“We make sales from our site every hour of every day, even at 3am,” says Amstutz, who launched rubberStampSA.co.za in 2005. “It surprised us at first, but then we realised: Many of our customers are small- to medium-sized business owners. Midnight is when they get time to do their admin.”

As a result, says Amstutz, he has learned quite how critical 24/7/365 uptime is to an online business. “I consult to many other online businesses as well, and it’s very clear that choosing your service providers for uptime is key. That means not just your web site hosting service, but also your payment gateway.”

Amstutz chose PayGate back in 2005 on the basis of their service quality, and says “I can’t think of a moment when we lost a sale because PayGate was down. As a retailer you can’t just assume these important services will always be on. Some payment service providers seem to think it’s okay to go offline for maintenance after midnight, but it doesn’t work that way. I’ve seen online retailers suffer from several outages at their payment gateways, which had a significant effect on their business.”

Being available whenever customers need it is an aspect of providing the excellent service that keeps people coming back to his site, says Amstutz. “One should always aim to exceed customer expectations, because by shopping online they’re sacrificing some of the ‘touch and feel’ that’s so important. So where some people are still amazed when what they’ve bought and paid for actually arrives, we aim to make sure it arrives within less than 24 hours.”

This convenience, says Amstutz, is what is driving online retail. “South Africa is catching up very quickly to what’s been happening overseas, where it’s all about the convenience factor. Why spend time and petrol sitting in traffic to get to a shopping mall when you can do it from home‘ Online retail is the way to go – and the winners will be those who make buying online so quick, easy and hassle-free that their customers can’t quite believe it. Deliver fast, and always be up.”

Gauteng Business News

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This is part of the Coface ‘Globalliance’ standard contract and used in cases where the initial credit insurance cover is lower than the requested amount or credit cover is declined.

TopLiner offers a flexible, transparent and quick solution for covering customer risk while honouring a single main contract. Separate from traditional underwriting and based on a price adapted to the risk, TopLiner allows companies to make an objective risk-taking decision.

Garth de Klerk, CEO of Coface SA, said that Topliner was created as a result of experience with the economic crisis.

“It is part of our mission to support the commercial development of companies seeking stronger protection against the risk of overdue payments from vulnerable buyers, whether strategic or occasional,” he said.

TopLiner provides additional cover, combining the advantages of the main contract, speed and transparency. It is non-cancellable supplementary cover incorporated into Coface’s Globalliance contract, without any access cost and billed only upon use by the customer.

It is available exclusively online, with an immediate answer and transparent pricing, based on parameters that the customer can modify, without automatic renewal or billing of investigation and limit fees.

“TopLiner enables customers to become more involved in the risk-taking process. It allows companies the freedom to take additional risks in real time,” said Mr de Klerk.

The adjusted price becomes a risk assessment index. The customer can compare the cost of the risk and its net margin in order to make an objective decision.

It is the customer who determines the amount of cover of between R50 000 and R50-million and the duration, between 30 and 90 days.

“More and more businesses now say that they are willing to be charged according to the quality of the risk. This reflects an increasing customer awareness of risk intensification and a need for greater flexibility, in line with the unstable economic environment,” said Mr de Klerk.

Gauteng Business News

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1. Close loopholes and security gaps

Without a valid security software license, you will not have access to upgrades, patches and software updates. Given the speed at which the threat landscape is evolving, and the number and variety of new attacks occurring every week, having out of date software can create serious vulnerabilities in your system. Running security software without a license means you are exposing yourself to unnecessary risk, and every additional day that your license has lapsed, more and more threats and new versions of malware are being released. Renewing your license is critical in ensuring that your malware definitions are up to date and can protect your computer properly.

2. Gain access to the latest software versions

Aside from updating with the latest patches and virus definitions, having a valid security software license also gives you access to the latest software versions. This not only helps to keep your machine protected, but also delivers better system performance. Outdated software versions can cause your computer to run slower and slower the more out of date the software is, which can be frustrating and is counterproductive. By ensuring your software is up to date, this issue can be avoided.

3. Don’t pay more than you need to

Security software is, understandably, often a grudge purchase, much like insurance. However, it is necessary. Often, however, if a license is renewed in good time, you will have access to preferential pricing, which makes upgrading more affordable. Unfortunately once a license has lapsed, you will need to pay the full price for a new software solution, rather than the discounted rate for a renewal upgrade. Rather save yourself some money while ensuring your machine remains protected, and update your license within the renewal period.

4. Stay on the right side of the law

Many people who are employees of companies with Enterprise Agreements (EAs) on security software mistakenly believe that they can install as many copies of the software as they want without having to keep track or paying for each individual copy. This is not really the case. On the first and second anniversaries of the EA, the total number of licenses that are installed need to balanced against the original agreement and the incremental increase of the number of licenses that are installed must be paid for, a process called ‘true-up’. On the third anniversary, again there is a true-up but it is generally done along with the renegotiation of the EA. Aside from the EA aspect of licensing, it is also illegal to run an unlicensed version of software, which usually happens when a software license is allowed to lapse.

5. Be ethical – it’s the right thing to do

Security software companies spend millions each year on research and development, and on continuously updating software to ensure that users can take advantage of optimal security levels. In order to continue with this research, the security vendors need funding for this function, which is why security software is licensed on a yearly, two yearly or three yearly basis. If users do not pay their security licenses, software companies cannot continue to develop better, faster and more effective security solutions. This means that cybercriminals then have far easier access to your information for their malicious purposes. Renewing your license is the right thing to do, for the good of all users.

While security software is something many users begrudge having to pay for, the reality is that in today’s connected world, cybercrime is a highly profitable industry, and attacks are plentiful, varied and constantly becoming more sophisticated. The implications of losing your personal data go beyond inconvenience and can result in lost income, identity theft and a host of other issues. Rather than leaving things to chance, ensure that your security software is up to date and enjoy the highest possible levels of protection against the threats of cyber crime.

Gauteng Business News

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Pure Distribution will supply and manage selected *strategic customers on behalf of Sony Mobile, and will perform account management functions for select **retail channels in South Africa for Sony Mobile. They will be responsible for holding stock of all available local Sony Mobile handsets as well as select accessories.

Colin Williamson, Managing Director of Pure Distribution said, “This partnership will allow us to align customers in the region with Sony Mobile marketing activities, launch plans, focus products and overall alignment of Sony Mobile’s local strategy which will benefit both parties as well as make Sony Mobile an important and relevant partner for all its customers”

Pure Distribution will work closely with Sony Mobile to ensure accurate forecasting while conveying market and customer intelligence in the select regions and they will be responsible for growing demand, awareness and sales of Sony Smartphones across the region.

“With Pure Distribution’s extensive knowledge of the mobile industry, Colin Williamson, Managing Director and J.P Hunke, Sales Director at Pure Distribution, will work closely with us to achieve an improved level of service and activation with our customers. We are delighted to partner with Pure Distribution and look forward to the results” said Mark Fenzel, Sales Director at Sony Mobile South Africa.

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This is according to Org Geldenhuys, MD of property development and marketing company, Abacus DIVISIONS, who said his company had recently sold 7 parcels of land in one week – with
all of these stands earmarked for warehouse developments. “The other interesting point is that all of them will be developed by the owners themselves. These are not speculators trying to
find a gap to make money – it is owner occupiers who have decided to invest. It shows growing faith in the marketplace,” said Geldenhuys.

“All 7 stands are earmarked for a single tenant occupancy, indicating that the market is being driven by organic growth and not by developers trying to make a quick buck.”

Once developed the total investment in the 7 stands should amount to around R120 million – with building expected to be completed during the first quarter of 2014.

“The year started slowly, but now we are seeing some signs of real movement.

“People are showing a keenness to invest money in their own premises – and this has been lacking during the past few years. We haven’t fully recovered yet from the deep-cutting financial
crisis of 2008, but I think the worst is over – certainly for the commercial property market.” The stands are located in Irene, which is fast becoming the new business hub of the greater
Centurion area.

Gauteng Business News

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In this age of Facebook and Twitter, iPhone apps and online gaming, it’s only natural that information workers expect to be equipped with tools similar to those they are using in their consumer lives. Yet, traditionally, enterprise systems are a far cry away from the engrossing, interactive tools we use to interact with our peers on a daily basis. And still, businesses can benefit massively from taking the collaborative aspect of the way we operate with our peers online and using this to implement similar systems to get the most out of employees at work.

There are a number of social initiatives already being encouraged by some businesses, such as Yammer, Prezi and Google Docs, which have built on the idea of sharing information online in a consumer realm and have deployed it within the workplace. In fact, Forrester Research has predicted that the social software market will grow to more than $6 billion by 2016, so the move towards collaboration in the office has been noted and is being watched. And yet, while these initiatives have worked well in some organisations, they have struggled to take off in others. So what makes the difference‘

The truth is, when it comes to getting the most out of business tools, employers need to realise each member of their team will have their own ways of working, and furthermore, of collaborating. With the bring-your-own-device trend seeing employees bringing in their own gadgets to conduct work, the individual’s preference needs to be accepted and it should be made sure they have technology that they are going to interact with and, ultimately, get the most out of. After all, collaboration requirements are dependent on place and time. If an employee can be in the same place at the same time as the people they need to work with, then it’s possible to meet face-to-face.

Yet, if you are available at the same time but are in different locations, you need tools, such as phone and Web conferencing, to facilitate remote interactions. If you need to work with someone but can’t be in the same place or at the same time, you need tools to support asynchronous collaboration – this could be anything from blogs to wikis, email and threaded discussions.

Spontaneous discovery

Users just don’t want tools where they have to think in a certain way to find the information they are looking for. Instead, they want tools that will stimulate and support their natural way of thinking – following their thought processes and helping them to make discoveries that they might not have even been looking for. For example, when someone wants to discover something online at home, they can conduct a Google search and then find themselves captivated by following a series of links on numerous pages, sharing anything particularly interesting with friends, before realising 30 minutes later that they’ve ended up somewhere completely different from where they started out, but have discovered a lot that they didn’t even know they were looking for.

This should be the same with a business tool – in an ideal world it should follow the trail of thought, being truly agnostic, so the user can work as effectively as possible, becoming entranced in their discoveries. Along the path of discovery, they need to be able to securely share what they have found with others in the organisation so they can encourage debate and, ultimately, make sure everyone is informed enough to make the right business decisions.

Of course, giving employees tools they enjoy using will also make them happier at work, which is a massive benefit when it comes to retaining valued staff.

The software and systems we use to conduct our work need to be more in tune with the user now than ever before. Employees are far more adapted to technology outside of the workplace than they used to be and it’s important the tools they have in the workplace to help them do their work successfully are ones that can support the way of thinking and interacting with technology they have become accustomed to.

Otherwise, organisations run the risk of missing out on the discoveries that can be made through letting their employees interact with data and learn in an environment they are comfortable with, with the tools they enjoy using, and at their own pace.

Gauteng Business News

The post The Role Of Social Business Intelligence appeared first on Bizco Business Consulting.

Global ranking Country Name GDP in Millions of US dollars (2011)

27 South Africa 408,237

39 Nigeria 243,986

60 Angola 104,332

88 Kenya 33,621

105 Zambia 19,206

One of the key reasons for slower growth is SA’s foreign trade structure and reliance on Europe. President Zuma used the opportunity at the World Economic Forum in Davos earlier this year to ensure foreign investors that South Africa is on the right track.

2012 will be remembered for the negative impact of labour unrest and resultant production stoppages in the mining sector. Mining reduced GDP by 0,5% in the first three quarters of the year. This excludes the biggest slump in the sector during the fourth quarter 2012.

Other significant features of the growth slowdown in 2012 were the slowdown in household consumption spending, poor growth in private fixed investment spending and a slump in real export growth.

South African’s inflation rate slowed to a five-month low in January 2013 after the statistics office adjusted the consumer price basket while food and fuel prices eased. In December, the inflation rate fell to 5,4% from 5,7% Statistics South Africa stated.

Government cut the price of fuel by 1,2% in January 2013, as a stronger rand in the previous month helped to curb import costs. Since then, the currency has plunged 4,8% against the dollar and fuel prices are on the rise, with prices increasing in March by a further 8%, adding to pressure on inflation.

South Africa’s strengths

· South Africa is the economic powerhouse of Africa, leading the continent in industrial output and mineral production, generating a large portion of the continent’s electricity.

· The economy of South Africa is the largest in Africa, accounting for 24% of the continent’s GDP in terms of PPP, and is ranked as an upper-middle income economy by the world bank.

· The country has abundant natural resources, well developed financial, legal and transport sectors, a stock exchange ranked amongst the top 20 in the world, as well as a modern infrastructure supporting efficient distribution of goods throughout the Southern African region.

South Africa’s weaknesses

• · South Africa suffers from a relatively heavy regulation burden when compared to most developed countries.
• · Increasing costs for corporates with rising wages.
• · Poverty, inequalities sources of social risk mixed with high unemployment and shortage of qualified labour.

Mining

Output in the mining sector remained weak in December with total mining production down by 7,5% y-o-y after falling by a revised 3,8% (previously -4,5%) in November. On a monthly basis production rose by a seasonally adjusted 1,2% compared with 12,0% in November. Non-gold output was down by 5,0% y-o-y, while gold production slumped by 21,2% in December. For the fourth quarter, total mining production fell by a seasonally-adjusted and annualised 4,6% q-o-q as output of most minerals dropped.

For 2012 as a whole, mining volumes fell by 3,1% after contracting by 0,9% in 2011. Mineral sales were down by 15,6% y-o-y in November after falling 13,7% in October. On a monthly basis sales rose by a seasonally-adjusted 2,3% in November, but sales were down by a seasonally-adjusted 10,2% in the three months to November after declining by 6,8% in the same period to October. These figures indicate that the mining sector is still reeling from the devastating effects of widespread labour strikes in the third and early fourth quarters.

Prospects for the mining sector remain dim as the industry faces headwinds both on the global and domestic fronts. Globally, commodity prices are not likely to make significant gains as demand conditions remain relatively unfavourable. Locally, tough operating conditions persist. Rapidly rising production costs, mainly energy and labour costs, are likely to compel mining companies to scale back operations or even halt them in some cases.

This will have a negative impact on production, with any improvements coming mainly from a normalisation of output should strike activity ease. These numbers, together with other recent releases, suggest that GDP growth for the fourth quarter was around 2,0%, with overall growth of 2,5% for the year as a whole. Overall economic activity in the sector therefore remains generally sluggish while upside risks to inflation have increased due to the weaker rand.

Retail

Annual growth in retail sales slowed to 2,3% in December from 3,6% in the previous month. Over the month, sales rose by a seasonally-adjusted 1,0%, causing sales for the last quarter of 2012 to decline by 0,2% following 2,1% growth in the third quarter.

As a whole, 2012 retail sales rose by 4,3%, slightly down from 5,9% in 2011. Consumer spending is likely to moderate during 2013 as weak consumer confidence, heightened worries about job security and high debt, make consumers more cautious about spending on non-essential items. The overall economic outlook remains weak and fragile, while inflation may increase due to the weaker rand.

Manufacturing

Annual growth in manufacturing production slowed to 2,0% in December 2012 from 3,7% in the previous month, versus the consensus forecast of 2,9%. The increase in output was recorded in seven of the ten major categories. Significant contributions came from petroleum, chemical products, rubber and plastic products. Over the month, total production fell by 2,2% on a seasonally adjusted basis following a 2,6% rise in November.

On a quarterly basis, however, production improved by 1,6% in the final quarter of 2012 following two quarters of weaker growth. Both local and international economic conditions are expected to improve only moderately during 2013. A weak Eurozone will continue to hurt the large export-orientated industries.

The recent recovery in infrastructure spending by the public sector will probably support the industries producing capital goods and other inputs for local projects. But the growth rate will be contained by slower capital expenditure by the private sector in response to the bleaker economic environment both locally and internationally.

Therefore, while a moderate recovery in manufacturing production will continue in 2013, no impressive upward momentum is expected. Overall economic activity remains generally sluggish while upside risks to inflation have increased due to a weaker rand.

Infrastructure

A new economic plan, the National Development Plan (NDP), is likely to be adopted in 2013 promoting low taxation for businesses and imposing less stringent employment requirements. This a measure that the ANC is pursuing ahead of the 2014 national elections. The NDP will encourage partnerships between government and the private sector, creating opportunities in petrochemical industries, metal-working and refining, as well as development of power stations.

Construction companies are especially likely to benefit from government plans to invest $112-billion from 2013 in the expansion of infrastructure as part of the NDP. Some 18 strategic projects will be launched to expand transport, power and water, medical and educational infrastructure in some of the country’s least developed areas.

Energy companies will also benefit, following the lifting of a moratorium on licences for shale gas development. Meanwhile, there will be significant opportunities, especially for Chinese state-owned enterprises that have recently made high-profile visits to South Africa, to acquire divested assets in the platinum and gold mining sector as large mining houses withdraw from South Africa.

According to government reports, the South African government will have spent R860-billion on new infrastructure projects in South Africa between 2009 and March 2013. In the energy sector, Eskom had put in place 675 kilometers of electricity transmission lines in 2012, to connect fast-growing economic centers and also to bring power to rural areas. More than 200 000 new households were connected to the national electricity grid in 2012. Construction work is also taking place in five cities including Cape Town, Port Elizabeth, Rustenburg, Durban and Pretoria to integrate different modes of transport.

Business Climate

Due to South Africa’s well-developed and world-class business infrastructure, the country is ranked 35th out of 183 countries in the World Bank and International Finance Corporation’s Doing Business 2012 report, an annual survey that measures the time, cost and hassle for businesses to comply with legal and administrative requirements. South Africa was ranked above developed countries such as Spain (44) and Luxembourg (50), as well as major developing economies such as Mexico (53), China (91), Russia (120), India (132) and Brazil (126).

The report found South Africa ranked first for ease of obtaining credit. This was based on depth of information and a reliable legal system.

Foreign trade

SA’s trade deficit narrowed to R 2,7-billion in December from R7,9-billion in November on account of seasonal factors. The trade balance usually records a surplus in December due to a large decline in imports. Exports declined 9,8% over the month. The decrease was mainly driven by declines in the exports of base metals. Vehicles, aircraft and vessels (down R1,1-billion), machinery and electrical appliances (down R0,9-billion) and prepared foodstuffs, beverages and tobacco (down 0,8-billion). Imports dropped 15,8% m-o-m.

Declines in the imports of machinery and electrical appliances (down R3,3-billion), original equipment components; (R1,8-billion), products of the chemicals or allied industries (R1,5-billion) and base metals and articles thereof (R1,2-billion) were the main drivers of the drop.

The large trade deficit for 2012 is one of the major reasons for the deterioration in the 2012 current account deficit forecast to 6,2% of GDP from 3,3% in 2011. South Africa’s trade performance will remain weak in the coming months on the back of unfavourable global conditions and domestic supply disruptions. Weak global economic conditions will continue to influence exports and growth domestically.

Skills and education

The need to transform South Africa’s education system has become ever more urgent, especially given the service delivery issues that have plagued the system. While government continues to allocate a significant amount of its budget to education (approximately 20%), it has not been enough to transform the schooling system. Coface expects the government to continue to support this critical sector, but that an opportunistic private sector will take advantage of government inefficiencies.

South Africa’s education levels are quite low compared to other developed and developing nations. South Africa began restructuring its higher education system in 2003 to widen access to tertiary education and reset the priorities of the old apartheid-based system. Smaller universities and technikons (polytechnics) were incorporated into larger institutions to form comprehensive universities.

Debt

The total number of civil judgments recorded for debt in South Africa fell by 9,8% year on year in November 2012 to 35 268, according to data released by Statistics South Africa. The total number of civil judgments recorded for debt decreased by 15,2% in three months ended November 2012 compared with the three months ended November 2011.

The number of civil summonses issued for debt fell 23,9% year-on-year to 70 537. During November, the 35 268 civil judgments for debt amounted to R414,1-million, with the largest contributors being money lent, with R142,5-million. There was a 21,9% decrease in the total number of civil summonses issued for debt in the three months ended November last year compared with the same period in 2011. A 23,9% y-o-y decrease was recorded in November.

South Africa maintains respectable debt-to-GDP ratios, although these grew to 39% of GDP by end-2012, substantially higher than the 34% for emerging and developing economies as a whole. When Fitch downgraded SA earlier this year, it specifically mentioned concerns about SA’s rising debt-to-GDP ratio, given that the ratio is higher than the country’s peers.

South Africa is uniquely exposed to foreign investor sentiment through the deficit on the current account combinedwith liquid and deep fixed interest markets. SA’s widening deficit on the current account is a specific factor that concerns the rating agencies and is one of the metrics the agencies will use to assess SA’s sovereign risk in the near future. Further downgrades are the risk – potentially driven by foreign investor sentiment about political risks.

Political landscape

Persistent unemployment, inequality and the mixed results of BEE (Black Economic Empowerment) intended to favour access to economic power by the historically disadvantaged populations have led to disappointment and resentment.

Social unrest is increasing. Recent events weakened the ruling coalition which came under fire for its management of these events. Tensions could intensify in the run up to the 2014 presidential elections. South Africa has a well-developed legal system, but government inefficiency, a shortage of skilled labour, criminality and corruption are crippling the business environment. South Africa also has a high and growing youth unemployment, high levels of visible inequality and government corruption so we would keep an eye on the escalating service delivery protest trends.

Labour force

The unemployment rate fell to 24,9% in the fourth quarter of 2012 from 25,5% in the third quarter, mainly reflecting an increase in the number of discouraged work seekers. Over the quarter, a total of 68 000 jobs were lost while the number discouraged work seekers rose by 87 000. The formal non-agricultural sector lost 52 000 jobs over the quarter, while the informal sector, in contrast, employed 8 000 more people. The breakdown shows that the highest number of jobs were lost in the private households category (48 000), followed by the trade and transport sectors, which shed 41 000 and 18 000 jobs respectively.

The agricultural sector led employment creation over the quarter, adding 24 000 jobs. Both local and international economic conditions are expected to improve only moderately during 2013.

Weak confidence and high wage settlement will make firms more cautious to expand capacity and employ more people this year. Government is likely to be the main driver of employment as it rolls out its infrastructure and job creation plans. The unemployment rate will therefore remain high in the short term.

Although the reduction in the unemployment rate is good news, it mainly reflects the large number of discouraged work seekers. Overall economic activity remains generally sluggish while upside risks to inflation have increased due to a weaker rand. Coface believes that this will persuade the Monetary Policy Committee to keep policy neutral over an extended period, with interest rates remaining unchanged for most of 2013. A reversal in policy easing is likely only late in the year or even in 2014.

Gauteng Business News

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Retailers should be using their existing infrastructure – whether it is their till, a customer call centre or a self-service kiosk (or all of the above) – to make the most of the opportunities these services offer them. IT companies tend to lump these together as “value-added services” – but I’d argue that term should be defined far more broadly, to include a host of other virtual services that make life more convenient for the customer or help in other ways to keep them coming back.

Let’s take loyalty programmes as an example. Many retailers have or are considering one – whether it is a points system that generates paper vouchers after a few months, or stickers placed on a card that acts like a voucher and can be redeemed for a free coffee when full. Over the years, these have been brought into question by marketers and retailers alike – mostly because these programmes were introduced simply “because our competitors have one”. Now, the ground is shifting. Companies have realised a cookie-cutter approach to loyalty, where every store hands out cards and points that can be redeemed, definitely doesn’t work for everyone. A retailer that takes customer engagement seriously needs to be asking itself: What drives MY customers’ loyalty‘

The answer will vary depending on exactly what business you’re in. For a computer store, support house calls and maintenance plans might keep your customers coming back even when the competition is offering deep discounts. For a high-end clothing store, maybe it’s a free wardrobe evaluation; a pharmacy might offer an annual cholesterol test. It’s about what’s relevant to the customer.

Then there are gift cards, vouchers and coupons. At the moment few retailers link all of these together into broader marketing efforts – losing a great deal of the value in the process.

The point is that every retailer should know its own customers well enough to know what works – and fortunately, the tools to support that knowledge are now available. With the right technology, you should be able to track in real time exactly what vouchers have been redeemed, when every gift card is presented and how much extra is spent, and what loyalty rewards have been claimed.

Gift cards, vouchers and coupons and loyalty programmes are the big three that need to be included in the mix. They’re very different animals, but if handled correctly as part of a high-level customer engagement strategy they can have a measurable impact on footfall and turnover.

Armed with this real-time information, marketers can fine-tune their campaigns in ways that have never been possible before. If there’s low uptake on one loyalty offer, try another next week – you can, because you’ll know.

Above all, these services should be driven by an overarching customer engagement strategy that’s carefully attuned to the needs of the business. Duplication, wasteful ad-hoc projects that go nowhere and services that work against each other don’t belong in this picture. What does belong is intimate knowledge of the customer, enabled by real-time measurement and reporting of how marketing efforts are reflected in sales at the till. Without that, value-added services are anything but.

Gauteng Business News

The post Retail Customer Marketing: You May Be Missing the Point appeared first on Bizco Business Consulting.

All this – and yet there’s still room to cram more functions in there. The one you can expect to hear a lot more of in the next couple of years is simple – it’s also going to become your wallet.

The idea of a mobile wallet is nothing new, of course, but until now the concept hasn’t taken off in South Africa – or, indeed, in most of the rest of the world outside East Africa, the home of MPESA. The main reason has been that too many people have tried to carve out areas of exclusive access: You can use my wallet, but only if you’re a customer of the bank I’ve partnered with, or only at the retailers in my limited stable.

Consumers have reacted to this the same way they react to everything that makes their lives more complicated instead of simpler: By quickly getting bored and moving on to something else.

In the past few months, however, something has shifted. As the walls have begun to break down, mobile banking has exploded – there are ten million South Africans actively using it. The market is not among the smartphone users, but among those who have extremely limited access to conventional banking services: They’re using USSD technology on the most basic cellphones to check statements and balances and buy airtime.

Increasingly, they’re also using services like MTN Mobile Money – currently growing at somewhere in the region of 5,000 users a day – to transfer money and make payments.

Two trends are going to drive ever-faster evolution of mobile transactions and payments in the near future: Convergence and interoperability. .

By convergence, I mean the way all sorts of different money-related services come together on the mobile phone: Payments, information, vouchers, tickets, loyalty points and more. By interoperability, I mean how nicely all these services play with each other.

Let’s take an example. Currently there are a few companies offering things like sports and music news on mobi sites. What if it was also possible, on your favourite soccer or rugby site, to buy tickets to the next game that then gets sent directly to your phone for scanning at the gate‘ Throw in a discount voucher for team branded clothing, also on the phone, that can be redeemed at any sports shop, and you have an offer few can resist.

A lot needs to happen behind the scenes to make all this possible, of course: The news site needs to talk to the ticket sales company, both need to talk to the banks and the stadium operators need to agree to accept mobile tickets.

The technology to do all this already exists – it’s getting the people to agree that’s the hard part. But all the indications are that the big players have now realised that trying to own the customer exclusively is self-defeating. The future belongs to those who are willing to tear down the walls.

Gauteng Business News

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Speaking ahead of this year’s AfriMold manufacturing trade fair from 4 – 6 June at the NASREC Expo Centre in Johannesburg, key industry players said South Africa’s manufacturing sector is experiencing a new spirit of revival, on the back of an aggressively modernising and growing tooling sector.

Dirk van Dyk, CEO of the National Tooling Initiative Programme, and representative of the Tooling Association of South Africa (TASA), noted that statistics released by ISTMA (International Specialized Tooling and Machining Association at the recent World Tooling Conference in Toronto, Canada, indicate that up to 50% of any manufactured component’s cost competiveness is governed by Tooling. However, the local TDM sector only provides approximately 20% of the local manufacturing sector’s tooling requirements. “The opportunity is there for the local TDM sector to increase this percentage significantly,” he said.

“There are more than 500 local Tool, Die and Mould manufacturing companies involved in local support of the manufacturing value chain ranging from 1st to 4th tier suppliers. The local tooling sector is gearing up for growth, presenting a positive outlook for manufacturing, and with it – job creation.”

Skills development is a key component of the tooling and manufacturing industry’s growth plans, says industry heads.

Van Dyk said the TDM Powered Pilot project, which started in 2010 as part of the turnaround strategy for the distressed tooling industry, has entered its 4th year of piloting with 408 students on Level II and Level III of the Apprenticeship Programme at 12 FET institutions in the country.

The National Skills Fund has allocated funding to Instimbi through the dti to fund another apprenticeship programme with 650 students at 12 FET institutions in the country. It is envisaged that these students should be placed by May 2013.

In addition, enterprise development is reaching companies country wide through benchmarking exercises (based on international best practice and comparison to peers) to guide local Tool, Die and Mould manufacturing companies towards increased competiveness. Intervention projects are launched to aid companies on this journey. A new round of benchmarking will start with 30 companies in April 2013.

Coenraad Bezuidenhout, Executive Director of Manufacturing Circle, says the Manufacturing Circle is launching two important initiatives to support government’s local procurement initiative and set an important example to the private sector, and to broaden its membership. The organisation plans to rapidly increase the approximately 200 000 manufacturing jobs that the Circle membership gives direct representation to today, and to include many more smaller and medium-sized manufacturers in the Manufacturing Circle. On 16 May, the Manufacturing Circle will launch its 2013 Q1 Manufacturing Circle Quarterly Survey on manufacturing business conditions, with a new component that will provide an indicator of the measure to which manufacturers procure locally, as well as the degree to which government’s local procurement impacts on manufacturers.

Meanwhile, the automotive sector, seen as a potentially promising growth area for local manufacturing, is seeking greater engagement with local organisations.

Roger Pitot, Executive Director of the National Association of Automotive Components and Allied Manufacturers (NAACAM) says: “We must double vehicle production volumes to over a million, and we must significantly increase local content from the present dismal 35%.”

Pitot says NAACAM members employ almost 50,000 people with a turnover last year of R57 billion. The total automotive sector, including vehicle assemblers, employs over 100,000 in manufacturing and 200,000 in sales and service operations.

“Unfortunately, the automotive trade deficit has been growing and reached an all-time high of R49 billion in 2012, mainly due to a record 72% of all cars sold in South Africa being imported. Exports in 2012 at R87 billion almost recovered to the record achieved in 2008, but the outlook for the future depends largely on the global economic situation, particularly in Europe, our biggest market. The local auto industry has to compete globally, therefore our focus is on improving our competitiveness through efficiencies and cost reductions.”

Pitot adds: “Areas of uncompetitiveness include certain materials such as steel, wages, logistics and, increasingly, electricity. So opportunities lie in improving our efficiencies and our technological capabilities. These include manufacture of higher-level tooling, more local R and D and developing capabilities to produce the lighter and greener components that will form part of vehicles in future.”

The challenges and potential growth areas for design, precision engineering and machining, automotive component, tooling, tool making, production and application development sectors will come under the spotlight at the 4th annual AfriMold conference and trade fair. The event, a partner of the highly successful EuroMold trade fair, is endorsed by major industry bodies, as well as by the Department of Trade and Industry.

Ron MacLarty, Managing Director of AfriMold, says: “AfriMold 2013 will continue to innovate and push boundaries for the manufacturing industries’ continued growth and improved competitiveness as we strive for collaboration and cohesion on the home front.”

Bob Bond, Chairman of the Plastics Institute of South Africa (PISA) Northern Branch and AfriMold Conference Convenor, says the event’s theme, ‘Enabling For Tomorrow’ with a focus on precision engineering and tooling as a key enabler for the South African manufacturing sector, was chosen in light of the renewed drive for competitiveness.

Among the issues to be addressed at the conference are:

· What the SA Automotive sector expects from the local tooling industry

· Industrial Design: The Competitive Edge for Tooling and Manufacture

· Solutions for super profitable tool rooms

· How to fund equipment with IDC money

· Initiatives to boost Toolmaking Enterprises Development.

The AfriMold Trade Fair and Conference will also include the PISA/ AfriMold Student Design Presentations and PISA Member Awards.

Gauteng Business News

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