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The Wine Association's Cluster Success!

The success story of business collaboration via the Internet

By Emma Kae - 15th January 2002 - Back to News

The Wine Association is a network of Gippsland wineries that have come together to form a collective group. One of the objectives of the Wine Association has been to create an online cluster – a group of interconnected websites that promote the Gippsland wine region to a global audience.

The cluster project originated as a Government initiative that aims to encourage local businesses (sectioned by industry) to work together and apply the Internet and information technologies to benefit their business. The previously established Wine Association was invited to participate in the project and form one of the online clusters in the region. Other clusters include the East Gippsland Department of General Practitioners and the East Gippsland Jobs Portal.

Initially, the members of the cluster set several goals for the project. These aims include the ability to collaboratively market and sell their wines on line, to display a directory with profiles of its members and transform the information dissemination of the Wine Association from paper to electronic format.

An online wine catalogue and store website was created to represent the cluster (www.wine.gippslander.com). The website features winery information, online shopping for a great range of products, a virtual tour of the wineries, a listing of coming events and tourism information. With recent sales that have taken place through the website, the first two goals of the cluster project have proven to be successful.

The creation of the cluster project has resulted in many benefits for the Wine Association and those involved in the project. The website allows for the possibility of marketing to a global market and increases the number of potential sales. The quality of communication between members of the Wine Association has improved with the formation of valuable contacts, friendships and increased corporate culture.

The growing success of the cluster project is very encouraging as it indicates possibilities of what similar groups may achieve with this type of project. It is very exciting to see what Gippsland businesses have to offer with the aid of new technologies, such as the Internet.

Click here to visit the Wine Association's website.

Source: http://gippsland.com/

Published by: support@gippslander.com