Background on the Business: A Globalization Success Story

The Schiavello Group was founded in 1966 by brothers Tony and Joe Schiavello. Today, the family owned company is ranked among the top 500 private companies in Australia, and with over 1100 employees, is renowned for its innovative designs and manufacturing excellence. Schiavello manages 87,000 sqm of facilities including factories, showrooms, corporate headquarters and sales offices. Headquartered in Melbourne, with factories in Melbourne (principal), Sydney and Brisbane (support), Schiavello has distribution outlets in Singapore, USA and Japan, with representatives in New Zealand, Hong Kong, South Africa and Dubai. Over its life, Schiavello has forged strong business relationships, establishing a growing, global presence. With clients ranging from NTT (Japan), Hewlett-Packard, the World Bank, and Microsoft, the company continues to focus on an integrated global strategy, also capturing a significant market share in Australia for office furniture.

Tony Schiavello Inducted Into Manufacturing Hall of Fame

In 2005, Tony Schiavello was inducted into the Victorian Manufacturing Hall of Fame. This award, presented by Victoria's Manufacturing and Export Minister, Andre Haermeyer, recognizes Tony's significant achievements and high standing amongst his peers and in the local and international marketplaces." I am honored and humble to be inducted into the Manufacturing Hall of Fame Honor Roll," said Tony in his acceptance speech. "Together we built an Australian company to lead in our industry and to compete against the world's best - not only at home, but abroad." Mr Haermeyer said the individuals and companies being honored by the Victorian Hall of Fame had all made outstanding and sustained contributions to the sector and all represented great role models.

Schiavelloshop.com powered by Electron^®

In celebrating its 40th anniversary this year, Schiavello has developed an eCommerce strategy as part of its long term vision. The main objective of the project is to broaden the market segments in which Schiavello compete by gaining a foothold in the home office/small business segment of the market and to provide a convenient means for existing customers to deal with the company online. Specifically, Schiavello set out to achieve the following objectives as part of the overall eCommerce strategy:

Business-to-Business (B2B): To provide the ability to provide existing national and international clients with an eCommerce solution to order standard products, ensuring that each client has their own product range and price list.

Business-to-Consumer (B2C): To become involved in the home office/small office market. This end of the market will be addressed with the creation of a new company, Officette.com Pty Ltd to ensure that the Schiavello branding is unaffected. Whilst quality low-cost products will be offered through this company, they will not necessarily be Schiavello-produced products.

To compete effectively in the home office/small business market, Schiavello recognized the need for low cost entry and minimal overheads due to price sensitivity. Electron^® Global eCommerce Solutions with iP3 Systems^TM were selected as the perfect solution for this.
The strategy is powered by Electron^®; a state of the art supply chain solution, delivering a trading platform, offering open connectivity between Schiavello and its trading partners; customers and suppliers. It is anticipated that the strategy will deliver substantial benefits to all involved.

Electron^® offers unique features such as buyer and supplier enablement whereby all of Schiavello's trading partners will benefit from trading electronically with Schiavello without the need to invest in infrastructure or additional systems. Schiavello's strategy will empower the operations of the group around the world and will support its continued growth during the new economy; the World without boundaries!

Electron^® opens up Schiavello's virtual showrooms where everybody can trade electronically with Schiavello. Whether you are a one-off buyer browsing the products in Schiavello's Electron^® over the internet, or have a long standing trading relationship with Schiavello as a buyer or supplier, you will benefit from an organization which has always endeavored to look after its trading partners.

Visit www.schiavelloshop.com today and enjoy a unique experience of buying from one of the world's finest brands. Schiavelloshop is open 24x7, all year round.

iP³ Systems' Commitment to Schiavello

iP³'s commitment was to get www.schiavelloshop.com up and running with minimal effort from their side, and providing all required support. Schiavello has benefited by now allowing them to be visible from end consumers who can shop from home, as well as using B2B for their current commercial product range. Expected sales targets sought by Schiavello are $10-20 million for B2C, and improved customer service with use of B2B.