The extent of integration of Internet applications with internal databases or ERP systems is as 

low in Germany (55.2% reporting  little to no integration ) as in the global sample (52.5%) 

(Table 17). The same low extent of integration can be observed in the area of electronic 

integration of customers and suppliers, where 72.2% of the German sample reported little to no 

integration on par with 72.1% of the global sample. Regarding the percentage of firms reporting 

a great deal of back end integration, more German firms are able to benefit from it. Fully 26.9% 

(Germany) compared to 23.9% of the global sample estimate that they actively use such 

integration solutions, while the percentage with only some integration is below the global 

sample. Most German firms seem to wait until they can benefit from Internet application 

integration, but they integrate completely if they see any advantage in doing so.

The electronic integration of customers and suppliers follows similar rules:  do it or forget it,  

especially in the retail/wholesale sector. Nearly double the percentage of German firms as in the 

global sample, i.e. 17.1% in comparison to 9.6%, respectively, have integrated their business 

partners electronically.

Nevertheless, at the industry level different degrees of implementation are observable. In the 

banking/insurance industry, only 23.1% of German firms have achieved a great deal of back end 

integration, compared to 40% of the firms in the global sample. This may be explained by the 

prevailing concerns about security issues accompanying the integration of open networks with 

their back end systems, but it may also be an expression of the current economic slowdown in 

this sector. Most network effects benefits occur on the customer side while, conversely, banks 

are not able to reduce costs by using Internet technology.

TABLE 17 Enterprise Application Strategy 

Banking/ 

Manufacturing

a

Wholesale/Retail 

Distribution

a

Insurance

a

Total

a

Extent to which Internet 

applications are electronically 

integrated with... 

GER 

Global

b

GER 

Global

b

GER 

Global

b

GER 

Global

b

Internal databases and 

information systems: 

Percent little to none 

65.1 

60.6 

53.5 

49.8 

45.6 

39.4 

55.2 

52.5 

Percent some 

16.4 

23.8 

16.0 

23.9 

31.3 

20.6 

17.3 

23.6 

Percent a great deal 

15.5 

15.6 

30.5 

26.3 

23.1 

40.0 

26.9 

23.9 

Those of suppliers and 

business customers: 

Percent little to none 

82.9 

72.6 

68.7 

72.6 

78.1 

66.2 

72.2 

72.1 

Percent some 

16.6 

19.1 

8.8 

18.2 

13.4 

15.8 

10.7 

18.3 

Percent a great deal 

0.4 

8.3 

22.4 

9.1 

8.5 

17.9 

17.1 

9.6 

Notes:

a

Responses were weighted based on the total number of establishments by employee size within the sector for each 

country.  

 b 

Consists of weighted survey responses in 10 countries combined: United States, Mexico, Brazil, Germany, France, 

Denmark, Singapore, Taiwan, China and Japan.   

Source:  CRITO Global E Commerce Survey, 2002 

Very heterogeneous responses are also observable when asked about the extent of customer and 

supplier integration. The retail/wholesale industry is most advanced in its front end integration of 

Internet applications, with 22.4% of firms reporting a great deal of integration, compared to only 

9.1% in the global sample. Although the retail/wholesale industry has made great efforts to 

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