Background
Electronic commerce (EC) has been a hot topic for years.  In view of its fast development, a group of industry players are interested in exploring how EC plays a role in business in the era of supply chain management (SCM).  Thus in 1998, an advisory board named Hong Kong Electronic Commerce Advisory Board was set up to spearhead and monitor the development of EC in Hong Kong.

Mission
The board is to oversee the direction in promotion and education of EC in the context of SCM to the business community, help establish an EC infrastructure in Hong Kong and provide standard-based implementation service.

Interest Area
EC is generally defined as the application of information technology to increase the effectiveness of the business processes between trading partners.  The board focuses on global standards and technologies of certain 'business-to-business' EC applications, including Automatic Identification and Data Capture technologies encompassing barcode and radio frequency, Electronic Communications technologies encompassing EDI and XML, and Data Synchronization.

Board Structure
The board accommodates a maximum of 24 board members who come from various industries.  Board meetings are held regularly to share views and latest development in EC.  Under the auspices of the board, standing committees and task forces may be set up whenever needed to carry out related activities on on-going basis or project basis respectively.  These committees and task forces meet as needed.

Strategies

1. Advise Government on EC direction for Hong Kong;
2. Facilitate and work with mainland in EC implementation to improve 'cross-border' supply chain efficiency;
3. Support development of EC applications in the local EC solutions providers community for both domestic & international trade;
4. Enforce adoption of international communications standards to facilitate local & international trade and ensure interoperability of applications;
5. Provide direction on GS1 Hong Kong's EC infrastructure and services to support business implementation of EC in Hong Kong including but not limited to Web/VAN EZ*TRADE, Electronic Data Synchronization, etc.;
6. Provide direction on GS1 Hong Kong's EC promotion and education programme; and
7. Establish measurement criteria for EC penetration in Hong Kong.

Your Participation
You are most welcome to join us in our standing committees or task forces.  The membership of which is open to all industry practitioners.  Board membership is generally offered upon board's invitation only.  However, if you want to play a more active role related to the direction of the board and EC movement with the captioned interest area, you may also write to the board to seek its approval on board membership.