IT 210 Final Project - Milestone 1 PDF

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This document was prepared as the introduction of a small business in a case scenario that was provided, which represented Milestone One to the Final Project....

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IT 210: Business Systems Analysis

IT 210 Business Systems Analysis Final Project Milestone One Christine Lampson Southern New Hampshire University

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Introduction Fashion DeZines (FD) Limited is a small brick-and-mortar company and been in business for over twenty years, operating solely as a brick-and-mortar business selling designer clothing, shoes, and handbags for men and women for many years. Jane Brown, Chief Executive Officer, has realized that the business to reach on-line shoppers, it has to venture out into e-commerce. As a business analyst employed to the company, I have been asked tasked to research two technologies used by at least two competitors, and then make recommendation on the technology that will meet requirements that will position the store for entrance to e-commerce.

Problem Statement1 Sale of FD’s merchandize is mostly from customers who walk into the brick-and-mortar store, which poses a problem for the business because competitors in the same industry are already established in e-commerce. The website does not allow customers to browse items in a catalog with prices, which will frustrate customers and cause them to take their business to the competitor. The goals of the business owners are to promote growth with an online presence and become more customer-focused by streamlining the processes involved in integrating the brickand-mortar business with e-business; ensuring that the security and privacy of customers personal information, such as credit card numbers, address and telephone numbers, are kept secured; ensuring the security of the data; and ensuring that the business’ suppliers and technology vendors understand and are bounded by confidentiality.

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Two Technologies to be researched The two technologies that I will be looking at are: i)

Wireless, mobile computing, and mobile commerce: Wireless is telecommunications which allow electromagnetic waves to carry signals between communication devices without wires; mobile computing refers to a connection between a mobile device and other computing environments in real-time, while mobile commerce refers to conducting e-commerce transactions in a wireless environment over the Internet.

ii)

Social computing: is a type of information technology that combines social behavior and information systems to create value for customers and focused on improving collaboration and interaction among people and the content generated by the user.

Business Requirements Objectives The objectives of this project are to i) identify and research two different information technology solutions that would will allow Fashion Dezines to venture the e-commerce market competitively, ii) research market competitors that use those technologies and iii) make recommendations to Jane Brown and her business managers of the technology solution that will help to compete with others in the industry in providing excellent customer service, and ultimately be profitable.

Project Description The purpose of this project is to determine which technology solution the company will be able to use to establish and maintain a competitive advantage in the e-commerce market. This

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project will also assist the business owners to understand the factors associated with implementing new technologies and therefore enforce knowledge management on the changes internally and externally so staff to be efficient.

Technology Requirements In order to effectively meet the goals of the business, the following key technology requirements are important: i.

Integrate online shopping

ii.

Manage inventory and shipping

iii.

Provide order status checking and online payment processing

iv.

Facilitate internal and external collaboration with staff and customers.

v.

Mange customer contacts.

vi.

Provide reporting.

vii.

Manage the present brick-and-mortar processes (sales, payments, inventory, customer

contacts) Competitors and Technology Fashion Dezines has been in business with its brick-and-mortar store for many years, and has built up a good relationship with customers. However, with the advancement of e-commerce, the company’s on-line customer base has been on the decline. Two leading competitors in the same industry are Zappos and Nordstrom. Mobile Commerce Nordstrom Rack, a retail store of its parent store, Nordstrom, has been in business for over forty years (www.nordstromrack.com). In 2015, the company recognized that “mobile is

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an important enabler of convenience as customers increasingly desire a more seamless shopping experience,” and hence “invested $3.9 billion to fund further online expansion of its mobile commerce (Dyakovskaya, 2015).

Social Computing Zappos has been in business since 1999 and was birthed out of a desire that founder Nick Swinmurn. As told in the story on www.zappos.com, Nick was unsuccessful in finding a pair of shoes in brick-and-mortar stores, as well as online. Unsuccessful in his effort, he decided to start an online retail store to sells shoes that would meet customer satisfaction. According to Digital Spark Marketing (2016), since the early days of social media, Zappos has been successful at using social media to execute its marketing strategies, which played a significant role in their growth as well as helped them to maintain a competitive edge. The company’s “social media strategy is built around its website and the five social media platform (Digital Spark Marketing, 2016).

Technology Benefits Zappos’ success is attributed to the company’s ability to combine adaptation and social media integration to build its customer base. The company focused exclusively on e-commerce and has set the mark for its competitors to follow (Digital Spark Marketing, 2016). In order for Fashion Dezines to compete alongside Zappos, one advantage to its customers is to be able to order online and pick up at the brick-and-mortar store free of cost. .

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Dyakovskaya, A (2015). Brand spotlight: Nordstrom Rocks e-commerce & Invests in Mobile expansion. The Future of Customer Engagement and Commerce. Retrieved from https://www.the-future-of-commerce.com/2015/10/27/nordstrom-mobile-ecommerce/ Schoultz, M (2016) 10 Examples of How Zappos Marketing Strategy Makes a Difference. Digital Spark Marketing. Retrieved from https://digitalsparkmarketing.com/zapposmarketing-strategy/...