Ecommerce for everyone

World business leaders gathered in Brussels recently to thrash out a way forward for global ecommerce.

Top business managers from leading private sector companies made up the majority of the conference. But conspicuous by its absence was the small business sector. It's hard to see how a full set of guidelines could be agreed without the input of this crucial part of the European economy.

The Brussels meeting successfully managed to identify the core barriers to growth in the ecommerce sphere: data protection, taxation, tariffs, intellectual property rights, encryption, authentication and liability. Now this is established, the conference argued, efforts can be concentrated on solving these problems.

But these should have been addressed across the whole of industry, not just at the multi-national conglomerate level.

Steven Alambritis, speaking for the UK-based Federation of Small Business, said: "It's typical of 99 per cent of ecommerce initiatives to go way over the head of small businesses." He added that a badly organised plan, excluding key sectors of the economy, could lead to reductions in quality and higher prices of goods and services traded over the Net.

His concerns are well-founded. Ecommerce systems run right through the supply chain and small companies need to be able to mesh with large firms as systems become more automated. If they don't have a hand in the development of these electronic systems right from the start, then it will be harder to iron out the problems later.

Joachim Kubosch, spokesman for Commissioner Bangemann - the meeting's organiser - agreed that the needs of small business must be considered. But he argued that although no small business organisations were actually present, they were accounted for at the meeting.

"We did consider small businesses in the context of ecommerce. Some of the participants will be responsible for taking that forward. It was understood that ecommerce cannot develop without full consideration of all the issues," Kubosch said.

But it could have been so much more effective. Small businesses weren't present because they don't have the resources to devote to this sort of initiative. Representation is skewed towards those who can afford it. In Alambritis' mind it shouldn't be left to the private sector alone: "The EC and national governments should get more involved to ensure that the whole economy is represented."

Kubosch's final argument is that it will be in the interests of all large companies to include small business concerns in their plans. The next phase of the initiative is to approach governments with the plans - but they will only be accepted if small businesses are part of them.

It is essential that this happens. Ease of use across all economic platforms is essential to the development of a sound ecommerce infrastructure.