Development of an Information System Business Case for Retail

This business case, developed by a student, explores the necessity and implementation of an information system within a retail organization. It begins by outlining the project's need, emphasizing the importance of such a system in managing the continuous flow of goods and information throughout the supply chain, as well as the critical success factors. The report then analyzes various options for system implementation, evaluating criteria such as management familiarity, innovation, and technical capabilities, ultimately recommending the 'retail pro' software. It defines the project scope, constraints, deliverables, and KPIs. The project approach includes project management strategy, procurement strategy, and communication plans, alongside a detailed budget, program, and risk analysis. Appendices provide a project schedule, cost plan, risk register, and financial analysis, offering a comprehensive overview of the project's feasibility and potential benefits. The report concludes with a benefits realization plan, highlighting the system's potential impact on inventory management, customer analysis, and overall operational efficiency.

Development of an Information System for a Retail Organization Business Case
Business Case
Development of an Information System
for a Retail Organization
Student Name: ######## ########
Student Number: #######
Team/Group: #############
Course: [enter name of course enrolled]
1

Development of an Information System for a Retail Organization Business Case
Unit Coordinator/
Lecturer: Grant Axman-Friend ([e-mail])
Institution: Queensland University of Technology
Teaching Period: [enter semester and year]
2

DOUBLE CLICK HERE TO ADD HEADER
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
This project identifies the necessary measures that should be undertaken to ensure the
successful implementation of an information system in a retail company. Seeing that retail
companies are mandated with the responsibility of providing a continuous flow of goods and
services, the essay discusses the importance of such a system to the retail organization. In this
regard, the primary emphasis is what the project may mean to the whole company structure.
Other factors that have been discussed pertain the implementation of the system in a retail
organization and how the management may ensure that there is successful project
completion.
DOUBLE CLICK HERE TO ADD FOOTER

DOUBLE CLICK HERE TO ADD HEADER
CONTENTS
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY.............................................................................................................3
1 PROJECT NEED.....................................................................................................................6
1.1 PROJECT NEED..............................................................................................................6
1.2 PROJECT OBJECTIVES.................................................................................................6
1.3 CRITICAL SUCCESS FACTORS (CSF’S)....................................................................7
1.4 ORGANISATIONAL CHANGE.....................................................................................8
2 OPTIONS ANALYSIS............................................................................................................9
2.1 OPTIONS CONSIDERED...............................................................................................9
2.2 OPTIONS EVALUATION CRITERIA...........................................................................9
2.3 OPTIONS EVALUATION.............................................................................................10
2.4 RECOMMENDED OPTION..........................................................................................12
3 PROJECT DEFINITION.......................................................................................................13
3.1 SCOPE DESCRIPTION.................................................................................................13
3.2 CONSTRAINTS AND DEPENDENCIES.....................................................................13
3.3 SCOPE MANAGEMENT..............................................................................................14
3.4 PROJECT DELIVERABLES.........................................................................................14
3.5 PROJECT KPI’S.............................................................................................................15
4 PROJECT APPROACH........................................................................................................16
4.1 PROJECT MANAGEMENT STRATEGY....................................................................16
4.1.1 PROJECT STRUCTURE........................................................................................16
4.1.2 PROJECT GOVERNANCE FRAMEWORK.........................................................16
4.1.3 PROJECT REPORTING STRUCTURE.................................................................17
4.2 PROCUREMENT STRATEGY.....................................................................................18
4.3 COMMUNICATION AND STAKEHOLDER MANAGEMENT STRATEGY..........19
5 BUDGET, PROGRAM AND RISK.....................................................................................21
5.1 TIMING / PROJECT READINESS...............................................................................21
5.2 BUDGET/COST ANALYSIS AND FUNDING STRATEGY......................................21
5.3 RISK ANALYSIS AND MANAGEMENT STRATEGY.............................................22
5.4 PROJECT QUALITY MANAGEMENT STRATEGY.................................................22
5.5 PROJECT COMPLETION STRATEGY.......................................................................23
5.6 BENEFITS REALISATION PLAN...............................................................................23
6 REFERENCES......................................................................................................................24
APPENDIX A................................................................................................................................27
A.1 PROJECT SCHEDULE..................................................................................................27
DOUBLE CLICK HERE TO ADD FOOTER

Development of an Information System for a Retail Organization Business Case
A.2 PROJECT COST PLAN.................................................................................................28
A.3 PROJECT RISK REGISTER.........................................................................................29
A.4 BENEFITS REALISATION PLAN...............................................................................30
A.5 FINANCIAL ANALYSIS on OPTIONS.......................................................................31
A.6 STAKEHOLDER ASSESSMENT MATRIX................................................................32
LIST OF TABLES
Table 2-1 | Project options...............................................................................................................7
5

Development of an Information System for a Retail Organization Business Case
1 PROJECT NEED
1.1 PROJECT NEED
The project aims to describe how an information system may be relevant to a retail organization.
It is essential to implement an information system simply because of the importance of retail in
the whole supply chain. As research demonstrates, the retail part of the organization is essential
since it provides a benchmark from where all the goods and services are distributed to the
individual sellers and suppliers (Hugos, 2018). Therefore, it is a necessity to implement a system
that ensures the continuous flow of information from both the sellers and the customers. The
importance of the information system needs not to be underrated in the operation of businesses,
especially in retail shops that operate in several regions. The physical barriers, in this case,
geography, can be overcome by implementing the retail communication systems (Aversano,
Grasso, & Tortorell, 2011).
1.2 PROJECT OBJECTIVES
The main objective of an information system in a retail organization is to ensure the continuous
flow of information into and outside the organization (Christopher & Ryals, 2014). This, as such,
may mean that it is supposed to ensure that:
 The regular provision of information to the retail manager. This information should not
only be consistent but should also be relevant to the operations of the organization
(Dantas, Barros, & Werner, 2013).
 The purpose of ensuring that the manager can anticipate the organization's needs. The
timing ensures that there is an update of information.
 Ensuring that the company or the retail organization evolve as per the changes int the
needs of the consumers and, as such, ensure that the company has a competitive
advantage over the other companies (Fosso Wamba et al., 2015).
6

Development of an Information System for a Retail Organization Business Case
 The storage and management of the relevant data regularly. This ensures that the
company is well managed in terms of all relevant company information.
An information system should align with the company’s goals and objectives (Wan & Clegg,
2010). It ensures that there is proper management of all the relevant data and steers the company
into the direction that it desires so that there is a competitive advantage in the process.
1.3 CRITICAL SUCCESS FACTORS (CSF’S)
 The system should be connected to all the projects and all the stores under the portfolio
of the company (Baesens et al., 2014). It prevents the manual distribution of information
from one of the stores to the rest, ensuring efficiency in the process.
 Product management should be interpreted in the retail systems information system. This
is because it ensures that the dissemination of information ensures that there is effective
management of all the company’s operation (Chongwatpol, 2015).
 Customer analysis is an essential factor in the implementation of the information system.
It ensures that the challenges of the customers can be addressed in real-time.
 It should ensure that the manager can flexibly price the goods over a specific financial
year. This is a significant advantage for some retail organizations since it provides an
array of options when it comes to specifying the price of a particular commodity.
 There should be an instant methodology of information communication and transfer
between the various department of the organizations, most notably the storage and the
distribution channels.
7

Development of an Information System for a Retail Organization Business Case
1.4 ORGANISATIONAL CHANGE
Changes in the organization structure may pose a significant challenge to the implementation of
an information system (Rastogi & Trivedi, 2016).. In this regard, implementation of the system
needs to concisely project the changes int the external environment and the internal environment.
In this regard, the information system needs to change as per the changes in the retail industry
(Ponsen & Ruijter, 2002).
8

Development of an Information System for a Retail Organization Business Case
2 OPTIONS ANALYSIS
2.1 OPTIONS CONSIDERED
Nevertheless, the options depend on the sales forecasting capabilities of the system
(Aversano, Grasso, & Tortorell, 2011). In this regard, the system ensures that there is a
proper framework in the management and moreover, ensures that budgetary allocations are
managed in the most efficient and conservative manner.
There is also the importance of efficient inventory management (Moses, 2018). In this
regard, it is essential to ensure that there is stock management. This involves the
management of store processes such as first in first out and last in early out. The overall
system, as such, is meant to ensure that the store managers are not burdened with the whole
process of managing what goes into the storeroom and what is contained in the storeroom.
The security offered by the system is also imperative in determining the possibility of
implementation in a retail organization. The system ensures that all the company information
are secured from theft and destruction. Therefore, there is a need to consider all the
accessories of the system, such as cameras, management checks, and sensory management.
2.2 OPTIONS EVALUATION CRITERIA
 One of the criteria used in the evaluation process depends on the familiarity of the
management with the systems. There are several options available at the disposal of the
management, but the selection should ensure that there is familiarity with a selected,
system (Maull, Geraldi, & Johnston, 2012). This is because competence in the
management of the system is essential in ensuring that the company can reap maximum
benefits from the system implementation.
 Secondly, there is a need to understand other factors, besides the technicality of the
system (Loosemore, Danity, & Lingard, 2011). Research shows that concentration on the
technical characteristics tends to be myopic. Therefore, there is a need to ensure that
9

Development of an Information System for a Retail Organization Business Case
other factors which may be used to dictate the efficiency of the organization are
considered. This, as such, should focus on the overall blueprint of the supply chain.
 There is a need to consider the most innovative systems. As research indicates, there is a
need to ensure that the system is implemented from the onset of the company progress.
This is mainly because the systems are not fully implemented by many organizations.
2.3 OPTIONS EVALUATION
The system that may be used in a retail organization, as has been observed, is the retail pro
software. As research shows, the system has been integrated with all the technical capabilities to
fit into the retail sector. In this regard, one of the factors that may be of the essence in the
evaluation process is the sale and checkout criteria (Hansen, 2018). It has been indicated that the
system, nevertheless, ensures that there is ease in which the sales manager may search for the
items required, easing the process of item selection.
Moreover, it ensures that the customer preferences are well understood by the organization,
providing simplicity in the selection of item and registry of the goods out and into the company.
Another factor that may be of the essence in the implementation of the system is the payment
options that it offers. In this regard, it ensures that customers can easily make payments to the
organization.
An essential factor in the selection of the system revolves around inventory management
capabilities (Aloysius et al., 2018). As it has been noted inventory management is an essential
part of the whole process since it ensures that there is control of all the processes in the company
operations. This revolves around the fact that there is need to ensure that there is an efficient
methodology through which the sales and purchases can be tracked. As such, it ensures that there
is proper control of the store and eases the workload on the store manager. In this regard, looking
at the proposed system, it has been indicated that inventory management has been ingrained into
the technical capabilities of the system, and as such, there is ease of store management. It has
10

Development of an Information System for a Retail Organization Business Case
been noted that the system has the ability to monitoring and managing the whole supply chain of
the system. There is ease of control from the manufacturing stage to the sales stage. Moreover,
the system has been designed to track an unlimited number of inventories.
Moreover, the inventory capabilities of the system ensure that the company can easily track the
movement of goods from one region to another or from one store to another. This may be
through the management of the serial numbers of the company products. This, as such, ensures
that there is efficiency regarding the purchase of goods and services.
Option Description
1 Retail pro Software
2 ERP software
Table 2-1
2.4 RECOMMENDED OPTION
There is a need to ensure that the system can manage the inventories in an efficient and orderly
manner. The stocks of the company are essential since they dictate the whole supply chain. The
proposed method, as such, has used this as one of its core factors. Inventory control, as such, is
meant to ensure that the losses, sales, and even the defects can be managed in the whole supply
chain. It, as such, ensures that there is a reduction in the workload of the store manager. In more
pronounced terms, it ensures that the manual errors that are associated with a store manager are
eliminated.
Another important recommendation is the fact that there is a need to ensure that all the workers
are competent regarding the operations of the system. As was indicated initially, the competence
of the system is essential in ensuring that the system works at an optimum. The retail pro nine
has been designed using the latest retail technology needs, and as such, its capabilities are more
pronounced if the management is well conversant with the operational requirements. To fully
11

Development of an Information System for a Retail Organization Business Case
reap the benefits therefore, there is need to ensure that retail organizations employ professionals
who are well conversant with the technology. Such professionals are supposed to ensure that the
labor force of the company is fully conversant with all the technical and accessory needs of the
system (Goller & Hoffmann, 2013).
12