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Assignment Brief
Case Study: Craven Books
Craven Books (CB) is a comic magazine seller in Utah City, USA, with a 40-years life spam competing with mega sellers such as Dreamland Comics, Forbidden Planet, and Metropolis Comics. The company extended their market along North America and Mexico and plans to build-up a digital presence to approach the European market through multi-interface e-commerce and social media groups in order to promote their products to the new markets.
This growth strategy has led to an accelerating volume of sales. Accordingly, the company had to process customer orders in batches and recruit qualified store manager and IT specialist to develop a digital strategy consistent with their business strategy.
Once he was appointed, the IT manager outsourced the digital strategy to an independent IT consultant who decided to set-up two technological tools for the internal and external processes. Internally, a weighing machine was brought to the store to help checking the right order through weight check. An electronic mapping machine was also attached to this weighing machine in the store area to link the customers’ order from the digital interface with the store management and help locate the relevant items. Externally, the IT consultant has developed a CRM[1] cloud-based interface to help both customer and employees conduct transactions and electronic payment online.
Within a year of outsourcing the digital strategy, CB has failed and lost 90% of their customers in addition to making 60% of their staff redundant. Clearly, there was a misalignment between the business strategy and the IT strategy.
Peter Craven, the owner of this company, needs your help as a professional information management consultant. He wants to define the areas of misalignments and explore different possibilities of developing a more relevant IT portfolio. These possibilities might include CRM, ERP, and Open Source Software to save the business and fix the fragmentation in his business processes. Therefore, you are required to submit a professional report that can be read and understood by Peter Craven and his fellow team.
Your Task
You are an OIM consultant who has been employed to advise Craven Books on the effective implementation of these strategic changes. You are required to produce the following:
Part A: Analysis – Business Process Models and strategy analysis
In this section you should develop
- A series of Business Process Models, which capture the existing and proposed business processes. The models should follow the BPMN notation shown in the lecture slides. You can use Microsoft Visio to create the models although you may if you prefer use Word, PowerPoint or appropriate alternatives.
- Strategic analysis for Craven Books: You should use a recognised analysis technique such as SWOT, PESTLE etc
Part B: Open Source Software Comparison Table
In this section you should conduct research into a suitable software solution for Craven Books. You should decide on the set of characteristics which you will use to evaluate the software and your research should consider 4-5 alternatives in detail. This section should be presented as a table.
Part C: Report
In this section you should write a report which provides an overview of the current situation together with a roadmap outlining how the proposed changes to the business can be achieved to the benefit of the business. This should draw on your analysis in Part A, include your recommendation for software, and provide recommendations for ensuring that the strategy is effectively implemented, including consideration of the challenges ahead.
This section should follow standard report structure:
Title Page – Contents – Introduction - Main Section – Conclusions and Recommendations - References.
Part D: Reflection on your contribution to the online discussion and wiki
In this section you should submit a 250 word reflective summary, accompanied by your own self-assessment of your contribution to the online elements throughout the module, using the table labelled Reflection Self Assessment Proforma in Appendix A (copy and paste it into your assignment document). The reflective report should include your detailed reflection, supported with evidence from the online discussion.
You should use appropriate theories, frameworks, models, that we have covered in the module, to inform and justify your recommendations.
The OnlineCampus module site has been set up with discussion boards (e.g. Units 4, 5, 6) for you to explore the assignment. It is recommended that you use these to:
- Share papers and articles that you have found on relevant topics (remember to include links / reference / pdfs if you do this!)
- Discuss the changes to the ways of working for Craven Books – i.e. discuss what processes will change, and explore how these might work in practice. You might also consider the changing information needs of the business
- Discuss and share examples of Open Source software that could be of use for Craven Books
Please don’t be shy in using the discussion board– the purpose is to give you experience of using collaborative technologies.
[1] CRM: Customer Relationship Management
| Subject | Business | Pages | 12 | Style | APA |
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Answer
Introduction
In today’s day and age information systems and digital strategies are what govern a business’s growth and profitability in any industry. Having a well-developed information technology infrastructure and a solid strategy is vital for a business to maintain competitiveness and easing the entry in new markets. On the other hand, errors in planning and implementation of digital strategies and infrastructures can also lead to severe losses in customers and thus revenue (ArcView, 2009).
But once a downturn has occurred, it is extremely important to immediately identify root causes and re-plan and redesign the system and achieve the desired level of efficiency through thorough testing.
In this paper, a similar scenario is discussed where a magazine selling company Craven Books has encountered serious issues in its business processes and IT strategy and thorough analysis is done in identifying root causes and an alternative way forward is proposed.
Part A
Business Process Models and strategy analysis
Business Process Model Analysis
The Craven books (CB) is a well known comic magazine seller but smaller as compared to mega sellers like Dreamland Comics, Forbidden Planet, and Metropolis Comics. The company has extended their market along North America and Mexico and plans to build-up a digital presence to approach the European market through multi-interface e-commerce and social media groups in order to promote their products to the new markets.
In accordance with their business strategy, the company has developed a digital strategy but the strategy cannot deliver the expected results. Clearly, there are some misalignments in the strategy and before suggesting improvements, it is important to analyze the current digital strategy.
The following figure shows the current business process of the company ( Silver, 2009).
Figure 1- Current BPM
According to the current strategy, two technological tools are deployed for the internal and external processes. Internally, a weighing machine is brought to the store to help checking the right order through weight check. An electronic mapping machine has also been attached to this weighing machine in the store area to link the customers’ order from the digital interface with the store management and help locate the relevant items. Externally, a customer relationship management (CRM) cloud-based interface to help both customer and employees conduct transactions and electronic payment online is deployed.
There are multiple faults in the current business processes and it is also does not meet the company’s business vision.
Misalignments in the Current BPM
The following misalignments and lacking components have been identified in the current business process model.
No Social Aspect
The strategy misaligns with the company’s business strategy in this aspect as there is no social strategy involved in the process. The company wants to increase sales and customer awareness by maintaining a high presence in social media sites like Facebook, twitter and Instagram and drive customers to their sales website, but there is no social media aspect in the current strategy (Sullivan).
Inefficient Hardware Selection
According to the current strategy, the company has deployed an electronic mapping machine and a weighing machine to collect correct items according to the order and ship them, but this causes confusion in the order shipping. This is actually one of the biggest misalignments in the current model because a number of items can have the same weight leading to wrong item placement in the order. This in turn results to wrong shipping of items and customer frustration. Moreover, such hardware is slow and manual so they really slow down the shipping process. This can be the reason as of why the sales have dropped significantly (Becker, 2000).
Redundant Staff
The redundant staff does not harm the sales process directly, but can lead to higher running expanses which results in reduced profits. The redundancy of the staff can be due to the deployment of electronic mapping machines and weighing machines as it eliminates the need to manually check the website for new orders and order management.
Inadequate Customer Support
One of the most important aspects of modern online businesses is customer support and any modern digital strategy is incomplete without a strong and able customer support. The current strategy is severely lacking the customer support element causing the company to lose precious customers to the competition (Becker, 2000).
Proposed Business Process Model
Keeping in mind the current misalignments and lacking components in the current business process model, the following business process model is suggested (Silver, 2009).
Figure 2- Proposed Business Process Model
The main improvements and the processes streamlined are discussed below.
Social Media Process
A new process is included in the overall business process to incorporate the social strategy into the business, which initiates and vigilantly follows the creation of Advertisement campaigns and posting regular content on the company’s social media profiles to keep customers engaged and let them visit the site again and again so as to make them aware of new offers and deals (Sullivan).
Electronic Recourse Planning
The bulky and slow electronic mapping and weighing machines are replaced by efficient electronic resource planning software that tags and organizes the inventory by unique stock keeping units thus eliminating the need to weigh the items to validate their inclusion in a particular order (Ioannis Samoladas).
Redundant Employee Replacement
As it is inevitable that inclusion of automation and technology will render many employees redundant so it is proposed that the redundant employees be assigned customer service role and organize them into a customer service team that is available to the customers 24/7 on phone and on the internet.
Strategic Analysis
CB enjoy the reputation of being a long time market player and has a religious client base, but with the emergence of new market players and changing market dynamics, it is imperative to analyze the strategic position of the company again. A well-known strategic analysis technique is SWOT analysis (DW Pickton, 1998).
Strengths
Craven Books is a well know and established magazine seller with 40 years of experience in the magazine selling market. This means that the company enjoys a large and loyal customer base and their long presence in the market means that people know that they will be getting quality products. So this plays in the company’s advantage and the company can usher into new digital avenues by leveraging this customer loyalty and trust.
Weaknesses
The biggest weakness of the company is the legacy business and business process model that makes the company somewhat less competitive than other bigger sellers, but this can be easily mitigated by leveraging technology.
Opportunities
Hitherto, the company’s main target areas were North America and Mexico, but the next destination for the company should be Europe as there is a huge potential in the European markets. So the company must leverage digital distribution strategies coupled with great marketing and customer support to win this market.
Threats
Other magazine seller that are bigger in terms of company size and capital are the biggest threats to the company as their large capital expenditure (CapEx) allows them to quickly adopt new and efficient technologies.
Part B
Open Source Software Comparison
Keeping in mind the needs of the company, an open source integrated e-commerce platform is proposed. An integrated platform will highly augment the business strategy of the company and save it a handsome amount of capital and workforce. The following excel table shows a comparison of some open source e-commerce platforms which are reviewed in three categories which are relevant to the company’s needs. These are Ease of Use, ERP, CRM integration and Features (Damsg aard, 2010).
Part C
Craven Books Strategy Report
Contents
- Introduction
- Company Objective
- Current Business Strategy
- Lack of IT Experience in Management
- Being Too Consultant Dependent
- Lack of Social Strategy
- Proposed Strategy and Processes
- Vigilant Planning and Quality Resources
- Incorporating the Social
- Achieving Maximum Efficiency by Rigorous Testing
- Redundant Employee Replacement
- Use of Open Source Software
- Recommended Open Source Software
- Conclusions & Recommendations
Introduction
In light of the business and strategy analysis of Craven books it is concluded that the company faces major challenges in its order supply chain and digital strategies and due to which the company is facing serious employee redundancy and precious revenue loss.
This report basing on the findings in the previous discussion, explores further the shortcomings in the business process planning and strategy planning that led to such downturn and suggests suitable measures that can be taken to turn things around.
Company Objective
As mentioned earlier, the Craven books is a notable a comic magazine vender but comparatively smaller regarding piece of the overall industry and capital when contrasted with big dealers like Dreamland Comics, Forbidden Planet, and Metropolis Comics. The organization has expanded their market along North America and Mexico and wants to enter the European market.
To achieve this objective, the company deployed a digital strategy and an order management strategy to enhance the sales in the European markets but the strategy has not performed according to the expectations. In this report various factors that failed the strategy and proposed improvements are discussed.
Current Business Strategy
Currently the company with the help of an outsourced digital strategist has deployed two technological tools for customer relationship management and internal order processing. The CRM is a cloud based solution that is responsible for handling the customer traffic, their orders and secure payments. The internal order processing system consists of a weight measuring instrument and an electronic tagging machine to help the store staff locate the relevant items. Together these systems form the whole distribution system of the company.
The given information suggests that despite deploying the information system the company is losing revenue and customers. Basing on the analysis in the previous section, it is evident that the company management made some errors in planning and managing the system deployment process.
Lack of IT Experience in Management
One of the reasons for the misalignments in the strategy is the inability of the management to determine the business requirements by properly conducting internal and market surveys. Because the company wants to be more competitive immediately, they tried to create a system and use it swiftly without even trying to determine if the project really works (Checkland, 1997) .
The European market is a completely new challenge as compared to their previous expertise as it more advanced with more regulations on sales and distributions process and an overall tech savvy market in general. This lack in planning ability clearly shows that the management is not adept enough in information systems planning and implementation. The company should have hired better information technology resources.
Being Too Consultant dependent
The second reason is that the company relied too much on the consultants and did not try to review or assess the given system to test its efficiency and effectiveness. Buying in a supplier of a ready made system, and trying to get an advice to a consultant is not wrong. However, the mistake of the company is they relied too much with these individual that they did not carefully assess their decision (Becker, 2000).
The company hired an IT manger to deploy the company’s information strategy, but in turn the resource outsources the responsibility to an external consultant. This is the second big mistake the company made. It should not have approved the outsourcing decision instead, the IT manger should have designed the strategy himself-as he is much more aware of the company’s internal and external position- and hired a reputed consultant to vet the design.
Lack of Social Strategy
The company has completely ignored the importance of social media by not considering and designing a social strategy. The consumer of the today world is highly informed and connected and social media platform play a crucial role in generating word of mouth and making a product viral. Big firms are constantly deploying social media campaigns and investing heavily as it is one of the fastest way to grow a brand (Sullivan).
Proposed Strategy and Processes
Keeping in mind the current misalignments and lacking components in the current business process model following improvement are suggested along with replacements of some processes.
Vigilant Planning and Quality Resources
The company must hire quality IT resources that have ample experience in designing and implementing the information and distribution systems and the management must work in collaboration with them in identifying the key areas of need, the key stakeholders, the system design and implementation planning. The company must also consider hiring a BI company in order to gather market insights and competition’s strengths and weaknesses (Checkland, 1997).
Incorporating the Social
Keeping in mind the importance of social media marketing a new process has to be included in the overall business process to incorporate the social strategy into the business, which initiates and vigilantly follows the creation of Ad campaigns and posting regular content on the company’s social media profiles to keep the customers engaged and let them visit the site again and again and also making them aware of new offers and deals.
Achieving Maximum Efficiency by Rigorous Testing
Implementing a great digital strategy and business processes is an iterative process. No organization can boast to have gotten it right the first time. So, in collaboration with the IT strategy designers, implements and the consultants, the management must actively pursue the development and deployment of suitable test benches and key performance indicators and constantly tweak the system to achieve maximum efficiency (Becker, 2000).
Redundant Employee Replacement
As a result of loss in clientele and revenue, 60% of the employees were left redundant. It is inevitable that inclusion of automation and technology will render many more employees redundant so it is proposed that an appropriate number of employees be assigned customer service role and organize them into a customer service team that is available to the customers 24/7 on phone and on the internet while remaining will have to laid off.
Use of Open Source Software
The company should use open source integrated online shop platforms that incorporate all the aspects of deploying and maintain a digital presence in the new market. The benefit of the open source is that, that it saves a lot of cost as compared to buying a paid solution and with so many well developed open source CMS platforms, it is a wise choice to select an open source solution (Ioannis Samoladas).
Recommended open source Software
Magnet is a highly recommended open source software platform for the company.
It is one of the most popular platforms, and they have lots of users constantly designing new plugins and extensions. This also helps to make their platform extremely flexible and infinitely scalable, which is one of the reasons why Magento is often considered by many to be the premier ecommerce platform and is use by the likes of Nike and Samsung.
With so many features and extensions, it is a full-fledged online store management system but it is a relatively difficult platform for new users because so much flexibility and design freedom comes with a price and that price is that, that it takes a developer to leverage its power so it might be that the company has to hire a developer for its development. But once the system is developed, no other system can match the performance of Magneto (Damsg aard, 2010).
Conclusions & Recommendations
Indeed, the use of IT/IS have permitted people to create a world that distinguishes no limits over time, geography, information processing, communications, and decision-making capacities even economic or political. The company now and in the future, needs information technology in order to become competent in the marketplace just what Craven Books is imposing. To do this, investments must be made to develop modernized and cost effective IT infrastructure. It shows that to be competitive in the existing markets and to streamline the entry in the European market, information systems must play the pivotal role. This is to ensure that the company is coping to the needs of its stakeholders. Hence, in order for Craven Books to solve its problems and continually have competitive position in the marketplace they must bear in mind that creating a great digital strategy need strategic planning to prevent more complexities and problems, and to prevent facing major downturns.
References
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ArcView, 2009. ArcView Strategic Systems Integration Planning, s.l.: ArcView Accoicates LLC. B Silver, B. R., 2009. BPMN method and style. s.l.:signavio. Checkland, P. a. S. H., 1997. Information, Systems and Information Systems-Making Sensse of the Field. s.l.:John Wiley & Sons. Damsg aard, J. K., 2010. Seven Principles of selecting software Packages. Communications of the ACM, 53(8). DW Pickton, S. W., 1998. What's swot in strategic analysis?, s.l.: Wiley Online Library. Ioannis Samoladas, S. B. I. S. a. G. L. B., n.d. Exploring the Quality of Free/Open Source Software, s.l.: Department of Informatics, Aristotle University. J Becker, M. R. C. V. U., 2000. Guidelines of business process modeling. Business Process Management. Sullivan, F., n.d. Social Media Customer Engagement, s.l.: Sitel.
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