ITC's comparative advantage
Put simply, ITC's role is to ensure that developing country
businesses can compete in the new digital economy. ITC's
comparative advantage does not lie either in devising global
regulatory standards or in creating telecommunications
infrastructures. There are other public- and private-sector
agencies with the knowledge, skills and resources required to be
effective.
ITC will impart an e-dimension to the following areas where it
possesses comparative advantage:
• Understanding developing country importers and exporters.
ITC's traditional strength lies in its understanding of the needs
of importers and exporters from its client countries. It has
consistently focused on providing practical, results-oriented
assistance to meet the needs of businesses in these countries.
• Working with trade support institutions. ITC has in-depth
experience of working with a wide variety of trade support
institutions in the public, semi-public and private sectors. These
relationships can be used to good effect in developing e-trade and
supply-chain management.
• Building networks. ITC establishes effective product delivery
networks by leveraging its links to international professional
bodies, academic institutions, centres of excellence, development
agencies, and commercial vendors of services, software and
equipment. These networks can be used as leading sources of
independent information and advice to its partners.
• Enhancing sector-specific knowledge. ITC has accumulated a
wealth of knowledge in specific industry and service sectors.
E-trade provides a means for eliminating inefficiencies and
improving the effectiveness of traditional value chains, and for
generating new business possibilities. At the same time, e-trade
gives buyers and sellers the opportunity to increase their market
knowledge and access.
ITC implementation
National e-trade programmes
ITC's Implementation Plan is focused on delivering technical
assistance at the country level to build national e-competence. The
aim is to help countries build national e-trade programmes -
through a package of training, advisory services, information, and
partnership networks.
The services range from national e-trade strategy development,
to institutional e-trade development, right up to company-level
training. Together, they form interlinked programmes, aimed at
national governments, trade support institutions and
enterprises.
E@ITC
At the same time, ITC is also moving forward to enhance its own
e-capability. Its services and resources are increasingly available
via the Internet or in CD-ROM format, as well in traditional form.
ITC's web site has improved considerably, and it is fast
transforming itself into a technical cooperation tool. New portals
are planned for training, purchasing and business competitiveness.
Where feasible and useful, ITC is using video-conferencing
techniques, in collaboration with the World Bank, to increase its
outreach to clients. ITC is continually updating its own knowledge
of the digital economy for analysis from the SME perspective and,
in order to share this knowledge with its clientele, is producing
an increasing number of publications and services.
The pages ahead capture some of these changes, including an
update on the new ITC site and the new Forum magazine site, a list
of e-relevant ITC sources, and news about and from partner
organizations.
The ITC strategy for e-facilitated trade development
is based on three components:
Awareness raising. ITC will raise awareness
among its clients by demonstrating potential positive and negative
impacts of e-trade. To do this, it will:
• exchange information on the use of digital technology for
trade: latest developments, opportunities, benefits and
limitations;
• develop partner country capacities to understand the business
implications of advances in information and communication
technology, and national competitiveness issues arising from them,
by working with local decision-makers and influencers; and
• act as a catalyst by organizing regional conferences which
bring together all stakeholders to share ideas and best
practices.
Building knowledge. E-trade is knowledge
intensive. ITC will assist in the acquisition of information and
the creation of knowledge as a precondition for e-trade success. To
do this, it will:
• establish a knowledge base of best practices and new
techniques from around the world;
• add the perspective of developing and transition economies to
these best practices and techniques, improve the clarity of this
information and adapt its format to ITC clients; and
• provide information, training and advice to help clients
assess new technologies and associated business practices.
Creating competence. ITC will develop higher
value-added business opportunities for its clients by working with
them to apply new-found knowledge and practical e-trade techniques
to their supply chains. To do this, it will:
• provide training in the new business practices required to
obtain full benefits from the use of e-trade technology;
• facilitate the sharing of e-trade policy and regulatory
developments;
• promote an international perspective in the way in which
business is conducted; and
• help clients to understand the contextual, organizational,
structural, management and process changes required to fully
realize the benefits of Internet technology.
This article is taken from the ITC Strategy for
E-Facilitated Trade Development. To obtain a copy of the full
strategy, contact John Gillies, ITC Training Officer, at gillies@intracen.org