Retail Strategy and IT Integration

This assignment delves into the crucial intersection of Information Technology (IT) strategy and retail success. It examines how Woolworths, a prominent retailer, leveraged cloud computing by migrating its infrastructure to Microsoft Azure. The analysis explores the potential benefits and challenges associated with this IT integration, considering its impact on Woolworths' operational efficiency, customer experience, and overall business performance.

Running head: Strategic Information System
Strategic Information System

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Table of Contents
Introduction.................................................................................................................................................1
Woolworth's Structure, Products, and Services..........................................................................................1
Operations and Functionality......................................................................................................................2
Information system strategy essential to the organization.........................................................................3
Issues in developing information system strategy.......................................................................................4
Failures and recommendations concerned with information system.........................................................5
Conclusion...................................................................................................................................................6
References...................................................................................................................................................7
Introduction
In the recent scenario, it is evaluated that digital strategies and information system has
attained growth in the market. There are many companies that focus on the strategies so that the

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operations can be performed properly. The strategies that are concerned with information system
consider various policies that give direct impact on the organizational environment and also
provide proper information to every department of the organization.
The information system consists of various software and hardware networks that can be
taken into consideration to gather, create and distribute the method of data. The company can
easily conduct a proper information system so that the competitive advantage can be achieved. It
also minimizes the expenses and increases the overall efficiency of the work. The internal and
external environment also plays a great role to align the strategies related to the information
system.
This report focuses on analyzing the structure, services, and products of the Woolworth's.
The report will analyze information system strategy and also the issues that are faced by the
company at the time of implementing the information system strategy. The report will also take
into consideration the strategies that will assist the company to align the organization structure
with information system strategy.
Woolworth's Structure, Products, and Services
Woolworth's has been one of the largest companies in Australia. The company was
established in 1924 and the activities are operated in different locations like Australia and New
Zealand. The head office of Woolworth's is in Bella Vista, New South Wales, Australia. The
stores of the company are located in many areas and there are more than 990 stores located in
Australia, New Zealand, and Australia. By giving emphasis to the revenue it is analyzed that it is
the second largest firm in Australia. The organization is a largest retailing chain in terms of
revenue.
The organization has more than 205,000 workers conducting the operations of the
company and they give high-quality products to the customers at affordable prices. By analyzing
the data it is evaluated that the organization suffered a loss in the overall profits. The competitors
of the company are Wesfarmers, ALDI, and Coles. The organization started giving emphasis on
implementing the strategic policies so that the competitive advantage can be achieved.
Woolworth's has more than 29 million consumers in every week. The organization has a good

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image in the Australian market due to the good quality and high satisfaction level of the
consumers (Willcocks, 2013).
Operations and Functionality
Woolworth's started offering its services by taking into consideration online sources.
Now a day Consumers purchases products and services from online website of the company.
The shopping facility that is available is for a specific location and the company gives focuses on
express delivery so that consumer can get the products on time. Woolworth's also suffered a huge
loss in 2016 and recovered the loss by giving emphasis on redesigning the internal infrastructure
and increases the information system reliability.
The company started giving focus on technologies so that the overall efficiency of the
operations can be taken into consideration. Woolworth's considers cloud computing technology
so that the overall effectiveness can be enhanced by the operations conducted in the organization.
By using external cloud services the organization saves the expenses, it gives direct impact on
the overall profit of the company (Valacich, George, and Hoffer, 2015).
Big data technology gives impact on increasing the efficiency of the organization and to
increases the customer involvement by evaluating the pattern of buying and demand.
Woolworth's consider big technology so that the information can be collected and also it can
relate to its customers. If there is proper information with the company then it can be possible to
evaluate the buying behavior in a proper way. To increase the reliability of reporting capabilities
it assists the store managers to take proper decisions related to the organization (Ann Sykes,
2015).
Big data technology provides proper information to the store managers so that the
evaluation can be made of the data that cannot be accessed and it helps to create future strategies
in a proper manner. The technology is effective in the agile technology as it assists the
organization to give emphasis on its actions and also give reliable products for limited time
duration. One of the essential benefits of IT infrastructure is real-time connectivity in various
outlets that assist to enhance the speed and efficiency of the decision-making process.
Woolworth's gives emphasis on real-time connectivity in its supply chain so that the overall
performance can be evaluated and to provide accurate information to increase the current

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activities. The organization also created BYOD program that helps the employees to take into
consideration Google application engine. It assists them to analyze the log support request from I
pad devices given to the organization (Galliers and Leidner, 2014).
Information system strategy essential to the organization
The information system strategy focuses on strategizing that is concerned with active
procedure. The process of strategizing focuses on collecting the data through the informal
system. The information system strategy gives focus on collaboration of the organization
strategy. It assists to achieve the competitive advantage so that the operations can be completed
with efficiency. If there is proper infrastructure in the organization, the company can easily
conduct the operations of the business (Levy, 2014).
Woolworths also increases the efficiency by taking into consideration proper
infrastructure so that management of supply chain can be increased and the positive outcome can
be attained in an effective manner. There are various organizations that focus on implementing
the digital strategies into the strategies of marketing. Various organizations achieve competitive
advantage by taking into consideration proper information system strategy into their companies'
model like Goggle and Apple (Laudon and Laudon, 2016).
Amazon considers technology related to information system so that proper maintenance
of products and services can be done. It is one of the largest e-commerce websites and the
information system strategy is taken into consideration so that the overall response of the market
can also be increased. The queries of the customers are also resolved by taking into consideration
proper information. The organization gives emphasis on creating a market response and also on
product development (Dhiraj, 2017).
The information system assists in increasing the knowledge and learning of the
management so that proper opportunities can be grabbed. The organization can easily adapt
current marketing strategies so that the routine activities of the company can be conducted.
Information system technology assists the modern companies in creating competitive strategies
that increase the efficiency of the operations that are conducted by the employees. Woolworths
can consider information system into the organization model as it assists to evaluate the necessity

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in the market. The organization also gives focus on proper utilization of the information system
so that niche market can achieve growth in a proper manner (Coyne, 2017).
Woolworths take into consideration effective information system strategies. If proper
strategies are considered by the companies then it directly gives impact on the activities
conducted by the employees. It also gives impact on the enhancement of the market share and
customer base. Information system assists the companies to establish innovative strategies so that
success can be achieved. The companies also consider proper innovation so that customers can
be attracted and also the efficiency of the work can be maintained (Chapman and Kihn, 2009).
Goggle also gives emphasis on information system strategy so that proper efficiency can
be achieved and also to achieve an overall competitive advantage in an effective way. Various
organizations consider the process of group discussion so that interaction can be increased.
Discussion in group assists the stakeholders to consider the interest in the policies and also to
create policies that cover the necessity.
It is important that information system make strategies that help to motivate the
employees of the companies so that efficiency of the workers can be increased. The marketing
strategies can also be considered by the organization so that operations can be conducted
smoothly. It is important to adopt effective strategies so that the operations of the organization
can be completed in an effective manner (Barrett, Davidson, Prabhu and Vargo, 2015).
Issues in developing information system strategy
Woolworths faces various difficulties when the strategy related to information system is
implemented in the business structure. The managers evaluate the needs and challenges in an
information system. The information system plan gives focus on considering all the requirements
of the organization so that the information can be shared with other to enhance cooperation.
When the plans are developed, the manager should provide proper approval so that operations of
the company can be conducted (Pearlson, Saunders and Galletta, 2016).
When the business strategies are aligned, there are many problems faced by the
organization like internal communication problems. Human capital is also one of the problems
faced by the organization. It is essential to consider proper employees so that latest technology

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can be operated properly. The major problem faced by many organizations' is related to
appointing the right candidates for right positions. The IT professional tries to analyze the
demands properly. The technical challenges are also faced by the companies at the time of
implementing information system strategy. The organization also faces problems related to
Telecommunication, as it is analyzed that communication is not properly conducted between the
employees and the top management. It is essential for every organization to have proper
communication channels so that proper communication can be done (Mithas and Rust, 2016).
Failures and recommendations concerned with information system
The information system is considered by every organization in the present scenario.
When IS infrastructure is used it is seen that the operators feel bad and the negative outcome is
attained. The resistance of the also gives impact on the overall acceptability of the system.
Efficiency can also be enhanced so that positive outcome can be achieved by the employees of
the organization (Müller, Pemsel and Shao, 2014).
Woolworths also gives focus on SAP technology into the systems so that proper
platforms can be replaced. The competitors of the organization also targeted so that SAP
technology can be sued and can achieve the competitive advantage. At the time of implementing
IT in the delivery system of the organization can give result in becoming one of the failures. The
online services also attained negative impact and given impact on the operations of the company.
The Implementation of self-serve checkout also failed as the consumer does not have the
reliability (Stair and Reynolds, 2013). Woolworths also gives emphasis on the strategies so that it
can be aligned in a proper way with the information system strategy.
The organization should also create proper infrastructure so that proper relationship
between the employees and top management can be maintained. It is also a process that assists
the employees to communicate with the employees and managers and also helps to evaluate the
challenges concerned with communication. If the information system is implemented properly
then it can give positive outcome and can resolve the issues related to lack of management can
communication (Peppard and Ward, 2016).
Coordination is also essential in the organization so that the activities can be conducted
smoothly and effectively. Woolworths faces problems related to lack of coordination. If the

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company gives focus on proper distribution of the responsibilities then it can easy to increase the
employee's involvement in the activities of the organization. To design the infrastructure
properly the information system strategy should also be considered for increasing the overall
interaction between the employees and employers.
It is evaluated that if relations are maintained between the workforce and IT specialists
can minimize the problems from the IS strategy of the organization. Social events also increase
communication so that management can be maintained. IS strategy helps to enhance the
motivation level of the workforce so that communication and coordination can be increased. The
spirit of teamwork can also be increased between the employees (Rainer, Prince and Watson,
2014).
IS Strategy also results in the lack of commitment between the management and
employees, so that strategies can be implemented easily. To take into consideration the problems
of management, it is important to distribute the responsibility so that strategies can be
implemented properly. It is essential to have effective coordination between the workforces so
that the overall objectives can be achieved by the company. As it is seen that workforce are an
essential part of the organization, so proper focus should be given to them. IT specialist of the
company manages the operations so that operations can be conducted in an effective manner
(Rautaray and Agrawal, 2015).
Conclusion
By evaluating the report it is concluded that information system strategy plays an
essential role to achieve the competitive advantage by proper management of the operations of
the organization. Woolworths gives focus on IS strategies so that overall performance level and
also a competitive advantage can be enhanced over its competitors.
The organization faces various issues when the implementation of IS strategy takes place.
The organization should also consider the challenges by proper implementation of the strategies
policies concerned with the increase in the involvement of the consumers. The company should
also try to maintain proper competitive advantage so that the competition level can be
minimized. The organization should consider the information system strategy so that
performance level can be maintained. If strategies are considered by the organization then it can

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be easy to attain overall objectives and goals of the organization. If the company is not able to
attain goals then it can be difficult to survive in the market. So, proper strategies should be
considered in a proper manner.
References

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Ann Sykes, T., 2015. Support structures and their impacts on employee outcomes: A longitudinal
field study of an enterprise system implementation. MIS quarterly, 39(2).
Barrett, M., Davidson, E., Prabhu, J. and Vargo, S.L., 2015. Service innovation in the digital age:
key contributions and future directions. MIS quarterly, 39(1), pp.135-154.
Chapman, C.S. and Kihn, L.A., 2009. Information system integration, enabling control and
performance. Accounting, organizations and society, 34(2), pp.151-169.
Coyne, A., 2017. Woolworths shifts infrastructure to Azure. [Online] Itnews. Available at:
https://www.itnews.com.au/news/woolworths-shifts-infrastructure-to-azure-451111 [Accessed
on 28/12/2017]
Dhiraj, A. B., 2017. Giants Of Retail: The World’s 25 Largest Retailers By Revenue, 2017.
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Müller, R., Pemsel, S. and Shao, J., 2014. Organizational enablers for governance and
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Pearlson, K.E., Saunders, C.S. and Galletta, D.F., 2016. Managing and Using Information
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