A few years ago, IBM invented a concept called "e-business". Since then, they have been playing a leading role in this service area which also includes hard- and software solutions. The latest development arises out of e-Business and is called "e-business on demand" which covers dedicated solutions for different markets and industries.

Our definition of "retail on demand":

"retail on demand" is a special kind of "e-business on demand". It covers the aimed needs of retail business at every time, everywhere and on all channels and levels whereby the costs stay limited to the really used performance.

It was our challenge to create two questionnaires, one for the business part and one for the IT-infrastructure part. We also interviewed CIO's and CFO's of several large Swiss companies to identify their level of readiness for "retail on demand".

The interviews showed that on one hand some companies are very inventive and open-minded and on the other hand, some others are rather conservative and restrained. Nevertheless, all interviewed companies currently call a very efficient IT-infrastructure their own. Furthermore, the Swiss retail business undergoes a constant consolidation process and will have to rely more on electronic data interchange with their suppliers (CPG) in the near future than ever in the past.

The answer to the question: Are the leading retailers in the Swiss market prepared for "retail on demand"? Is a clear "Yes, they are"! Nearby all of the interviewed companies could imagine outsourcing their business processes which do not belong to their core competences. But due to the fact that most of the interviewed companies have already outsourced their IT-operations to concentrate and focus more on their key competencies, it will be a real challenge for IBM to step into this kind of upcoming market.