IFSM 300 Final Assessment Exam NOTE: As for all work in this class, the final exam must be original work developed by the student solely for use in this class and must conform to UMUC's academic policies. Instructions: Use the Case Study presented here to answer the questions below. Your answers should be long enough to answer each question fully and completely and typed below the individual question in this document. Follow the instructions in the questions to determine the appropriate length of your responses. Your answers should demonstrate an understanding of the concept(s), should apply critical thinking, and should provide analysis of the Case Study in light of the concepts(s). You should not just re-iterate what has been presented in class, but integrate the information and relate it to the Case Study. Proper APA style must be used for any citations and references that you use. Your exam will be graded on the completeness and accuracy of your responses and whether you have appropriately tied your responses to the Case Study. Responses that do not mention the Case Study will receive very few points, if any. Each question is worth 10 points. Virginia Bikes Case Study In 1985 Bill Thomas took $6,000 of his savings, borrowed another $4,000 from his best friend, and opened a bike rental business in Vienna, VA. The rental shop is adjacent to the Washington & Old Dominion Trail (W&OD) that goes from Purcellville to Old Town Alexandria (45 miles), connects to the Mt Vernon Trail (18 miles) and ends at George Washington's Mt Vernon Estate. Bill, bought 10 bikes for his first store. The location has parking, and is near the historic Vienna Inn and a number of food and drink establishments. He has since opened stores in Old Town Alexandria and Reston, VA, where he sells, rents and repairs bicycles. The Vienna store is now Bill's anchor store, and at 5,000 square feet, it is three to five times larger than his other stores. Bill estimates he sells around 3,000 new bikes a year. Because of the high use of the W&OD trail, especially on weekends, he also provides tune up and maintenance services at all of his stores for the many riders from up and down the trail. In 2012, Bill leased a store in the heart of D.C., near the Smithsonian Museums and other tourist attractions. He uses this store to rent bikes to tourists and residents of the city, and does some repairs to his rental bicycle inventory in the back of the shop. Although he has always made money, or he would not be in business, Bill has seen a decline in bikes sales of about 20 percent since 2008. He attributes this to the downturn in the economy and the growth in Internet sales. However, his rental, tune up and repair business has increased dramatically. Over the past few years, he realized that he must be more aware of expenses and decrease them wherever practical in order to preserve profits. Version 3 1 Bill thinks that the one of the most important factors is the weather, but has no data to support that thinking. On rainy days, there are few customers in the stores, while on sunny weekends all of his locations are extremely busy. From spring through fall, Bill keeps all his stores open seven days a week, while in the winter months he opens his stores on the weekend when the weather is good for riding. Through observation, Bill figures his highest sales occur in May, and that June and September are his best months for rentals. He also sells many bikes during the holiday season in December, but in January and February, he often wonders if he should close shop and go to Florida for a couple of months. Virginia Bikes grosses between $5 and $8 million annually and earns Bill a comfortable six-figure income. Each year, he leaves a considerable amount of cash in the business so that he does not have to borrow money to keep his business going. He sells a wide variety of bikes (from tricycles for toddlers to sophisticated racing bikes) and accessories such as helmets, speedometers, bike racks, repair kits, and clothing. Bicycle sales have decreased to account for 25 percent of revenues. Accessories such as helmets, bike racks, gloves, and locks amount to another 5 percent. Rentals make up about 35 percent, and repairs make up the remaining 35 percent. In recent years, he has noted that customers are less likely to purchase the high-end road and triathlon bikes, and are purchasing bikes in the range of $400 to $1,000. The lower-priced bikes are also easier to sell and to keep the inventory moving. Most of the rental business is concentrated in the downtown D.C. and Alexandria stores, due to the tourists and university students located near those stores. Bill is excited about rentals, as they have a huge profit margin. He can charge as much as $50 a day, which means the bikes pay for themselves after just a few rentals. Bill's expenses include such costs as new bikes, parts and accessories, rent and payroll. He negotiates leases for all his locations except the Alexandria store, which he owns outright. Bill has 15 full-time employees and usually hires another 15 part-time employees during the busy months and weekends. Until two years ago, he was spending about $30,000 a year on advertising in local papers. Now he uses a simple website and has links on many of the local biking trail sites to provide information about his various locations, and his advertising budget is close to zero. In the late 1990s, Bill over-expanded to six stores, including a store in Purcellville, VA, and one in Bethesda, MD. The expansion necessitated a warehouse in Springfield, VA, the hiring of a general manager and considerable overhead expenses. In a subsequent cost-reduction effort, Bill closed the Bethesda store, gave up the warehouse and moved his inventory to the Vienna store, and let the general manager go. Now, he handles all the general management tasks himself, which affects the time that he has available to plan and develop strategies. Bill further reduces his expenses by working in the Vienna store two days a week. Since he has only one staff person in some of his stores, he has to make special arrangements if that person does not come to work, or takes a day (or week) off. He is trying to expand the bicycle repair work, especially on the weekends, so he will be able to increase revenue from this profitable aspect of his business. He needs to have repair capability at each store to maintain the rentals, prepare the new bikes for sale, and perform the periodic maintenance for the bikes that he has sold, as well as provide the breakdown repairs and adjustments for the riders on the trail. Version 3 2 In an effort to increase profits, Bill tries to get good deals from his suppliers so he can realize a good margin on bike and accessory sales and repairs. He looks for situations where suppliers have more bikes in a line than they need and buys those bikes at a discount for rentals and low-end sales, while maintaining a rapport with high-end suppliers so that he can offer his customers the best at reasonable prices. By doing so, he can sell bikes at a lower retail price with on-the-spot delivery while still realizing a nice profit. Bill has no bank debt and has long since repaid the $4,000 he borrowed from his friend to start the business. He feels that, because he has a diverse business strategy that addresses the many different aspects of the local bike business, he will do well in the many different economic climates as long as he is able to manage his varied business. He also feels that he is insulated from \"substitutes\" from the electronic world, due to the rental and repair aspects of his business. Bill is seeking your help to analyze his business and identify areas where information systems could help him better manage and grow his business. Version 3 3 Questions: 1. Analyze the Virginia Bikes business using Porter's Five Forces Analysis to complete the table below. FORCE List Porter's Five Forces IMPACT (POSITIVE, NEGATIVE, or NEUTRAL) This must have an entry JUSTIFICATION of your selected impact Minimum 2 good sentences that explain the impact of the force on Virginia Bikes to demonstrate understanding of the force. Refer to specific details from the business in the case study to support your explanations. 2. Identify which of Porter's Generic Strategies is most appropriate to Virginia Bikes and explain why you selected it in light of your Five Forces Analysis. 3. Bill uses the three business processes listed below, and each of them could be improved using technology. Identify and explain how a type of information technology system solution could improve each one of the processes. Do not research a specific product (e.g., SalesForce) but do include the type of solution (e.g., CRM). Selling bicycles - how technology could improve the process: Repairing bicycles - how technology could improve the process: Managing inventory - how technology could improve the process: 4. Using the three business processes listed in question #3, list one input, one system processing action, and one output that would be part of that process. Version 3 4 Process Input Processing Output Information/data item entered into the system as part of this process Processing or action the system must perform for this process Information/data item displayed or printed out for the user in this process (input needed for the system) (what the system will do with the input) (what the system will output/display) Selling Bikes Repairing Bikes Managing Inventory 5. Bill has decided to use technology to improve one of business processes identified in question #4 above. Select one of the processes and analyze the IT requirements as they apply to that process using the table below. Name the business process that you selected from #4 here: __________ Version 3 5 Importance/ Relevance IT Requirement High, Medium, Low, or Not Applicable (N/A) Explanation for Ranking (Write a minimum of 3 good sentences for each. Tie each answer to the business in the case study and the selected process. Identify the data or type of data used in your explanation, where it applies.) (each must have a ranking) Usability Data Completeness Database Reliability/ Availability Security 6. Using a cloud-based Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) solution, list and briefly explain three specific quantifiable (measurable) business benefits. These should reflect benefits achieved by using a SaaS solution - not general benefits. Your explanation must explicitly refer to the Virginia Bikes business in the case study. Business Benefit #1 and explanation: Version 3 6 Business Benefit #2 and explanation: Business Benefit #3 and explanation: 7. Bill has decided to implement a cloud-based SaaS solution to improve the bike repair process for his business. Identify one important activity that Bill would need to do during each of the following phases of the system development life cycle (SDLC) to implement his solution. Your answers should demonstrate an understanding of the phase of the SDLC and implementation of a SaaS solution. (An example answer is provided for the Programming phase.) a. Planning: b. Analysis and Design: c. Programming: Since the system has already been developed by the SaaS vendor, Bill is not required to take any action regarding the Programming Phase. d. Configuration: e. Testing: f. Implementation and Use: 8. Bill would like to increase repair work and rentals as they are the highest profit aspects of his business. He wants to analyze the data he will be collecting in his new information system to help him do this. Identify three questions that Bill would want answers to in order to determine ways to increase repairs and rentals. Then, identify what information Bill would need to answer each question. Finally, explain how that information and the answers to the questions would help Bill increase repair work and rentals. For example: How many bikes are rented on rainy days? Bill would need to know which days are rainy days and how many bikes are rented each day, so he can correlate the data. Using this information, Bill may decide he should close the rental offices on rainy days and save the cost of staffing and operations on those days, thus increasing the profitability of the rental business. Question, information and explanation #1: Version 3 7 Question, information and explanation #2: Question, information and explanation #3: 9. Bill has set up a website with information about his stores, and he wants to expand this website to conduct e-commerce. Identify two different categories of e-commerce (as defined in the Week 2 Learning Resource "Categories of Electronic Commerce") that Bill could use to improve his business. Explain how each e-commerce category would be used. Your explanations should include the name of Bill's business and demonstrate your understanding of each of the two e-commerce categories. E-Commerce category #1 and how it would be used: E-Commerce category #2 and how it would be used: 10. Explain how each of the following could benefit Bill's Virginia Bikes business. Use 2-3 sentences for each and be sure your explanations mention Virginia Bikes and show that you understand each of the types of systems. a. Supply Chain Management System b. Customer Relationship Management System c. Enterprise Resource Planning System Version 3 8 IFSM 300 Final Assessment Exam By my signature below, I confirm that the work contained here is my own, I have received no outside assistance and have properly cited and referenced any external research that has been incorporated in my answers. I have fully complied with UMUC's Policy on Academic Dishonesty and Plagiarism (Policy 150.25). Failure to properly credit your research sources is a violation of this policy. _______ ________________________________ (Typed signature represents actual signature) Instructions: Use the Case Study presented here to answer the questions below. Your answers should be long enough to answer each question fully and completely and typed below the individual question in this document. Follow the instructions in the questions to determine the appropriate length of your responses. Your answers should demonstrate an understanding of the concept(s), should apply critical thinking, and should provide analysis of the Case Study in light of the concepts(s). You should not just re-iterate what has been presented in class, but integrate the information and relate it to the Case Study. Proper APA style must be used for any citations and references that you use. Your exam will be graded on the completeness and accuracy of your responses and whether you have appropriately tied your responses to the Case Study. Responses that do not mention the Case Study will receive very few points, if any. Each question is worth 10 points. Virginia Bikes Case Study In 1985 Bill Thomas took $6,000 of his savings, borrowed another $4,000 from his best friend, and opened a bike rental business in Vienna, VA. The rental shop is adjacent to the Washington & Old Dominion Trail (W&OD) that goes from Purcellville to Old Town Alexandria (45 miles), connects to the Mt Vernon Trail (18 miles) and ends at George Washington's Mt Vernon Estate. Bill, bought 10 bikes for his first store. The location has parking, and is near the historic Vienna Inn and a number of food and drink establishments. He has since opened stores in Old Town Alexandria and Reston, VA, where he sells, rents and repairs bicycles. The Vienna store is now Bill's anchor store, and at 5,000 square feet, it is three to five times larger than his other stores. Bill estimates he sells around 3,000 new bikes a year. Because of the high use of the W&OD trail, especially on weekends, he also provides tune up and maintenance services at all of his stores for the many riders from up and down the trail. Summer 2015 1 In 2012, Bill leased a store in the heart of D.C., near the Smithsonian Museums and other tourist attractions. He uses this store to rent bikes to tourists and residents of the city, and does some repairs to his rental bicycle inventory in the back of the shop. Although he has always made money, or he would not be in business, Bill has seen a decline in bikes sales of about 20 percent since 2008. He attributes this to the downturn in the economy and the growth in Internet sales. However, his rental, tune up and repair business has increased dramatically. Over the past few years, he realized that he must be more aware of expenses and decrease them wherever practical in order to preserve profits. Bill thinks that the one of the most important factors is the weather, but has no data to support that thinking. On rainy days, there are few customers in the stores, while on sunny weekends all of his locations are extremely busy. From spring through fall, Bill keeps all his stores open seven days a week, while in the winter months he opens his stores on the weekend when the weather is good for riding. Through observation, Bill figures his highest sales occur in May, and that June and September are his best months for rentals. He also sells many bikes during the holiday season in December, but in January and February, he often wonders if he should close shop and go to Florida for a couple of months. Virginia Bikes grosses between $5 and $8 million annually and earns Bill a comfortable six-figure income. Each year, he leaves a considerable amount of cash in the business so that he does not have to borrow money to keep his business going. He sells a wide variety of bikes (from tricycles for toddlers to sophisticated racing bikes) and accessories such as helmets, speedometers, bike racks, repair kits, and clothing. Bicycle sales have decreased to account for 25 percent of revenues. Accessories such as helmets, bike racks, gloves, and locks amount to another 5 percent. Rentals make up about 35 percent, and repairs make up the remaining 35 percent. In recent years, he has noted that customers are less likely to purchase the high-end road and triathlon bikes, and are purchasing bikes in the range of $400 to $1,000. The lower-priced bikes are also easier to sell and to keep the inventory moving. Most of the rental business is concentrated in the downtown D.C. and Alexandria stores, due to the tourists and university students located near those stores. Bill is excited about rentals, as they have a huge profit margin. He can charge as much as $50 a day, which means the bikes pay for themselves after just a few rentals. Bill's expenses include such costs as new bikes, parts and accessories, rent and payroll. He negotiates leases for all his locations except the Alexandria store, which he owns outright. Bill has 15 full-time employees and usually hires another 15 part-time employees during the busy months and weekends. Until two years ago, he was spending about $30,000 a year on advertising in local papers. Now he uses a simple website and has links on many of the local biking trail sites to provide information about his various locations, and his advertising budget is close to zero. In the late 1990s, Bill over-expanded to six stores, including a store in Purcellville, VA, and one in Bethesda, MD. The expansion necessitated a warehouse in Springfield, VA, the hiring of a general manager and considerable overhead expenses. In a subsequent cost-reduction effort, Bill closed the Bethesda store, gave up the warehouse and moved his inventory to the Vienna store, and let the general manager go. Now, he handles all the general management tasks himself, which affects the time that he has available to plan and develop strategies. Summer 2015 2 Bill further reduces his expenses by working in the Vienna store two days a week. Since he has only one staff person in some of his stores, he has to make special arrangements if that person does not come to work, or takes a day (or week) off. He is trying to expand the bicycle repair work, especially on the weekends, so he will be able to increase revenue from this profitable aspect of his business. He needs to have repair capability at each store to maintain the rentals, prepare the new bikes for sale, and perform the periodic maintenance for the bikes that he has sold, as well as provide the breakdown repairs and adjustments for the riders on the trail. In an effort to increase profits, Bill tries to get good deals from his suppliers so he can realize a good margin on bike and accessory sales and repairs. He looks for situations where suppliers have more bikes in a line than they need and buys those bikes at a discount for rentals and low-end sales, while maintaining a rapport with high-end suppliers so that he can offer his customers the best at reasonable prices. By doing so, he can sell bikes at a lower retail price with on-the-spot delivery while still realizing a nice profit. Bill has no bank debt and has long since repaid the $4,000 he borrowed from his friend to start the business. He feels that, because he has a diverse business strategy that addresses the many different aspects of the local bike business, he will do well in the many different economic climates as long as he is able to manage his varied business. He also feels that he is insulated from \"substitutes\" from the electronic world, due to the rental and repair aspects of his business. Bill is seeking your help to analyze his business and identify areas where information systems could help him better manage and grow his business. Summer 2015 3 Questions: 1. Analyze the Virginia Bikes business using Porter's Five Forces Analysis to complete the table below. FORCE List Porter's Five Forces Buyer Power IMPACT (POSITIVE, NEGATIVE, or NEUTRAL) This must have an entry negative Supplier Power positive Threat of Substitute Products of Services Neutral Threat of New Entrants Negative Rivalry Among Existing Competitors Negative JUSTIFICATION of your selected impact Minimum 2 good sentences that explain the impact of the force on Virginia Bikes to demonstrate understanding of the force. Refer to specific details from the business in the case study to support your explanations. Buyers and customers have various wants and needs that can affect where they purchase their bicycle. Virginia Bikes has seen a 20% decline in business since 2008 because of the downturn in the economy and the Internet. The Internet is able to sell products at a lower margin because of little to no overhead. This has a negative impact on Virgina Bikes. Bill needs to continue selling less expensive bicycles and focus on the aspects of his business that are profitable: rentals, repairs and tune ups. Suppliers compete for Virginia Bikes business so Bill can demand lower costs. Supplier power has positive impact on Bill because there are different suppliers out there that Bill can work with to ensure he has the best product and pricing. Bill is currently working with suppliers to purchase overstock bicycles at a discount for his rental and low end business. The threat of substitute products or services is quite low for Virginia Bikes. There are no current substitutes on the market and if there was one, Bill could put a plan together on how to complete with the new threat. New competitors to Virginia Bikes can easily enter the market and disrupt the current profitability of the market. This would have a negative impact of Virginia Bikes because new entrants could take sales under all categories of business: bike sales, rentals, tune ups, and repairs. If that were to happen, Bill could end up making less money or closing a location. Bill's biggest competitor is the Internet which has caused his bicycle sales to decline to 25% which is a negative. In order to be one step ahead of his competition, Bill should focus on the aspects of his business the Internet cannot easily provide: rental, tune up and repair. 2. Identify which of Porter's Generic Strategies is most appropriate to Virginia Bikes and explain why you selected it in light of your Five Forces Analysis. The Generic Strategy Virginia Bikes should use is Differentiation. According to James Manktelow, \"Differentiation involves making your products or services different from and more attractive than those of your competitors.\" (2015) Bill can differentiate his business several different ways. First, with rentals being very profitable, Virginia Bikes can look to offer discount packages where a customer rents 10 times and gets the 11 th rental for free. Bill can also partner with the local college to offer a student discount. Either of these two options will bring repeat business to Virginia Bikes. Second, Bill can look into packaging maintenance and repairs programs in with new purchases. This will keep new customers coming back into the stores to be repeat customers. Summer 2015 4 3. Bill uses the three business processes listed below, and each of them could be improved using technology. Explain in general how an information technology system solution could improve each one of the processes without naming a specific solution. Selling bicycles - how technology could improve the process: Technology can improve the process of selling bicycles because Bill and his staff will be able to see the other prices the online dealers offer. Bill can chose to match the price or offer additional features such as a GPS. GPS Technology can be beneficial because Bill can use technology as an add-on sale. Virginia Bikes could offer GPS rentals that have bike paths and tours throughout the Northern Virgina and DC areas preprogrammed into the devices. Repairing bicycles - how technology could improve the process: Technology can be used to improve repairing bicycles by advertising through Google and other commonly searched websites. Bill can also use technology to advertise on the Internet \"Clinics\" where he can charge a nominal fee to train novice cyclists on how to maintain their bicycles, repair and change flat tires, and maintenance packages. If Bill taught the \"clinics\" the only cost to Virginia Bikes is the online advertising. The fee cyclists pay would be complete profit. Managing inventory - how technology could improve the process: Technology will have a great impact on managing inventory. Bill will be able to see which bicycles he sells most and manage his profit margins to see if there is another bicycle that is only a little more expensive where the company can make a larger margin. Managing the inventory online will keep costs down because Bill won't have to worry about over ordering and having a lot of money tied up in inventory. 4. Using the three business processes listed in question #3, list one input and one output that would be part of that process. (These are for the entire process, and are not limited to any particular step in the process.) Summer 2015 5 Process Input Processing Output Information/data item entered into the system as part of this process Processing or action the system must perform for this process Information/data item displayed or printed out for the user in this process (input needed for the system) (what the system will do with the input) (what the system will output/display) Input customer payment (cash or credit card) Process sale of bicycle Sale of bicycle Repairing Bikes Input customer first name, last name, and address Create Customer Profile Customer Profile Managing Inventory Input bicycle serial number Create Bicycle Profile Bicycle Profile Selling Bikes 5. Bill has decided to use technology to improve one of business processes identified in question #4 above. Select one of the processes and analyze the IT requirements as they apply to that process using the table below. Summer 2015 6 Name the business process that you selected from #4 here: ___Selling Bicycles_______ Importance/ Relevance IT Requirement High, Medium, Low, or Not Applicable (N/A) Explanation for Ranking (Write a minimum of 3 good sentences for each. Use the name of the business and the selected process in each answer. Identify the data or type of data used in your explanation, where it applies.) (each must have a ranking) Usability High It is paramount the software Bill installs is easy to use. Usability is defined as how effectively Bill and the staff can use, learn, and operate the system. Bill and the staff at Virginia Bikes need to be able to easily use the system to process sales. Information Quality Medium Information quality is defined as the quality of the content of information systems. Bill will need to research good small business retail software packages in order to find one that fills the need of Virginia Bikes. This is important because the wrong software package can impact the ability to sell bicycles. Database High The database is of vital importance because this is the organized collection of information she needs to operate Virgina Bikes. The database will hold the pricing, product serial numbers, customer information, and promotional information. Virginia Bikes needs a good database in order to sell bicycles. Summer 2015 7 Reliability/ Availability High Reliability/Availability is an extremely important requirement for Virginia Bikes. . The ability to utilize the technology to be able to sell the bicycles is extremely important to process the sale. If the system isn't reliable or available Virginia Bikes will not be able to process the sale of the bicycle and will lose business. Security medium Security is medium on the IT Requirements. Bill needs to ensure no one can hack into Virginia Bikes system to steal customer's profile information, company pricing, credit card numbers, and upcoming promotions. Bill should be able to easily find a software solution that fills these needs. 6. List and briefly explain three specific quantifiable (measurable) business benefits that Virginia Bikes would get from using a cloud-based Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) solution. Your explanations should include references to the Virginia Bikes business in the case study. Business Benefit #1 and explanation: Accessibility Accessibility is a benefit because it allows the user access to information anywhere at any time. Accessibility will enable Bill to access company sales, profits, inventory and other data while he is home, on vacation, or in any store. The company files are no longer trapped in one single computer. Bill will have all company information available at the touch of his fingertips. All he needs is internet access. Business Benefit #2 and explanation: Reduce Costs Cloud software will prevent Bill from spending a lot of money on hardware and software because he can pay as he goes based on the size of his data. With Virginia Bikes being a small business, using the cloud will minimize IT requirements and physical storage for the store which provides a significant savings for the company. Business Benefit #3 and explanation: Ease of Use Virginia Bikes will be able to keep records for years that will be readily available for Bill. Bill can access sales, profits, margins, and inventory at a moment's notice, versus looking into older files and other databases. This will enable Bill to monitor the business sales and quickly react to any issues. Summer 2015 8 7. Bill has decided to implement a cloud-based SaaS solution to improve the bike repair process for his business. Identify one important activity that Bill would need to do during each of the following phases of the system development life cycle to implement his solution (an example answer is provided for the Programming phase): a. Planning: Bill will need to make a plan for how he wants to use the software for his repair business. When it comes to planning in the beginning stages of making the software, Bill will have no impact of this because the planning is done by the SaaS vendor. b. Analysis and Design: Bill won't take any action because the analysis and design of the system is developed by the software developer. c. Programming: Since the system has already been developed by the SaaS vendor, Bill is not required to take any action regarding the Programming Phase. d. Configuration: Bill will need to make sure the cloud based SaaS solution can configure to his existing computer system. Additionally, Bill wants to ensure the software company offers help in configuring the systems together. e. Testing: Bill should look into a software that allows a free 30 day trial. The Free 30 day trial will allow Bill the opportunity to test the software to ensure it fits Virginia Bikes needs. f. Implementation and Use: Bill will want to make sure the software vendor offers support for implementing and using the software. The support can range from an online chat to someone at the other end of the phone. Either way, Bill wants to confirm he will have an easy time if he runs into issues or has questions on functionality. 8. Bill would like to increase repair work and rentals as they are the highest profit aspects of his business. He wants to analyze the data he will be collecting in his new information system to help him do this. Identify three questions that Bill would want answers to in order to determine ways to increase repairs and rentals. Then, identify what information Bill would need to answer each question. Finally, explain how that information and the answers to the questions would help Bill increase repair work and rentals. Question, information and explanation #1: What is the most popular repair done in the store? Bill would want to know the most popular problem/issue customers are experiencing. Bill can also monitor what other companies charge for the same repair. Bill can look to advertise the repair to bring in additional customers. Summer 2015 9 Question, information and explanation #2: How many of the rental customers are repeat customers? Bill can track his rental customers to see if they are repeat customers, maybe college students or local residents. Bill can offer a loyalty card for these customers. Bill can also target local colleges and businesses with loyalty cards to entice repeat business. Question, information and explanation #3: How many customers who have purchased a bicycle come back for repairs, tune ups or accessories? Bill can use this information to monitor how many of his customers are repeat customers. Bill can also offer an incentive for customers to purchase a maintenance package that will ensure the customer to be a repeat customer to generate additional revenue for Virginia Bikes. 9. Bill has set up a website with information about his stores, and he wants to expand this website to conduct e-commerce. Identify two different categories of e-commerce (as defined in the Week 2 Learning Resource "Categories of Electronic Commerce") that Bill could use to improve his business. Explain how each e-commerce category would be used. Your explanations should include the name of Bill's business and demonstrate your understanding of each of the two e-commerce categories. E-Commerce category #1 and how it would be used: Business to Consumer Virginia Bikes can effectively use the Business to Consumer strategy to sell bikes, rentals, and maintenance to consumers. Bill can also sell accessories, offer coupons, and have customers pay for the rentals online. E-Commerce category #2 and how it would be used: Business to Business Virginia Bikes can effectively use the Business to Business strategy in a few ways. First, Bill Can work with delivery and messenger companies that use bicycles for their main mode of transportation. Additionally, Bill can market to companies for team building activities to rent bicycles and accessories. Both of these options could be new revenue generators for Virginia Bikes. Summer 2015 10 10. Explain how each of the following could benefit Bill's Virginia Bikes business. Use 2-3 sentences for each and be sure your explanations mention Virginia Bikes and show that you understand each of the types of systems. a. Supply Chain Management System A Supply Chain Management System can help Virginia Bikes by giving the system the input, process, and output. Bill can design the specific needs of his business to help increase profitability in the bike sales, increase overall rentals, and increase tune ups and repairs. Bill can use the SCM to manage his suppliers, receiving product, processing returns, taking payments, and tracking customers. b. Customer Relationship Management System For the size of Virginia Bikes, the Customer Relationship Management System is a great philosophy that will give a competitive advantage because the CRM will help manage current and future customers to improve customer relations, increase customer revenues, maximize upselling and cross selling, and optimize marketing. The CRM system will organize, automate, and synchronize sales, marketing, and customer support. The more Bill uses the CRM, the more he will be able to utilize the functions to offer promotions to new and existing customers, measure sales, and monitor repairs. c. Enterprise Resource Planning System An Enterprise Resource Planning System is a business process management software that allows a company to use a system of applications to manage the business and automate many back office functions related to technology, services, and human resources. Bill can implement an ERP for Virginia Bikes so he can see the end to end business functions. While Virginia Bikes is a smaller business, a CRM would most likely be the best alternative for Bill because of the cost entailed. If the business grows again, an ERP could be implemented. Reference Page: Summer 2015 11 Ellis, Michael. (2014). The Evolution of the internet. Retrieved from http://www.wired.com/insights/2014/07/evolution-internet-impact-retail-spaces/. Manktelow, James. (2015). Mind Tools. Retrieved from http://www.mindtools.com/pages/article/newSTR_82.htm. Reed, Joel. (November 2, 2012). CRM and the supply chain. Retrieved from http:filedtechnologiesonline.com. Turban, E. (2008). Information technology for management: Transforming organizations in the digital economy (6th ed.). Hoboken, N.J. Summer 2015 12