Executive summary
During 2001, the market for business applications was characterized by restraint. Many companies postponed investments, while others invested at lower levels. Despite this, we increased the Group’s net sales by 34%, mainly via organic growth. We
developed a new version of our business applications, IFS Applications 2002, and implemented an action plan that strengthened management, the board, financing, profitability and cash flow. Three new members were elected to the board at the beginning of the year, among them Gustaf Douglas, who
was elected chairman. Most of the goals set up by the board
a year ago have been met. Cost levels were cut in an amount of SEK 340 million, which means that we approached business year 2002 with lower fixed costs than prior years. In relation to three share issues during the year, IFS has acquired an interesting
ownership structure. Gustaf Douglas, via associated companies, has increased his ownership and
ABB New Venture Capital Ltd. became a new owner.
We have appointed a new chief financial officer, as well as vice presidents for marketing, information and global coordination. We have also focused our operations on IFS Applications by divesting activities unrelated to our own product. Moreover, we have
concentrated operational responsibility in three geographical divisions. Several new partners have been added during the year,
and we have started joint venture companies in the
People’s Republic of China and Russia. To strengthen collaboration
with our global partners, we appointed an organizational unit to work with training, marketing activities and the establishment of centers of excellence. Development trends for business applications continue to move toward broad solutions, with a focus on support for business processes that transcend company boundaries.
Key issues include the ability to manage customer and supplier relationships as well as information and material flows along the supply chain from a company’s suppliers to the final customer. IFS Applications is based on a platform of well-defined components. This means we can offer our customers powerful solutions for specific needs, while providing them with the flexibility to easily add components and change the solution
as their business develops. IFS Applications offers a number of benefits: faster payback thanks to step-by-step implementation in smaller
sub-projects; cost-efficient Internet-based e-learning; easy integration with other systems via XML and web services. Moreover, information can be reused during the entire life cycle. The applications also include comprehensive
industry-specific solutions with support for customer relationship management (CRM) and supply chain management (SCM). Portal technology enables customers, partners and suppliers to collaborate more easily.
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