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Partner with new online or existing intermediary or retailer strategy. 3M has integrated its product cata‑

logue with online office retailers such as Euroffice (www.euroffice.co.uk). If a customer is on the 3M site 

and reviewing a product, when they select the ‘Where to Buy’ option they are linked directly to the rel‑

evant page on Euroffice which enables them to buy. Data is exchanged between 3M and Euroffice using 

XML data feeds.

● 

Do nothing! This is not a realistic strategy for any company, but 3M has gradually made the transition to 

digital business over a  ten‑  year period. The strength of existing distribution has meant that 3M had to 

decide when customer usage of the web became such that it needed to offer new online services. This 

point, of course, varies in different markets.

 Buy‑  side

In keeping with its innovative market position, 3M was one of the first organisations to adopt e‑procurement 

on a large scale. Starting in the  mid‑  1990s, 3M used different e‑procurement products to help manage the 

enormous task of integrating the buying of a wide range of products from suppliers in many countries. (This 

gave the typical benefits of e‑procurement we will see in Chapter 7.) 3M used Ariba’s Enterprise Spend 

Management (ESM) solutions for sourcing and procurement across the entire business.

● 

Disintermediation (buy direct, bypassing distributors). 3M has used its sourcing system to buy more services 

direct from suppliers. In keeping with exploring new business models and services enabled through digital 

business, 3M has developed its own HighJump’s  RFID‑  enabled product suite (www.highjumpsoftware.com) 

to help its clients with complex, global supply chains to source, manufacture, develop and distribute prod‑

ucts more readily.

● 

Buy through new intermediaries such as B2B exchanges. 3M was involved in the pilot of the Dell B2B 

marketplace launched in 2000 as a supplier, but it did not prove successful. The use of these marketplaces 

has not become widespread (as we will see in Chapter 7) since using direct e‑procurement with suppliers 

has proved more sustainable.

● 

Do nothing!

3M innovates in the digital marketplace

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