E-Commerce, More is More: Catatech - Case Study Example

? Catatech Case Study Catatech Case Study Technology has had a huge role in the development of the way that organizationspractice business today and has been responsible for the massive strides that have been taken especially by multinational companies. One of these developments that can be said to have a huge effect on business practices is E commerce. E commerce can be described as the practice of business online (that is, over the Internet) whereby an organization is able to buy, sell and perform a variety of other functions required of them. In order for Catatech to keep up with the competition, it will need to adapt to this new introduction while doing business or its insistence with sticking with the traditional methods may just prove to be its downfall. For the firm to do this, it has to first establish the objectives that the firm has set for themselves so as to identify how the introduction of E commerce would assist it in achieving these objectives (Kotler, 2009). The main objective of the firm is to maintain and enhance its position in the industry as one of the leading providers in Professional measurement tools for electricians across the globe. The other objectives include, the strengthening of their financial standing to avoid any economic burdens which can be done by the reduction of various costs without affecting the quality of the product, to increase its market size in the various regions where they are located including Madrid and to ensure the firm is in a position to maintain a successful path as a leading business in the future. The measures of outcome that can be used to indicate whether these objectives have been attained are not difficult to calculate. With regard to becoming the leading firm in the industry they are based in, one only has to look at the market share value taken by the firm in compared to others in the same business (Kotler, 2009). When Catatech has the largest market share value, it can be said that its main objective has been achieved. With regard to strengthening the company’s finances as well as increasing its market size, these objectives can use the company’s various records relating to these topics which in this case would be financial records and progress reports over the years on the growth of their market base. Accountability has to be considered as well to ensure that those responsible for achieving these objectives are putting an effort into it. Ensuring the company’s success as a leader in its industry will be up to everyone in the firm but the executive board that is in charge of the major decisions that will be made can be said to be held accountable for this task. The finance department and the marketing department will be held responsible for the objectives of cutting costs effectively and ensuring market growth (Tkacz & Kapczynski, 2009). There are also several external and internal factors that may affect the achievement of these objectives as well such as the developments that are being made in technology, the arrival of new firms in the industry and the attitude of the executive staff at the organization as well, which may prove to be a hurdle to the process of keeping the organization in stride with various new developments in the business world. There are a number of constraints as well that may limit the achievement of these objectives such as the availability of manpower with the technical know how to introduce these new technologies to the firm, the issue of underplaying the independence that the various local acquisitions enjoy at the moment which also brings about the question of finances and who will handle those received via the E commerce project. There are various resources that can be said to be available to the organization at the moment, and that includes the organization has the financial resources to set up the new structure (E commerce) if they are willing to do so. The employees available in the United States can also lend a hand to solve the problem of technical know how as they have already established a website of their own, the size of the company also proves to be a resource as this will ensure that the E commerce project is successful around the world due to its global positioning. Taking these resources into account one can assume that the installation of an E commerce sector within the organization will not be so hard to achieve. The key processes that are being used to attain the organization’s objectives at the moment include the upgrade of technologies within the company such as the use of an ERP that was successfully implemented by the CIO of the company. This has been used to streamline the global supply chain of the company which has lowered inventory costs in the process. The company has also carried out a desktop upgrade that has allowed for better computers used by the company. These processes have involved the input of new software as well as hardware within the company with the output being improved performance in the sectors that have been changed. Though these processes have affected the organization positively in the long run, a 20% improvement is a cost that can be bettered by new additions. The company will be able to save on more money with the application of new technology (Graham, 2008). At the moment, the key processes can be said to be failing in the fact that they have not been able to bring about an increased unity within the company and its various subsidiaries around the globe which would prove to be most cost effective. The root cause for these failures can be based on the fact that though the organization has undergone a technological rebirth to some extent in some areas, they have not matched up to the level that other companies are operating at. This gives these companies an unfair advantage over Catatech as they are able to function more efficiently due to their acceptance of E commerce as part of their business. This allows the competition to perform functions that the organization cannot or do so at a higher cost as compared to the company using E commerce program (Eisingerich & Kretschmer, 2008). There are various options that are available to the company when dealing with this subject matter. They include, integrating their current system with E commerce capabilities. This will allow the organization to function on the same level as their competitors and in effect leveling the playing field so to speak program (Eisingerich & Kretschmer, 2008). However, this may prove to be complicated as the board has a tendency to take a long time to make their decisions and thus could prolong the situation. A second option is allowing one of the subsidiaries based in a different country run the E commerce system and work in collaboration with them in whatever they may need in terms of issues such as delivery and certain goods that the Madrid based company may have. However, this could complicate matters as well since everything E commerce based would have to pass through the chosen subsidiary. On the contrary, it would take less time as companies based in areas such as the US have already set up a website from where operations can be run. The company may also choose to integrate E commerce into the entire organization on a gradual basis moving from region to region until the entire company is transformed. This may be an advantage as the first areas to try E commerce can be used as trials to determine the best methods to apply while using this new system (Tkacz & Kapczynski, 2009). A disadvantage can be found however in the fact that such as choice would take to long and all the while the company’s competition will be enjoying a technical advantage in areas where the organization has not reached yet. Finally, there is always the choice of doing nothing and letting the organization remain as is. Though this may prove to be an advantage as no costs as incurred in the addition of new technology, a bigger advantage can be found in that if the organization does nothing, they will eventually end losing their market to their more forward thinking competitors. The criteria used to select the various options available to the company should be based on what will be most adv advantageous as well as cost effective to the company (Tkacz & Kapczynski, 2009). The selection needs to take into consideration that the choices made do not impact the company in a negative manner during any point of the strategy implemented. The best option from the above mentioned would be the integration of the entire organization and its system with E commerce capabilities at a single go. This will ensure that the company minimizes costs as it is cheaper to have it all done at once than to go from region to region and it will ensure that the organization is able to gain momentum on its competitors. Though in the short term such an act may disrupt the normal functions of the companies as they try to adapt to this new addition, it will prove beneficial in the end as it will provide a new market base for the company and allow it to expand their reach beyond the physical realm. There are a number of considerations that should be taken into account when implementing this strategy such as ensuring that the best type of E commerce platforms suitable to the company is implemented while installing it as well as the proper training of individuals in the use of the software that will run the program (Eisingerich & Kretschmer, 2008). This can be done by ensuring that employees take a week of training from professionals hired by the organization to teach them on the basics of using E commerce software and related subjects. Once this has been implemented, the organization will need to ensure that it continually upgrades to newer and better software that enter the market to maintain their edge (Kotler, 2009). It should also maintain a flow of feedback on how the changes have affected the company which can be done by observing the various company records as well as conducting interviews with the various employees involved with the E commerce project. References Eisingerich, A. B. & Kretschmer, T. (2008). In E-Commerce, More is More. Harvard Business Review 86 (March). Graham, M. (2008). "Warped Geographies of Development: The Internet and Theories of Economic Development" (PDF). Geography Compass 2 (3). Kotler, P. (2009). Marketing Management. New Jersey: Prentice-Hall. Tkacz, E. & Kapczynski, A. (2009). Internet — Technical Development and Applications. New York: Springer. Read More