Now that we have come closer to a complete picture of VTB... What kinds of new products or services does it need? What IT applications are needed to support these services?

In short, what are your recommendations

to the new CIO (Bob Stetzel) given his limited resources and time/focus?

here is some answers.

please answer differnt than this

Vermont Teddy Bear has to keep with its competitive advantage of Teddy-Gram and keep that idea moving forward and expand to other items. Along with selling different kinds of animals and customizable options, they should start selling accessory lines like clothing, brushes etc. Another fun thing that kids love is a design your own bear which could allow kids to choose if they want a bear body with an elephant head or giraffe body with a mouse head. They could also offer colorable bears with art supplies as a possible kit or package deal which would allow the customer to custom color or paint their own animal with the design they choose. It could be washable to allow the customer to repeat the coloring process multiple times.

As for the IT applications needed to support these ideas, VTB would need to design an online or mobile application to allow customers to design their own products. In the example of the customizable animal with different body, head designs, they could allow a picture on the app to show what your design would look like simply by sliding left or right to swap out head and body styles. This is one example of an application that would provide customers with individualized customization and add to their success.

I would recommend to the new CIO that he would need to implement new ideas and products, even if they fail, they need to keep trying new things until they find something that customers love. Mobile IT options are big right now and adding phone apps with games or coloring or learning options would be a hit as it would be educational which parents like and fun for kids. Change is a good thing, so do not be afraid to make changes even if they don't work out, you can keep going until you find a great idea.