Business Information Services
Promoting Trade of Information
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Business Information Services
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| From 1998 onwards, a successful BIS-network has been established in Sri Lanka. The Ceylon Chamber of Commerce is the leading national partner and linked to regional BIS-Centres at 8 different locations. The performance of BIS in Sri Lanka is looked upon from 3 different points of view: The Perspective of End-Clients: Quantity and types of BIS provided Under the guidance of the GTZ-support package, BIS was delivered to the clients of 4 BIS-Centres (BIS-network partners) at 4 different BIS-locations in 2002. Altogether, BIS- network partners carried out 171,352 BIS transactions during this year. Hence, transactions increased by 271% against base line information gathered during year 2000 (The increase between year 2000-2001 was 217% and 17% in year 2001-2002). Among all BIS-network partners, The Ceylon Chamber of Commerce (CCC) in Colombo carried out 131,938, Industrial Services Bureau in Kurunegala 20,561, Hambantota District Chamber of Commerce in Hambantota 18,848 and the Business Information and Development Unit in Kandy 5 (Business Mapping) of these transactions. Overall, 5 types of business information, as listed below are delivered to end-clients:
The order given reflects the importance of different types of business information. BIS is transacted by 5 modes of delivery, which are e-mail (34%), phone (23%), mail (22%), visits (17%) and fax (4%). As before, the order provided reflects the importance of different delivery modes. A significant observation was that the BIS-Centers started delivering business information through the Internet during the year 2002. Another finding is a shift from traditional to ICT based modes of delivery as indicated below :
The delivery of BIS covers 16 sectors which are toys, fishery, handicrafts,
horticulture, garments, dairy, livestock, coconut, vegetable, gems and
jewelry, fruits, spices, paddy, construction, rubber and marine. 2. Financial Viability and Sustainability: Example of a BIS- Center BIS is introduced as a revenue generating service for BIS-Centers. This
concept was adapted and taken forward by the CCC in 2001. As a result
the BIS-Center at the CCC gradually oriented towards a systematic calculation
of costs and classification of its income. In 2002, the BIS-Center adapted
a profit center approach. Following Table 1 illustrates
a cost/revenue analysis for the year 2002-2003 considering the BIS-Center
as a stand-alone profit center. Based on this analysis, a forecast up
to 2005 is provided on an annual basis. The BIS-Center of the CCC is a
provider of BIS to external clients as well as a supporting unit to the
other services of the CCC e.g. trade associations, bilateral business
councils, etc. The financial figures mentioned in the table reflect only
those BIS transactions, which generated revenue from external clients.
It does not reflect an added value, which is generated indirectly by supporting
other CCC services. 3. The Development Point of View BIS has created market transparency and attracted investment in the regions.
Through the sharing of information among providers at different locations,
inter-regional trade and competitiveness are promoted. For example, producers
of agricultural machinery have benefited from information on farmer demand,
whereas farmers benefited from the best option in choosing machinery.
Likewise, BIS can effectively broker business links between local producers
and global buyers and enhance regional economic development |
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