Wellington, New Zealand (1999)

Understanding Business

The mayor and council of Wellington had commissioned Professor Howard Frederick, principal author of the New Zealand government policy on knowledge management, to advise them on what the Council should be doing by way of electronic commerce to advance Wellington’s economic development. Professor Frederick proposed the idea of an Electronic Trading Cluster - a virtual cluster, an electronic trading community, unified in its promotion of that unique Wellington "je ne sais quoi" of flair and style.

Identifying Opportunities

MBA built a scoping document on the foundations laid by Professor Frederick, enlarging it beyond the fashion sector to encompass six style sectors. This enlargement was completed in conjunction with and endorsed by the Council’s economic development officers. The idea of an Internet portal had been suggested and this was taken further with the Yahoo! Portal being seen as a form of model where the different Wellington businesses would be only ‘two clicks’ from customers’ or suppliers’ access.

Redefining Processes

A significant issue for the small and medium business enterprises (SMEs) would be the change of hitherto manual processes to online processes. However it was agreed that this needed to occur if the SMEs were to gain any value from their association with the portal. Change management was seen to be of greater importance than the Internet related technology.

Creating Value

The key value proposition encompasses these specific business outcomes:

• Growing national & global recognition of Wellington as a literal and virtual international style capital
• New entrants to the style sectors aspiring to excellence
• Greater sales volumes
• Higher value exports, or overseas spending in Wellington
• Stronger and sustainable businesses
• More New Zealand and international visitors with greater average spends
• Increased numbers of employable style sector graduates from tertiary institutions

Supporting Objectives

The virtual cluster is now expected to include hospitality, arts and crafts, entertainment, performance and design, as well as fashion. It also plans close links and investments with firms in surrounding sectors such as those in marketing, finance and IT. These outcomes are in line with the Council’s economic development objectives.

Improving Performance

Business outcomes identified include economic development of the six style sectors of Wellington generally, and more specifically; growing national and global recognition of Wellington as a literal and virtual international style capital; new entrants to the style sectors; greater sales volumes; higher value exports or overseas spending in Wellington; stronger and sustainable businesses; more New Zealand and international visitors with greater average spends; and increased numbers of employable style sector graduates from tertiary institutions.

E-commerce generally is likely to grow exponentially in the coming years, particularly in Wellington where the density of interconnections is high. The Absolutely Stylishly Wellington e-cluster provides a means for Wellington to be an international e-commerce seller, rather than just a purchaser.