Management Information Systems: Brawny Luggage Inc - Case Study Example

Management Information Systems Introduction This paper discuss about the procedure and the various factors that the management of Brawny Luggage Inc. Should consider when creating an internet strategy and model for internet business which will facilitate the opening of more stores making it a nationwide chain. The development of a worldwide web is also aimed at providing a great opportunity for the company to offer better services to the customers in the region and also worldwide in regard to luggage products. The luggage products include luggage sets, brief cases, backpacks, travel accessories, duffels, and leather products. Business Strategy Business strategy refers to the overall plan which helps an organization to utilize or allocate its resources in the best way possible to improve or maintain competitive advantage (Allio & Allio 2005, p.88). A good business strategy improves the value of the business and the returns to the stakeholders in the long run. This strategy should provide a link between the business, vision and its values. Business strategies help different firms to come up with decisions regarding the flow of financial and other resources to and from an organization’s lines and business units (Wheelen & Hunger 2000, p. 165). They help companies in making decisions regarding whether they should concentrate with their core activities or diversify to other areas, or whether they should expand nationally or globally. The strategy employed by Brawny Luggage Inc. Is a customer focussed business strategy. This strategy emphasizes on creation of a good relationship between the company and the customers, development of high quality products at low prices, creation of customer experience, and development of offers that will entice customers and easily accessible at low prices. Brawny emphasizes on customer centred strategy in the sense that the management believes that the key to the success of the organization is understanding the customers’ needs. This is enhanced through production of a wide variety of products which would suit the different needs of customers, opening of more stores both regionally and globally to enhance accessibility and training of staff to accomplish their objective of offering high quality services to the customers. The owner also plans for the store to become known as a centre for consistently low luggage prices to target a specific customer market. In order for the company to increase the number of customers through the web, the management is planning to advertise, promote and market the business through email addresses. The company will be capturing the email addresses of all the customers and saving them in the data base. It will then be creating relationships with customers through promotions and advertisements over time. The company may also use internet to attract new customers through the use of travelling special reports, mini-education courses, and free trials (shipping) to entice customers to share their email addresses or names over the net. Mission Statement Corporate mission statements come from corporate leadership. It is through devices such as the mission statement that corporate leaders chart the broad strategic course for their organizations. A mission statement is an official document which explains the reason why an organization exists and how it operates. A mission statement explains what an organization is and what it aspires to be, an organization from others and explains the current and prospective activities (Ward 2005, p. 71). Mission statements are not about what is but what is possible (Gillelan 2001, p. 50). The mission statement of Brawny Luggage Inc is “to offer a personalized and quality service to the satisfaction our clients, and to promote every aspect of vacation luggage needs. Vision According to Gillelan (2009, p. 25-30), a vision statement reveals how a company inspires its employees and stakeholders to take the initiative and give momentum to the company success. A true vision statement becomes a benchmark that measures the relevance of market conditions and management fads on business decisions. A vision statement expresses the dreams of the company for the market or the customers that it targets. It explains why the company exists and the purpose. The Vision of Brawny Luggage Inc is “To be the ultimate market leader in production and sales of luggage products as it strives for customer satisfaction.” Core Business Bierma & Waterstraat (2002) claim that” core businesses represent those products, services, or capabilities where a company possesses a competitive advantage (p. 31).” If a company focuses on a core business, it is able to utilize its resources in the best way possible to achieve its goals or achieve maximum returns. The core business for Brawny Luggage Company is sales of luggage products from different manufactures as well as related products including business cases, tote bags and travel accessories. Company Analysis Corporate analysis refers to a thorough evaluation of different aspects of the company, for example, the organization structure, profit margins, finances and growth opportunities. it also includes such aspects as brand image and goodwill (Fleig 2005, p.8) Growth opportunities Brawny Luggage Inc is one of the main companies in the luggage industry (It is a market challenger). The main competitors in this strategy include Amelia Earhart Luggage Company, Acadia luggage, Ace cases, Samsonite and American Tourister. The company has a high chance of growth or improving the marketing position through various strategies such direct attack and effective advertising campaigns through the internet. Current management The company has an effective management and board of directors who lay emphasis to all staff that the key to success of the company is understanding the needs of the customers and coming up with products which would meet those needs. The current management is also concerned about the growth of the business beyond the region to the global perspectives. The management is ready to provide enough resources to ensure that Brawny Luggage Inc. Is not just operating offline but also online, that is, the management would want the company to employ e-commerce to increase business transactions from both local and global customers. Future prospect The emergence of the World Wide Web is believed by management to be a great opportunity both to better service customers in its own region and to fill the luggage needs of customers elsewhere in the country and throughout the world. Brawny management also believes that the development of a good Web strategy would facilitate the company's opening of more stores in future making it a nationwide chain hence increasing the number of customers.. Products Brawny Luggage Inc. offers a variety of products and service to various customers. These include the backpacks (travel backpacks, daypacks, school backpacks, wheeled backpacks, and messenger backpacks), luggage (wheeled luggage, carry ons, luggage sets, leather luggage, wheeled garment bags, non-wheeled totes, spinners, hard side luggage, kids luggage), duffels (wheel, non-wheeled, large capacity, leather, and gym bags), laptop/briefcase (wheeled, non-wheeled, laptop backpacks, leather, attache’ cases), travel accessories (luggage tags, luggage locks, toiletry kits, packing accessories, and passport holders) leather (leather luggage, leather totes, leather backpacks, leather briefcases and leather duffels). The company also offers travel accessories services such as luggage tags, luggage locks, luggage carts, luggage stands, passport holders, toiletery kits, cosmetic cases, jewelry cases, packing accessories, travel hats, travel clocks, ipod cases, waist cases, shoulder straps, automotive accessories and umbrellas. Markets The target market for Brawny Luggage Company is students, air travellers, owners of vehicles and different employees (professionals). They also supply luggage to owner of different luggage stores around the world. The company emphasis on the people who are fashion conscious to the extent that they are willing to keep on buying new clothes and luggage to remain in fashion. Customer base refers to a group of customers to whom a business sells its products or services. Based on the fact that the company offers a variety of products to different customers all over the world, it may increase the customer base through aggressive advertising and use of e-mails when customers visit the company website. The company should always capture the information of these customers and send information to them in regard to what they sell since the surrender of information imply that they have interest with what the company is offering. Since the company is now increasing the sales volume of luggage in different market segments, this is a clear indication that the number of customers who are responding to the products or fashion is increasing (Brown 2006, p.120). Competitive Environment According to Motiwala (2008, p.37), competitive environment “is that part of the company’s external environment which consists of other firms vying for patronage of the same market.” The competitive environment may comprise of physical retailers, online retailers, and manufacturers. Physical Retailers’ Online Retailers and Manufacturer Some of the main companies that deal with luggage products include Samsonite Corporation which is owned by CVC capital Partners limited. This company designs, manufactures and distributes luggage related consumer products in the world both online and offline. It deals with hard side and soft side suitcases, garment bags, business suitcases and travelling suit cases. The other company that deal with luggage is Zippos .com, Inc. This is an online retailer of shoes, handbags and backpacks. The company offers shipping services to customers once they have purchased the products. Jones Apparrel group, Inc is a corporation which is a designer and a marketer of luggage products both online and offline. The company sells handbags and small leather goods in large scale. Lastly, there are other competitors who emphasize on purchase and sales of luggage products both online and offline. These include Samsonite and American Tourister (Plunkett 2008, p. 39-70). SWOT analysis According to Thompson (2001), SWOT stands for the Organizations strengths and weaknesses and the opportunities and threats it faces in the environment. It is a useful approach for gaining an understanding of the situation an organization is facing at a particular time. The outcome from a SWOT Analysis enables organizations to focus on strengths, minimize weaknesses, address threats, and take the greatest possible advantage of opportunities available. The list below shows the SWOT analysis for Brawny Luggage Inc. Strengths Management is committed to improving the sales of the company through development of internet business Customer loyalty by previous clients boosting revenues Reputation of good customer service Differentiated products and services as compared to competitors Creation of a niche market Ongoing product innovation. Staff are well trained to serve the customers Strong brand image Adequate sales people Good geographical coverage Strong customer base Adequate resources to grow and expand business Wide variety of product line relative to rivals Weaknesses No direct marketing experience by the management Lack of online retail system which would be used as a potential source of revenue and marketing tool Poor debt collection Higher overall unit costs relative to competitors Missing some key skills or competencies/ lack of management depth in terms of online services Opportunities Opening up of new/ untapped markets through internet business Increase in customer base and sales volume once the online business is established Improvised and increased investment in assets and other related luggage products through e-commerce Opportunities for partnerships/ mergers with established firms to increase market share Threats Stiff competition from other competitors Seasonality of the luggage industry Critical success Factors Critical success factors refer to the elements or facers required by a company to make sure that it succeeds in its operations. The critical success factors for ensuring the expansion of Brawny Luggage Inc in the outlets and the customers through the web include training and education of the top management and other employees on the importance of e-commerce, the management should be committed to put in place the resources and infrastructure which would enhance the development of e-commerce. Once the company has launched the e-commerce system, the management should increase the market share through increasing the local stores, and attracting new customers. The company should also try to get new suppliers of luggage products through sustaining successful relationships with local manufacturers in places where the stores are located. Retaining the staff and emphasizing on customer focused training is also a critical success factor in sustaining or improving the rate of customer satisfaction. Other important factors are maintaining expertise in luggage needs, growth, and consistently offering the luggage products at low prices. Key Benefits of Using Internet Internet will be very important for this company in the sense that it will help to expand the customer base. Since internet is global, Brawny Company will be able to access new customers in the global market place through email or other means of communication such as face book, twitter or blogs. Internet would also help Brawny Company to offer better services to customers. These include electronic payment systems which are fast and cheap and immediate distribution/ feedback of information in regard to what the customers would want to purchase. The other benefit is that internet allows people to carry out their businesses at any time. This implies that customers can purchase their products at any time and request for shipping services. Electronic systems also reduce processing errors from the buyers and company’s perspective. There is also less time spent in resolving invoice and order discrepancies. Lastly, internet services help the buyers to make good buying decisions based on the fact that it is a self service option which allows them to have increased opportunities to buy alternative products (Laudon 2005, p. 120-230). The peripheral benefits include better understanding of customers needs through online discussion forums, additional revenue due to reduction in costs and retention of expertise. Internet Business Model An internet business model consists of a network of resources and different actors which are connected together to enhance value chain or supply chain activities. They also enhance transactions and other activities between customers and various companies. There are various e-commerce models that different companies employ to have effective business transactions. These include virtual store fronts, information brokers, online market place, and content provider. Virtual storefronts are websites that help the companies to sell physical products to customers or other individual businesses directly. Information brokers make sure that there is availability of information in regard to the products that different companies are selling together with their prices. They generate income through aggressive promotion campaigns or from advertising or directing buyers to sellers. One of these websites is expedia.com. Online market place is a model that provides an environment where buyers and sellers can meet, display their products, chat, search for other products and come up with prices for those products (Laudon 2005, p. 130). Content provider is website that generates revenue by providing virtual or digital information such as music, digital news, photos, or video via the internet. An example of content provider is youtube.com, mp3.com, cnn.com and the street.com. In regard to these websites, the business models which would be effective for the Brawny Luggage Company are the ones which would help in improving business transaction methods, increasing sales, attraction of new customers, and opening of new retail outlets in different countries. These models would also deal with physical products rather than non physical products. These models are the online market place, virtual storefronts and information brokers (Laudon 2005, p 125-130). The online market lace would allow Brawny Luggage Company to meet with several buyers of luggage products, chat, and display the available products plus the prices for those products. Through the online marketplace the company is able to compare the prices of products offered by the other companies and adjust along the way to meet the needs of various customers. Virtual storefronts would also help the company to sell the physical products such as suitcases and bags to different customers. Information brokers would also be important for this company in advertising the products offered and directing customers to the website of the company or the sales outlets launched in different parts of the world (Laundon, 2005, p. 130). Web systems A web system is a system that support web applications or web access. A web system is used by various companies in distribution of different announcements to different users in a timely manner. It also helps in hosting website, web software development, digital delivery and content management. The web systems and web applications are also very compatible across platforms. The minimum requirement for a web system is a web browser which includes the internet explorer and firefox (Yourdon 2001, p.50). Web systems are also easily manageable in the sense that they just require to be installed in a server. This makes it easier for updating and maintenance. They are also easily deployed through the web address. Lastly, web based systems are cheap and secure. They are cheap in the sense that they have low requirements in regard to support and maintenance since they have a simple end user system (Brown, 2006, p.130). Site Map Brown (2006, p.297) claim that a site map is a HTML page which consists of all the pages in a given site. This site is designed to help the users to move or navigate their sites. A sitemap helps one to know which pages are on the website and ensures that they are indexed and discovered. These sites are very important if the site is very large and it has a dynamic content, if the sites have pages which are not easily identified by search engines such as Googlebot and Google Crawler in regard to the craw process. They are also useful if the site is new and has large contents which are not well organized or linked t one another. A sitemap should also include information such as how the company’s site should be updated, and when each and every place was modified. Implementation Steps of Site Maps Firstly, the sites for Brawny Luggage will be created manually on the sitemap protocol. This site will have all information about the various products offered by the company to meet the different luggage needs of the customers, it should have a system which will be updating the time and when each page was last modified and the payment systems, for example, credit cards. This site should have an area dedicated to customers for advertisement and support of the accessories sold by Brawny luggage. This system should allow the customers to accumulate points each time they visit and purchase products. Once they have accumulated enough points (up to a certain threshold) they should redeem them and win prizes (Yourdon 2001, p.50). This would promote repeat buying behaviour since the customers will be dedicated to go online and win some prizes. Secondly, the company will use the Google Webmaster Tools sitemap Generator. The person developing the site will ensure that it has access to the web server and it has a python installed. The person will use a Google-provided script to create a sitemap that uses sitemap protocol. The third step involves the use of a third party tool. This will employ xml-sitemaps.com free tool (Brown 2006, p.297). Bibliography Allio, M, K & Allio, R, J 2005, Practical strategy for family business. Tata McGraw-Hill Publishing, New Delhi. Azaz, M, 2008, the dictionary of marketing, IKON Marketing Consultants, Guajarat, India. Bierma, T, J & Waterstraat, F, L, chemical management: reducing waste and cost through innovative supply strategies, Wiley, New York. 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