Ecommerce Awards
2004Winners
MICHAEL O'BRIEN ANNOUNCES NATIONAL WINNER OF E-COMMERCE AWARDS 2004
Trade Appliances wins £40,000 in DTI backed Awards
7th October 2004:
Nottingham based online appliance retailer, Trade Appliances,
has been named the national winner of the sixth anniversary DTI / InterForum E-Commerce Awards 2004, sponsored by The Royal Bank of Scotland Group, for the innovative way in which it has applied technology to advance its electronic trading and supply chain efficiency, and transformed the efficiency, effectiveness and overall performance of its business.
Trade Appliances ( (External)
www.trade-appliances.co.uk
), whose use of e-commerce technologies has enabled it to transform itself from a traditional retail and supply chain business, also won the East Midlands regional and national e-trading category and beat an incredible 74 other small and medium sized organisations from across the UK at the final of the National E-Commerce Awards 2004 to win the grand cash prize of £30,000.
Mike O'Brien, Minister of State for Energy, and E-Commerce presented Darren Pepper, Managing Director of Trade Appliances,
with the cheque at an awards ceremony held at The Grosvenor House Hotel in London on 6 October 2004 , also attended by the national E-Commerce Awards sponsors The Royal Bank of Scotland Group.
Mike O'Brien commented, "The E-Commerce Awards reflect that the UK has developed one of the most innovative and exciting e-commerce environments in the world.
"We must continue improving the way technology is used to maintain and increase this competitiveness. The DTI is supporting this by ensuring that advice and resources are available for businesses, and that they have the right skills to implement developing technologies.
" Britain can be proud of today's winners. They are showcasing best practice e-business. By sharing this best practice, they are encouraging other organisations to really exploit the benefits that technology offers, increasing their efficiency, productivity and profitability, and, ultimately contributing towards a stronger economy."
As well as five national category winners, three new national innovation category winners were selected from a total 75 E-Commerce Awards finalists. Having all received £2,000 at the regional heats, the national winners won a further £8,000 at the national final. The 2004 national category winners are:
E-Business Start-Ups:
(External)
Auto E- bid
(London)
E-Trading:
(External)
Trade Appliances
(East Midlands)
E-Business:
(External)
Beetroot Blue
(Scotland)
Best Use of Broadband Communications:
(External)
Ihotdesk
(London)
Best Use of Teleworking:
(External)
Martek Marine
(Yorkshire & The Humber)
Following on from the successful introduction of new innovation categories in 2003, the 2004 Awards have continued to reward UK SME's for their maturing application of e-technology in three national innovation categories, winners of which are judged and awarded £8,000 at a national level.
Best Use of Mobile & Wireless Technologies: Piranel Ltd /
(External)
Stretton Hall Hotel
Advanced Supply Chain Integration:
(External)
Thomsons Online Benefits
Best Rural E-Business:
(External)
Silly Jokes
Trade Applicances was awarded the overall title of National E-Commerce Awards winner 2004 for its implementation and use of e-trading and supply-chain technology, enabling the company to grow and manage its business, doubling turnover in the last 12 months, with 80% of their sales coming from the web. Technology also has been instrumental in helping Trade Appliances to overcome a fire in their head office and warehouse to achieve their best-ever sales the following month.
Phil Flaxton, Chief Executive of InterForum, said ""Since the Awards inception in 1999, we have seen entrants' steadily increasing maturity and innovative use of technology, endorsing clearly how technology is all about integration, transformation and enhanced business processes. In 2004, the Awards entrants demonstrate how the clever and considered application of technology represents a complete reassessment and shift in the way that business is done, and at its most successful, forms a core part of a fully integrated competitive strategy for business growth."
"Our congratulations go to all winners, and in particular to Trade Appliances, who has demonstrated just how an innovative use of technology can help to completely transform a business."
Dr. Andy Ross, Director of E-Commerce and Internet at The Royal Bank of Scotland Group, said: "This is the sixth year that the Royal Bank of Scotland Group has sponsored these awards and it's a delight to see just how far e-commerce has become an integral part of our business. The benefits of e-commerce aren't just restricted to big businesses with three quarters of e-commerce businesses having less than 10 employees. What is very clear is that e-commerce allows all businesses to compete on a level playing field and these awards are about showcasing the best of them."
The E-Commerce Awards are open to any organisation with less then 250 employees and recognise and reward innovation in the application of Internet and information and communication technologies to transform small and medium sized businesses in the UK .
Further information about this year's Awards and details on how to pre-register or nominate a company free of charge for next year can be found on the dedicated web site
www.ecommerce-awards.co.uk
.
Notes to Editors:
1)
Achieving best practice in your business is a key theme within DTI's business support solutions, providing ideas and insights into how you can improve performance across your business. By showing what works in other businesses, we can help you see what can work for you, and then support you in implementation. These services can be accessed either through a comprehensive web site
(External)
www.dti.gov.uk/bestpractice
or through Business Link on 0845 600 9006.
For further press information about DTI's Achieving best practice in your business, please contact:
Antonia Germanos or Victoria Harris:
Tel: 020 7072 4135 or 020 7072 4109
Email:
agermanos@gciuk.com
or
vharris@gciuk.com
or
bestpractice@gciuk.com
2) (External)
www.interforum.org
is a not-for-profit organisation that helps British companies to conduct their business electronically. All of InterForum's activities are governed by the need to raise awareness of the many business opportunities and challenges presented by new Internet, information and communications technologies. InterForum works to ensure that education, legislation and technology are in place to help British businesses to profit from the digital economy. For further information on InterForum please visit its website (External)
http://www.interforum.org
For further information on InterForum, please contact:
Jo Timmins / Katie Morrison / Shivonne Edwards
The itpr Partnership
Tel. +44 (0)1932 57 88 00; Email: katiem@itpr.co.uk
© 2005 Interforum
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