E-service Safe Mining : A competitive analysis for Zert AB

Abstract: The public sector in Sweden is in the process of becoming more efficient, standardized, and to increase the service towards the citizens and organizations. One of the focus areas is implementation of e-services, which would make information more easily to access as well as save resources and stimulate growth. Starting new mining operations is challenging due to several factors. For the international investors a big problem is the language barriers and cultural differences. One of the common problems is the understanding of the Swedish legislation around safety and working environment. Finding information about the regulations is troublesome, since the system is very bureaucratic and there are several different authorities involved. Zert AB is developing an e-service for the mining industry through a Vinnova research project. It aims to simplify the administration of building new mines, by connecting different authorities in a common service interface. This interface will also be adapted for being used by people from different cultures and languages, and making information and regulations easier to access. One ambition with the project is to develop the e-service in a way that it later on can be implemented in other industries and projects as well The purpose of this study was to help Zert AB to identify and define different kind of competition that this e-service is facing. A sub purpose was to define the customer and the customer value. Based on the findings we were also going to give some recommendation for future research. To analyze the competition Porter’s five forces framework was used as a theoretical framework, and we used an iterative approach to the subject. A qualitative study was done, where interviews were conducted to gather the empirical data. Some secondary sources were also used to describe the current situation of public e-services in Sweden. Two main customer groups were found; mining companies and authorities. The biggest source of competition was that the customers can do the work manually by for example calling the authorities, using search engines such as Google and subscribing to different newsletters. There seemed to be a general agreement that the e-service that Zert is developing is relevant. The only question mark was how much the e-service would cost, and if the added value it would give would be worth the investment. In the end some recommendations for future areas research were given, based on the findings of the study.