23 February - 1 March

 

CONTENTS:
State of the Art Benchmarking for developing country SMEs
UNIDO and World Summit on Information Society
ITPO Paris introduces delegates to ADECI
Upgrading the Indian Machine Tool Industry
COMING SOON
OTHER INDUSTRY NEWSLETTERS
Feature Story: Ozone Friendly Industrial Development ~ UNIDO 10 Years in the Montreal Protocol
PRINT-FRIENDLY VERSIONS of UNIDOScope

State of the Art Benchmarking for developing country SMEs

Vienna, Austria, 27 January, 2003

Messrs. Pichler (SBS-DTI,UK), Kaeser (UNIDO), Oates (Comparison UK), Patacconi (UNIDO), Keegan (Enterprise Ireland), Golovanov (GOLEM), Bishop (Winning Moves, UK) at UNIDO HQ

Leading figures in international benchmarking met at UNIDO headquarters in Vienna on 27 January, 2003, to examine the viability linking the UNIDO business performance software PHAROS & Produce-it Plus with the UK Benchmarking Index & Microscope/PROBE, two state-of-the-art benchmarking methodologies. A vigorous examination of what each party had to offer showed that all had something to gain by joining forces.  A Proposal for a pilot project is expected within 8 - 12 weeks. For small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in developing countries, the benefits are clear: when the softwares are linked, it will mean they will be able to assess their competitiveness against international benchmarks and take steps to fill any gaps.

The idea to integrate the packages grew from a meeting between UNIDO's Gerardo Patacconi and Richard Keegan at the ITCHigh-Level Workshop on Benchmarking in Geneva in May, 2002. Richard Keegan is a world-known specialist in the areas of World Class Manufacturing and Benchmarking. He has focused on adapting these concepts for SMEs, working closely with a large number of SMEs, helping them implement improvement actions. He is the author of several books on the topics and a lecturer at the Trinity College. He also led the DG Enterprise Benchmarking Initiative for the European Commission and the European Benchmarking Forum and Network. In his work with Enterprise Ireland on benchmarking, he has developed a way of using both Benchmarking Index and Microscope under the same conceptual framework.

The UK Benchmarking Index approach was presented by Assistant Director- Business Services, Small Business Service, UK Department of Trade and Industry (DTI), Terry Pilcher, and Managing Director of Winning Moves Ltd., Paul Bishop. Benchmarking Index is the UK national benchmarking service for SMEs, it allows a company to measure its performance against others in around 80 aspects of finance, operations, management and business excellence. Industry sector, size of company or geographical region can be benchmarked against. Information is compared against the Benchmarking Index Central Database. Company performance can be compared locally, nationally, or for a particular sector. A report is then generated which analyses company performance in detail, focusing attention on areas of the company where there is room for improvement. The Benchmark Index holds financial data of over 156,000 companies and has a database of benchmarked performance data for a further 6,500.

The Microscope/PROBE benchmarking methodology and database was presented by Comparison International representative, Gerry Oates. Comparison International is a group of private European service providers that distribute and implement the product. PROBE is a self-assessment tool for large manufacturers that was developed by a partnership between IBM Consulting, London Business School and the University of Northumbria at Newcastle. PROBE allowed companies to position themselves against a world-class model for manufacturing and it was used successfully in over 1200 sites in 16 different countries. The Microscope Manufacturing Project was then created with the support of the European Social Fund ADAPT to apply PROBE to SMEs. Microscope Manufacturing has been used extensively across Europe and abroad (manufacturing organizations usually employing 15 - 250). The international database is now populated by approximately 2000 data sets and "best practices". The software has been used to produce numerous regional, sectoral, national and international reports analyzing the competitiveness of manufacturing companies.

The UNIDO PHAROS+Produce-it package to which UK Benchmarking Index and Microscope/PROBE are to be linked is itself the result of a partnership.

Produce-it Plus, designed for production management and planning was presented by Mike Dillon of the UK firm Mike Dillon Associates (MDA) Ltd.. Produce-it Plus is now part of the UNIDO Business Excellence software package (see UNIDOScope 25 - 31 August, 2002) . MDA-UK specializes in consultancy, training and research on cost effectiveness in manufacturing industries, especially the food industry.  The tool has been successfully applied in Uganda under the UNIDO Integrated Programme and is now used in the UK at the Humber Food Centre of Vocational Excellence.

UNIDO's PHAROS, a business navigation software to monitor business and quality performance, was presented by Sergei Golovanov of GOLEM, the software developer. PHAROS has been successfully implemented in over 200 enterprises in 20 countries. GOLEM's association with UNIDO has been a long-term partnership for the development, training, distribution and promotion of the software package.

The PHAROS+Produce-it package is an innovative tool for entrepreneurs to carry out detailed business, costing and production efficiency analysis, company benchmarking and the introduction of continuous improvement practices for achieving significant improvements in their business and production performance. (The package has now been selected for implementation in 10,000 enterprises in Mexico.)

The key figures in the PHAROS & Produce-it Plus / UK Benchmarking Index / Microscope/PROBE partnership will meet in the UK to discuss the proposal in April, 2003.
  Gerardo Patacconi, Tel: +43 1 26026 / 3605, E-mail: G.Patacconi@unido.org
 

UNIDO & World Summit on Information Society

UNIDO Director- General Carlos Magariños is one of 16 executive heads of specialised agencies and UN Organizations (FAO, IAEA, ICAO, ILO, IMO, ITU, UNCTAD, UNDP, UNEP, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UPU, WHO, WIPO, WMO (see UN System map)) working together on the High-Level Summit Organizing Committee (HLSOC) of the World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS). WSIS is seen as a unique opportunity for all key stakeholders to assemble at a high-level gathering and to develop a better understanding of the revolution that has given birth to the term "Information Society", and its impact on the international community.

Established under the patronage of Kofi Annan, UN Secretary-General and Chairman of the United Nations System Chief Executive Board for Coordination (CEB formally ACC), the HLSOC, includes, in addition to the UN executive heads, a representative of the Secretary-General, the Director General of WTO, the Executive Director of UNITAR, the Executive Secretaries of the UN Regional Economic Commissions and the President of the World Bank. The Chairman of the HLSOC is Secretary-General of the International Telecommunication Union (ITU), Yoshio Utsumi. ITU has the lead role in preparations for WSIS. HLSOC will coordinate the efforts of the international United Nations family in the preparation, organization and holding of WSIS. All the members of the HLSOC have engaged to provide specific information about their work that will help develop the Summit themes. The HLSOC reports directly to the CEB and oversees the work of the Executive Secretariat. In addition to the Executive Heads of United Nations agencies, WSIS will bring together Heads of State, industry leaders, non-governmental organizations, media representatives and civil society.

The first phase of the World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS), will be hosted by the Government of Switzerland, in Geneva, from 10 to 12 December 2003. It will address the broad range of themes concerning the Information Society and adopt a Declaration of Principles and plan of action, addressing the whole range of issues related to the Information Society.

The second phase of the World Summit will take place in Tunis hosted by the Government of Tunisia, in 2005. Development themes will be a key focus in this phase, and it will assess progress that has been made and adopt any further plan of action to be taken.

Preparations for WSIS include two "PrepComs" in Geneva: PrepCom-1, 1-5 July 2002; and PrepCom-2, 17 to 28 February 2003. Regional  conferences have taken place for Africa, Europe, Asia, Latin America and Caribbean, and Western Asia. The League of Arab States Regional Conference will take place in Cairo in June 2003. Sub-regional conferences have also taken place in Bishkek (Kyrgizstan), and Moscow.
 

go to the summit site

UNIDO's mission for WSIS is to draw attention to the needs of a part of the information society, i.e. small and medium-sized enterprises or SMEs, whose growth may determine the success of efforts to support other parts of that society. In developing countries, SMEs are the major source of income, a breeding ground for entrepreneurs and a provider of employment. In order for SMEs to prosper, grow and be competitive, they require a supportive environment that provides easy unencumbered access to capital, information, technology, knowledge and skills. The adoption and adaptation of information and communication technologies (ICTs) can have a profound effect on the delivery of these resources.

A large area of the work of UNIDO is devoted to removing the many constraints that SMEs face in developing countries and particularly in the least-developed countries. In this respect, UNIDO has a number of programmes and initiatives underway that directly or indirectly are concerned with the use and diffusion of ICTs for development. These are typically in the area of providing support to the growth and competitiveness of SMEs in the emerging global economy. Examples are: clustering or networking of SMEs; provision of business support services (see story this issue); building up national capacities to meet the information and support service needs of SMEs in a sustainable way; linking SMEs into e-business relationships in national and global supply chains, including the provision of necessary e-services for e-security and e-trust; building up national SME support services, such as investment promotion services (see story this issue); promoting the use of ICT in SMEs; and training in the use of ICTs for business. With particular reference to international supply chains, the needs of transnational corporations (TNCs) need to be taken into account. TNCs now select their suppliers not only according to price and quality but also include social and environmental criteria in their supply chain standards or codes of conduct. The challenge is to improve social and environmental performance of suppliers in developing countries without increasing their costs.

UNIDO's focus is thus on building up local capacities of industry to identify, adopt and use applications of ICT to make their work more effective and efficient. As important, is the recognition that the benefit of ICT is really the benefit of the information or knowledge (i.e. content) that is made available via ICT. In other words, development outcomes will be more determined by knowledge and learning capacity than by investment in physical capital alone.
  Paul Makin, Tel: +43 1 26026 / 3246, E-mail:  P.Makin@unido.org

ITPO Paris introduces delegates to ADECI

Marseilles, France, 12 - 13 December, 2002

ADECI meets delegates from eight developing countries

ADECI, the French association for international industrial cooperation development based in Marseille, welcomed a delegation from the UNIDO ITPO in France on 12 and 13 December 2002. ADECI is a non profit association of more than 200 industrial corporations, operating at grass-root level to encourage and forge industrial corporate partnerships, usually with Africa and the Mediterranean. It works together with the Provence-Alps-Riviera Regional Council, the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs,  Bouches-du-Rhône County Council, the Corporate Development Center (CDC) in Brussels (for support within the scope of the Cotonou Agreement linking ACP countries (Africa, Caribbean, Pacific) with the European Union). ADECI has been one of UNIDO's regional representatives in France since 1982.

The delegation, which was headed by ITPO Paris Head, Gérard Gaveau, was composed of delegates from eight developing countries: Brazil, China, Colombia, Ghana, Mali, Mexico, Uganda and Senegal. Fifteen selected regional enterprises benefited from individual meetings with the UNIDO delegates. In all, 60 meetings took place to examine the prospects of working together on industrial projects in the future.
UNIDO Vienna: Patrick Gilabert, E-mail: P.Gilabert@unido.org, ITPO Paris: Gérard Gaveau, E-mail: itpo.paris@unido.org

Upgrading the Indian Machine Tool Industry

Pune, Bangalore, Gurgaon, India, January, 2003

Additional Secretary and Development Commissioner, Chandra (centre) at the Bangalore workshop

A series of workshops at Pune, Bangalore and Gurgaon, India, on 6th, 8th and 9th January, 2003 respectively brought the latest developments in the machine tool sector, covering design, machining features, hydraulics, controls, accessories etc. back to local producers from the International Manufacturing Technology Show (IMTS) held in Chicago in September 2002. The report on Technology Trends made available at the workshop in print and electronic format, detailed the commercial availability of high speed machining and production systems. The documenting of global trends in machine tool technology is an important part of UNIDO' National Programme for Development of Machine Tool Industry

The Bangalore workshop, which was attended by over 60 machine tool manufacturers, was inaugurated by Additional Secretary and Development Commissioner (Small Scale Industries) and Chairman, Steering Committee of NPDMI, Suresh Chandra. Secretary Chandra expressed his appreciation for the technology mapping done for machine tool industry under the Programme and reiterated the need for disseminating information on emerging technologies in the machine tool sector at places like Rajkot (Gujrat), Ludhiana (Punjab). Mr. Chandra emphasized the need to develop an action plan for the upgradating of machine tool units in India, particularly in the small scale sector, based on the gaps identified in the report.

The presentation by the experts at the workshop included an overview of emerging trends in: the use of higher cutting speeds; faster material removal; machined surface finish; closer grinding finish; techniques for reducing machine down time, covering tool change and job change; and hydrostatic guide ways for production reliability and accuracy etc.  The presentation also covered the advances in laser machining, water jet machining, metal forming and abrasive machining. Participants learned that the use of linear drives, solid carbides, and ball screw have helped the machine tool manufacturers in developed countries improve the productivity and reliability of their machines.
  Vladimir Kozharnovich, Tel: +43-1-26026/3720,  E-Mail: V.Kozharnovich@unido.org

COMING SOON

BUSINESS FORUM: Building Bridges Between Austria and Ethiopia / Tanzania: Austrian Federal Economic Chamber Conference Room 7 Wiedner Hauptstrasse 63 A-1045 Vienna, Austria, 26-27 February 2003. The Business Forum is the culmination of stage I of an initiative launchedby the Austrian Ministry of Foreign Affairs in cooperation with the Austrian Federal Economic Chamber and UNIDO, to assist Austrian companies in reaching out for business opportunities in Ethiopia and Tanzania.  The programme is designed to take advantage of ongoing UNIDO activities in the two target countries by providing tailored assistance to companies interested in pursuing business opportunities there.  .... more about the forum - including online registration.

International Workshop: Regional Initiative on Rehabilitation of Industrial Enterprises in Afghanistan, to be held in Tehran, Iran, 3 - 4 March, 2003 The substantive sessions of the workshop will focus on: the current status and prospects for Afghanistan's light and heavy industry; the identification of opportunities for regional cooperation for Afghanistan's industrial rehabilitation. This session will conclude with sectoral deliberations in parallel sessions focusing for the identification of concrete business opportunities. The concluding session will contain a presentation by UNIDO of a set of techno-economic assessments of selected companies, requiring regional and international cooperation in the fields of textile and garments, food processing industries and, construction and low cost building materials. Finally, the workshop will close with a plenary on the requisite follow-up activities to facilitate the formulation and implementation of joint ventures and collaborative arrangements. The workshop will be attended by high-level officials, including line Ministers and top executives from the business community, and presidents of the national chambers of commerce and industry from the three participating countries: Afghanistan, Iran and Pakistan.

NEPAD / ECOWAS / UNIDO Business Forum, Abuja, Nigeria, 3 - 5 March, 2003: The forum is being held in recognition of the fact that ultimately, the success of NEPAD will depend on the extent to which the private sector and the broader masses of Africans take ownership of it, and are mobilized, in partnership with the public sector, to implement its strategy. The forum, organized by the African Business RoundTable (ABR), UNIDO and the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) in cooperation with the NEPAD Office in Nigeria and the High Commission of the UK in NIgeria, will be one step towards the involvement of African civil society groups and entrepreneurs in the NEPAD process.

BAMTECH 2003: Srimanta Sankardeva Kalakshetra & The Assam Administrative Staff College, Guwahati, Assam, INDIA, 11 - 13 March 2003. The North Eastern region of India is a locale where bamboo has its "roots" and "shoots" both literally and metaphorically. People there have used it from time immemorial. But as often happens with things that are part of everyday life, bamboo has been taken for granted and its full potential has never been realized.

BAMTECH 2003 has four main themes: Raw material supply and plantations (diminishing forests, management of bamboo resources, research and development needs); Processing technologies (equipment and machinery; adaptation to Indian species and needs); Bamboo products and production management (potential markets and price ranges); Bamboo Housing Technologies for earthquake prone, rural and hilly Areas (Disaster Management). more

The 2003 Technology Foresight Summit: Budapest, Hungary, 27 - 29 March, 2003. The Summit will be divided into four components: Technology Foresight panels, Biotechnology prospective forum, Fair of the Future and the Ministerial round table.

The Technology Foresight panels represent the thematic core of the annual Summit. The first plenary session will focus on Technology Foresight as a tool for creating knowledge-based society and enhancing innovation and introduces the foresight exercise as a tool for decision-making and consensus building in general and its role in countries in transition in particular. The thematic panels will focus on sectoral discussion on the challenges envisaged in the next twenty years in CEE and NIS.

Send your comments to the editor: K.Timmins@unido.org