This was proposed as a result of work undertaken 1994 by GMBA in the MATIN Pilot Project which identified the textiles industries as suitable for investigating the use of telematics within a sector.
The delay in receipt of funding and contracts until January 1996 meant that it was unrealistic to ask companies to commit their time and effort to supporting this aspect of the project, and it was therefore decided to postpone this work for review in the second year. Complications may case arise since such work will require in-depth work with a small number of companies, something that cannot be suitably reflected in the outcomes which only allow each MSE to be recorded once.
As a solution in the meantime, GMBA has compiled a directory of on-line textiles resources which will act a a starting point to focus further interest. This has been formatted into HTML, and placed on a local web server, ready for transfer to a full web server.
This was intended to bring Asian retail MSEs onto the Internet and help combat social exclusion in general.
40 businesses in the Manchester area have been assisted in the preparation of World Wide Web pages. Delays in the release of funding have meant that these are currently on a local server and lack graphics.
The distribution of businesses by sector is as follows:
28 Restaurants
4 Catering Services Companies
3 Specialist Food Shops
2 Travel Agents
2 Banking & Finance Operations
1 Retail Business
In addition, a further 5 were assisted with hardware/software support as detailed below:
Number of MSEs Assisted .......... 45
The work plan for this part of the project involves transfer to a full server, updating of individual pages with graphical information, and development of a corporate style to present these pages as a structured entity.
The businesses involved in the restaurant trade indicated that their participation in this joint activity could open up opportunities for collaboration on an similar ventures in the future, such as hard-copy restaurant guides, food hygiene training sessions etc.
Business Partnership Created ........... 1
This was intended to stimulate information flow to/between MSE in the Northwest (and wider) through the development of electronic publishing activities, including a regular on-line trade magazine in a variety of electronic formats.
Information of this kind is already generated by a range of business development agencies in the area, and the aim was to approach these and by using the technical and creative skills of the consortium members demonstrate how the information could be made available in a presentable electronic form. GMBA had already demonstrated through the on-line republication of "Business Eye" in its MATIN Pilot Project that information in an electronic form was possible and in demand.
Finance to rent the necessary World Wide Web space was not available until 1996, and it is unclear how such work could be reflected in the project outcomes. Activity on this has therefore been limited; we anticipate work on this in the next six months to involve negotiations with information providers and copyright holders, with the possibility of a few experimental pages to determine the most practical approach.
The Project acted as a value-added service provider offering:
This was intended to put manufacturers into contact with suppliers or raw materials, maintain register of consultants for commercial services such as accountancy etc.
GMBA has undertaken such work, principally putting businesses into contact with suppliers of software (primarily multilingual due to the nature of the client group, and financial) or internet access. As the companies concerned outside the Manchester area - and on occasions outside the UK - these are not reflected in the project outcomes.
The objective here was to identify electronic resources on particular sectors or areas of MSE practice; regularly monitor, search and report of electronic resources on particular sectors or MSE practices. Experience with the MATIN Pilot Project indicated that to be fully effective, such a service should fulfil a more sign-posting role, since the exact information content - and more importantly the use it is subsequent put to - are better determined by the end user with their market knowledge. Hence the approach taken in the afore-mentioned Virtual Textiles Centre, using the web pages as a nucleus around which end-users can develop their use of the telematics technology, rather than GMBA playing "piggy in the middle".
This has been a core activity for GMBA, producing pages for World Wide Web pages on behalf of MSEs and for the project itself, as described above.
GMBA has installed a listserver/archive server on its Internet connection at Bangladesh House, and has used this to pilot several mailing lists and file resources. We anticipate in the next 6 months to gradually introduce more commercial information onto this machine, which will be particularly useful for those companies with limited mail-only internet access.
GMBA staff undertook work as follows, covering 5 clients:
3 needing specification of hardware
1 requiring specification of software
2 installations of hardware
2 installations of software
1 hardware upgrade
1 Internet client software upgrade
Two of the companies for whom this assistance was supplied were in the throws of developing business plans for proposed businesses (one in translation services, the other in restaurants).
New Business Starts ......... 2
GMBA utilised its Internet connectivity and experience to establish a Telecentre at Bangladesh House, which safeguarded the jobs of 2 of its staff.
1 Telecentres Created
2 Jobs Created/Safeguarded
The Telecentre ran monthly Internet training sessions between April and December 1995, covering:
These attracted 54 people, and provided and opportunity for people to get first-hand experience of the Internet, its abilities and its limitations. Feedback suggested that too much was being crammed into a short session, and the Telecentre is currently rearranging these sessions to allow the opportunity to cover matters in suitable depth at a more relaxed pace.
Beneficiaries of Telecentres ...... 54