Week9 Business Operations Discussion
Question: Company strategies cannot be executed well without a number of support systems to carry on business operations.
Using the scholarly resources, search for recent (five years) articles that discuss how a company has used real-time information systems to aid the cause of effective strategy execution. Explain their use of the information and how it relates to our coursework from this week. Based on our readings (Thompson text and other material) from this week, what one enhancement or addition would you recommend the company make and why?
Post 1
Zappos is a company that deals with the manufacture of clothing, and it implements real-time information processing to execute its tasks. The company initiates a real-time map to see the customers who purchase their products (Mishra, 2020). The map shows real-time orders of customers that will help the company plan for shipping in the various destinations. Besides the map being efficient, it also helps the company as it acts as a forecasting tool. The firm can analyze the business performance based on the real-time mapping tool (Thompson, 2018). When the customers see the distribution of customers over the US, they tend to build trust in the company and purchase more.
Through its eCommerce platform, the real-time mapping toll will make Zappos a popular brand and a company that is efficient and trusted when purchasing clothing and shoes online. Besides, the maps create conscious consumers who know what they want to purchase from Zappos. Thus the maps help the company to advertise its products and acquire more customers. Therefore, the buyers will share their experience with their friends and family, and the company acquires more resells and customers (Hilasaca & Paulovich, 2019). Moreover, the real-time mapping tool ensures that the company identifies the different segments of buyers.
Enhancements
The company should create a blend with attractive colors, and the data content should be enough for the customers. Since real-time offers instant processing, the tool should be equipped with detailed information concerning the product the customer wants to purchase. Moreover, the information must be stored in the cloud to access and buy the products they want (Thompson, 2018). The firm should also improve its mapping tool to be more interactive and engage more customers. Likewise, the firm should improve its maps to be downloadable, and the customer can use them when they lack an internet connection. Further, when the customer gets back to the internet connection, the data recently added by the company should be synchronized automatically.
Post 2
IKEA is a well-known Swedish retail and manufacturing company that sells furniture all over the world and uses web technologies to enhance their marketing approach. IKEA is said to have used real-time data such as up-to-date information to improve customer care, as well as internet marketing to personalize consumer experiences and make some beneficial decisions (Singh et al., 2017). In recent times, they have used the optimization and business agility processes to assist them implement an effective strategy. They undoubtedly make great use of social media in order to fulfill their company objectives. Using virtual and augmented reality to provide customers with unique and innovative customer experiences. As per the knowledge gained from the course, the utilization of the information from the side of IKEA certainly relates to some extent when it comes to operating with the situation well by involving the real-time information across the market. Based on the condition, the involvement of real-time information certainly meets the objectives of the company IKEA, and the information that has been gathered from the course relates to the reading materials based on the function of the real-time information.
Recommendation for the company IKEA
Based on readings from the course, one thing that is required for the company to add within their strategy though they are using real-time information is some productive concepts and cases based on innovation strategies (Thompson Jr et al., 2020). This would guide them to reflect on different methods involved during the strategic operations within the system and meet the real way of becoming competitive and getting competitive advantages from the market. This is important from the company’s point of view to meet the objectives right and differ from other companies. The differences in the market with the way they operate their business would change a bit more with this concept and cases learned from the course related to innovation and execute them properly