advan-tage of previous experiences by selecting software functionfrom prototypes developed in the frame of recent RTD pro-ject, in particular eBEST and KASSETTS, then adapting andcompleting them according to the identified needs of thetarget networks. This was in fact the main objective of theeffort spent for WP4 during the first project period.More precisely, the activities completed so far include:
■ Analysis of the Information flows between network leader and members and of their present needs in terms of informal communication, product catalogues, documents exchanged within and outside the network, indicators to evaluate the network behaviour.
■ Functional specification of eServices for network shaping and control, meaning requirements addressed to software developers for the communication, eCatalogue, process modelling, network shaping and simulation, and performance
■ Functional specification of eServices for network planning and operation, meaning requirements addressed to software developers for the process planning, transport planning, monitoring, exception handling, and document transformation functions.
■ Construction of the ESSENCE knowledge base storing the information shared by the platform users, namely a multilingual domain ontology of concepts and terms, planning criteria and KPIs, andthe basic taxonomy of the product/service folksonomy.
■ Selection of the software functions and data structures, especially from the eBEST and KASSETTS prototypes, to constitute the main components of the devised ESSENCE platform, and identification of the required extensions, additions and completions.
In the next period the following activities will be carried out:
■ Implementation of the first group of eServices intended to support the single company in deciding, preparing, simulating, discussing and evaluating the participation in an SME network and the possible adoption of the ESSENCE operational eServices.
■ Implementation of the second group of eServices intended to support the network lead in assigning tasks to network members, organising transports, monitoring task and transport execution, managing possible exceptions and translating the exchanged documents.
■ Integration of the developed eServices into a unique software platform, the ESSENCE platform, and the underlying knowledge base, ready for use by the planned experimental pilots. The platform will be accompanied by technical documentation and manual.
Prepared by:
Marshal Office of the Wielkopolska RegionDepartment of Economy61-541 Poznań, ul. Przemysłowa 46Phone +48 61.626 62 40e-mail: [email protected] co-operation with Project Partnersevaluation functions.
essenceEasy eServices to Shape and Empower SME Networks in Central Europe
Contacts:Marshal Office of the Wielkopolska RegionDepartment of Economyul. Przemysłowa 4661-541 Poznań, POLANDJakub [email protected]
Institute for Logistics & Warehousingul. E. Estkowskiego 661-755 Poznań POLANDMarcin [email protected]
Provincia di BolognaSettore Sviluppo Economicovia Benedetto XIV, 340125 Bologna – ItalyMarino [email protected]
Institute for Transport and Logistics Foundation (ITL)Viale A. Moro 38I-40127 Bologna, ITALYStefano [email protected]
SATA SrlVia G. Notari 10341126 Modena, ITALYDaniele [email protected]
Aufbauwerk Region Leipzig GmbH Otto-Schill-Straße 1D-04109 Leipzig, GERMANYMichael [email protected]
University of LeipzigInstitut für WirtschaftsinformatikGrimmaische Straße 3604109 Leipzig, GERMANYBjörn [email protected]
AREA m styria GmbHKoloman-Wallisch-Platz 18605 Kapfenberg, AUSTRIAOliver [email protected]
ICEG Research and Policy 5/b Királyhágó Str.H1126 Budapest, HungaryRenata Anna [email protected]
Development Agency SinergijaKranjčeva 39226 Moravske Toplice, SLOVENIAJožica [email protected]
