Swinburne University INF10003: Cakes and Buns Business Report

This report provides a comprehensive analysis of the Cakes and Buns business, beginning with an evaluation of the business and an overview of the industry background, including its historical development, current market environment, and future prospects. It identifies the business model, target audience, and value proposition. The report then conducts a SWOT analysis and applies Porter's Five Forces to assess the competitive landscape. Furthermore, it delves into the design principles and web usability guidelines for an information portal, exploring customer engagement methods like social media integration, live chat, and personalization options. The report concludes with a summary of findings and recommendations for enhancing the company's online presence and overall business strategy, supported by references to relevant academic sources. The report also included the spreadsheet creation and field label descriptions.

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Cakes and Buns
Business Report
4/4/2019

Cakes and Buns
Executive Summary
Cakes and Buns started as a stand in the local market and soon developed customer base and
earned the customer engagement. They currently have three stores in Melbourne but do not
have online presence. They also have demands from the overseas markets, such as Germany,
Japan, and Sweden. The future scope includes the online presence to reach out to the global
customers.
The report includes the company details along with the design principles and web usability
principles for the site.
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Cakes and Buns
Table of Contents
Evaluation of the Business.................................................................................................3
Industry Background..................................................................................................................3
Business Model and Environment...............................................................................................3
Target Audience & value Proposition.............................................................................................................3
SWOT Analysis...............................................................................................................................................3
Porter’s Five Forces.........................................................................................................................................4
Information Portal Design.................................................................................................5
Design Principles & Web Usability Guidelines...........................................................................7
Additional Customer Tools/Engagement Methods.....................................................................9
Social Media Integration.................................................................................................................................9
Live Chat.........................................................................................................................................................9
Customization/Personalization........................................................................................................................9
Conclusion.........................................................................................................................9
References........................................................................................................................11
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Cakes and Buns
Evaluation of the Business
Industry Background
Cakes and Buns is a business that was set up in the year 1985 and is based out of St Kilda.
The business first started as a stand in the local market and soon developed customer base
and earned the customer engagement. The first store of the company opened in the year 1990
after a struggle of three years to deal with the prime competitors, such as Bakers Delight and
Brumby’s. One of the customers promoted their products on the television which earned the
organization a lot of demand and customers. They currently have three stores in Melbourne
but do not have online presence. They also have demands from the overseas markets, such as
Germany, Japan, and Sweden.
The company has transformed from a stand in the local market to a multi-store business. The
future scope includes the online presence to reach out to the global customers.
Business Model and Environment
Target Audience & value Proposition
The target audience of the organization includes the people of Melbourne as the primary
entity as it has a strong hold in the Melbourne markets. It includes the people of all age
groups but has an extra focus on the kids and teenagers.
The company also targets the global customers, especially backpackers and travellers that
may promote their products in the overseas markets.
The customers will be provided with the option to purchase products from the online portal
and will also have the option to get the products delivered to them in the Melbourne city.
SWOT Analysis
Strengths
 Strong customer base in Melbourne
with three stores already set up
 Demand in the overseas market
 Ability to cater to the customer
expectations and demands
Weaknesses
 Absence of any form of web presence
 No prior experience with online
deliveries and portals
Opportunities Threats
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 Target the global markets through
online portals
 Expand the customer base and market
shares (Arabzad, 2012)
 Threat from the competitors
 Technical and operational issues
 Threat of new entrants in the market
Cakes and Buns already have a strong customer base in Melbourne as there are three stores
successfully running in the city. The business executives are aware of the choices and
preferences of the consumers which may be used as a primary strength. There is also demand
from the overseas markets that is witnessed which is another strong area of the organization.
The company does not have any online presence which may become one of its weaknesses.
There is no prior experience of the online portals and e-commerce which may bring up errors
and will enhance the chances of failure as well. There are, however, several opportunities that
the organization may work on and utilize. The global markets shall be targeted using the
online portals. The expansion of the customer base shall also be achieved using the online
presence. There are certain threats that the business entities must be aware of. There are a lot
many competitors in the industry. While opening the first store, the company had to struggle
for three years. The competition has increased a lot from 1990 and it will be essential to
develop the strategies and plans to deal with the competition. There are also numerous new
entrants in the market that must be handled and the strategies must be in place to deal with
them. The organization does not have a prior experience on the online tools and portals. As a
result, the chances of technical and operational issues may increase.
Porter’s Five Forces
The buyer power for Cakes and Buns is high as the business process and supply chains will
be regulated as per the preferences and demands of the buyers, that is, the consumers. Most
of the products are developed in house and there are several suppliers in the market.
Therefore, the supplier power is low. Threat of the new entrants is high as there are various
new entities that are emerging in the markets. Threat of substitutes is low in the market at the
moment (Asad, 2012). There are several competitors in the market and it is essential for the
organization to develop the strategies to deal with the competition.
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Buyer Power
High
Supplier Power
Low
Threat of New
Entrants
High
Threat of
Substitutes
Low
Threat of
Competitors
High

Cakes and Buns
Information Portal Design
Design Principles & Web Usability Guidelines
There are a number of Human-Computer Interface (HCI) design principles that have been
defined and these shall be included in the web portal that will be developed for Cakes and
Buns. Three such HCI design principles that must be followed are as listed below:
 Informative Feedback: The user actions shall be provided with the feedback on the
portal so that the users develop connection with the system. For example, when the
user selects a menu option then the selected option shall be highlighted in different
color. Similarly, when the user clicks on the specific textual content then highlights
shall be present on the same. There shall also be an option to provide the feedback on
the web portal. The users shall be able to contact the organization using the Contact
Us page through emails and phones. They shall also be able to rate their experience on
the portal (Schrage, 2014).
 Error Handling & Resolution: Cakes and Buns are developing a web portal for the
first time. It will be a new platform for the customers as well as the employees
associated with the organization. There are certain operational errors that the users
may perform due to lack of knowledge and experience with the portal. The users shall
be provided with the ability to roll back their actions so that the permanent damage is
avoided. For instance, the customers shall be provided with an option to modify the
items in the cart at any point of time before they make the final payment. Also, there
shall be an option to cancel the order placed before 48 hours of the delivery date. This
will make sure that the engagement levels of the customers with the web portal are
high.
 Use of shortcuts: There shall be an option to use the shortcuts. The frequent users on
the portals shall be provided with an option to make use of these shortcuts so that they
may speed up the process.
There are also certain web usability principles that must be adhered to.
 Consistency: The consistency of the web portal shall be maintained in terms of the
consistency of the layout and color scheme. The user experience will be enhanced
with the presence of the consistent elements on the portal (Ryu, 2008).
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Cakes and Buns
 Navigation: The navigation on the web portal shall be smooth. The users shall be able
to navigate from one page to the other with ease. Also, the users shall be able to
understand the navigation and the flows associated with the portal.
 Simplicity: The simplicity principles shall be adhered to make sure that the ease of
usage is enhanced and there are no complexities involved on the portal.
The incorporation of the web usability and HCI principles will make sure that the overall
usability and the user experience on the portal is enhanced.
Additional Customer Tools/Engagement Methods
Social Media Integration
Social media has become a primary necessity for the users in the present times. There is a
huge presence of the customers on the social media channels, such as Facebook, Instagram,
Twitter, etc. The users now expect the web portals to allow them with an option to log in
through their social media handles or post information from the web portals on their social
media accounts (Lorenzo-Romero, Constantinides and Brunink, 2014). Therefore, in order to
engage more number of customers, social media integration shall be included on the web
portal.
Live Chat
There are queries and issues that the customers may face on the portal and they may wish to
receive the response in a quick turnaround time. There are real-time chat options being
integrated by the web portals to enhance the customer experience. A similar approach shall
be used by the web developers in this case. The option of Live Chat shall be integrated on the
site to make sure that the customers are able to have resolution to their queries on a real-time
basis.
Customization/Personalization
The customers shall also be provided with the ability to customize or personalize the visual
appeal and options on the web portal. There are numerous customization options that can be
integrated on the portal (Shaari, Charters and Churcher, 2013). For instance, the customers
shall be able to make changes in the color scheme as per their preferences. Also, there shall
be language setting that must be possible on the web portal. There are data analytics tools that
are also available that must be integrated on the portal. As a result, the customer will be able
to view the options as per their preferences and previous history.
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Cakes and Buns
The incorporation of these three options will make sure that the customer engagement levels
are enhanced.
Conclusion
Cakes and Buns is an organization that does not have any web presence as of now. The
decision has been made to implement a website to mark global presence and reach out to the
global customers. The web portal that is developed and implemented for the organization
shall be designed in such a manner that the functional specifications are incorporated and the
non-functional requirements are adhered to. The web usability and HCI design principles
shall be included in the web site. The consistency of the elements must be maintained along
with the navigation and simplicity. The website shall also incorporate error handling and
resolution mechanisms, feedback, and the use of shortcuts. There are also customer
engagement techniques that may be used, such as social media integration, inclusion of live
chat on the portal, and customization/personalization for the users.
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Appendix
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References
Arabzad, S. (2012). Improving Project Management Process in Municipality Based on
SWOT Analysis. International Journal of Engineering and Technology, 4(5), pp.607-612.
Asad, M. (2012). Porter Five Forces vs Resource Based View - A Comparison. SSRN
Electronic Journal.
Lorenzo-Romero, C., Constantinides, E. and Brunink, L. (2014). Co-creation: Customer
Integration in Social Media Based Product and Service Development. Procedia - Social and
Behavioral Sciences, 148, pp.383-396.
Ryu, H. (2008). Collective web usability analysis: cognitive and activity walkthroughs.
International Journal of Web Engineering and Technology, 4(3), p.286.
Schrage, M. (2014). HCI can raise the level of discourse on the Web. interactions, 11(2),
p.70.
Shaari, N., Charters, S. and Churcher, C. (2013). Achieving “One-Web†through
customization and prioritization. International Journal of Web Information Systems, 9(4),
pp.264-278.
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