The Hardware Industry Working Group (HIWG) is a community of organisations committed to the development and implementation of industry agreed B2B (business-to-business) E-Commerce guidelines. It is a self-managed and self-funded consortium and includes members from a range of organisations including retailers, distributors, wholesalers and suppliers from the broad hardware industry including the building, electrical, greenlife, plumbing and timber sectors.
Members of the HIWG Steering Group and HIWG Sector Groups (see below) collaborate to develop industry agreed B2B e-commerce guidelines and recommendations, based on global standards wherever possible, in order to maximise value from e-trading. In addition, pilot to production implementation projects are co-ordinated as well as general industry education and awareness.
The HIWG strive for business benefits by delivering guidelines and recommendations that assist businesses in:
- Providing accurate product availability and substitution possibilities
- Increasing productivity through greater supply chain visibility
- Automating mundane processing, matching and reconciliation
- Improving information accuracy and cash flows
- Improving customer service and reducing out-of-stocks
- Improving response to changes in demand by improved forecasting
- Improving order fulfillment rates and expanding product margins
- Reducing inventory in the supply chain and increasing inventory returns
- Reducing capital investment through more efficient production and distribution.
Members of the HIWG Steering Group and Sector Groups recognise that this work is never complete and that they are on a path of learning and understanding, positioning their organisations, and the hardware industry as a whole, for the future.
HIWG Sector Groups
HIWG Sector Groups are set up as required. Each Sector Group comprises of a committed group of members specific to that sector (or region). Each group is self-managed and self-funded and agrees to follow the principles of the HIWG. The elected Chair of each group acts as the sector/regional representative on the HIWG Steering Group.
- HIWG Steering Group (2001 - current)
- BIEG = Building Industry E-Commerce Group (2006 - current)
- EIEG = Electrical Industry E-Commerce Group (2004 - 2006)
- GIEG = Greenlife Industry E-Commerce Group (2002 - July 2007)
- PIECUG = Plumbing Industry E-Commerce Users Group (2002 - 2006)
- TIEG = Timber Industry E-Commerce Group (2002 - current)
- NZRSG = New Zealand Regional Sector Group (2006 - September 2008)