Building Information Capabilities and Websales at Siam City Cement

Abstract

In 1998, Holcim, the world's second largest cement producer, acquired Siam City Cement, Thailand's second largest cement producer. The new management team focused on improving the company's performance to sell more cement in the mature Thai market. The case focuses on how Siam City Cement quickly developed its IT infrastructure and introduced inside of 24 months an Enterprise Resource Planning system, Customer Relationship Management tools and webSALES, an online distribution channel. The case raises the question of what else Siam City Cement needs to do beyond IT measures to achieve the full value of the significant IT investment. It also highlights the challenge of how to motivate management and employees to use information more effectively to improve customer services and to increase market share and profitability.