Product details

This case is part of the Trade and Industry Department SME case series funded by the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Trade and Industry Department SME Development Fund. In early 2000, Info Mapping (Hong Kong) Limited, a Hong Kong-based technology SME (small and medium enterprise) with an interest in developing logistics applications for local businesses, spotted a growing demand among Hong Kong companies for an efficient job allocation and job status reporting system for their outdoor workers. It proceeded to design and develop an innovative software application called DispatchPro System, whereby employers could schedule jobs to employees, and employees could remotely access such work schedules on a real-time basis. However, Info Mapping needed an IT infrastructure that covered the major areas of Hong Kong to leverage the full benefits of the application. The company simply did not have the resources to build such a vast and complicated infrastructure itself. How could it solve this problem and tap the potential market ahead of other companies? The infrastructure that Info Mapping eventually chose to deliver DispatchPro was the sprawling network of easy-to-use IT kiosks established by ESD Services Limited (also called ESDlife) under the auspices of the Hong Kong government. But was it the best choice? Why? This case can serve as a best-practice example of an SME managing and furthering business growth through leveraging government-initiated IT infrastructure.