INFS 5058 - Strategic Information Systems
Added on 2020-03-02
5 Pages1463 Words66 Views
Running head: STRATEGIC INFORMATION SYSTEMS Student Name ad ID Strategic Information Systems NameInstitutional Affiliation8/26/20171
STRATEGIC INFORMATION SYSTEMS Student Name Student IDStrategic Information Systems Woolworths’ Decision In the context of IT/IS, Woolworths made a big decision in 2014 that involveda $1 billion Mercury 2 project focused on achieving advanced data analytics and merchandising systems to help the firm learn more about the clients and improve the supply chain. The project was a 50% investment in Quantium data firm and acquisition of EziBuy business to gain skills in direct selling and data analysis. Unfortunately, after a new CE was hired, he felt that the existing IT/IS strategy was not lean and needed to be replaced with company-wide solutions that improve internal processes. The firm took drastic decisions that included ditching 500 support posts and writing down millions of assets in the IT sector. Furthermore, 1000 workerswill be added to the business from the group office (Coyne, 2016). Major Challenges Woolworth FacesPreviously, Woolworths has been facing major challenges caused by lack of a clear IT/IS strategy. As a result, Grant O’Brien, the former CEO, initiated a costly project that had not been assessed thoroughly to determine its value to the firm. Further, the previous management approach was not focused in stores. In other words, the firm lacked store and customer-led culture. Factors the led to Such DecisionsThe firm took the strategic decision after poor performance and the incoming CEO believed that a restructured operating model was mandatory to make a positive improvement. The firm needed to adopt turnaround measures to achieve more productivity and reduce unnecessary costs (Jacques, 2016). Porter’s Five Forces Model for WoolworthsIt is critical for the company to examine the impact of the external environment on its profitability and business strategies including the IT/IS one. Woolworths has a low dependency on the many suppliers that deal with the firm, therefore, reducing their supplying power. The system adopted by the firms should help manage suppliers and inventory to ensure that there is a constant supply of commodities. The company serves mostly individual customers who enjoy a strong bargaining power. As such, the firm should focus on strategies that include deliveringlow priced commodities. Further, the IT/IS strategy should be customer centric and focused on improving way services are offered at the store. On the other hand, the threat of new retailers is insignificant since new entrants require huge capital to set upand to supply quality products similar to the ones sold at Woolworths. The threat of substitutes is relatively high since other competitors offer similar products. Accordingto Preez (2016), competition in the retail market is tough, and Woolworths decided to bring new leadership, cut jobs, and develop consumer-centric strategies. As such, the IT/IS strategy should also focus on this are through creating innovative and competitive approaches to attract more customers and achieve competitive advantage.Finally, the market is affected by the presence of many competitors in the area of operation.
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