Enterprise Social Networks: FreshDirect Case Study Analysis, BIT413

This case study examines FreshDirect, a US-based online grocery company founded in 1999. It explores FreshDirect's operational processes, including its 'Just In Time' manufacturing practice, direct sourcing from suppliers, and use of SAP software for order management. The case highlights FreshDirect's focus on customer experience, including the use of customer surveys and data analysis to improve service. The company's core mission is to provide quality products at competitive prices, and it invests in customer relationship management and technology infrastructure. The study concludes that FreshDirect's innovative operational strategy and focus on customer satisfaction have contributed to its success in the e-commerce business, particularly in the online grocery market. The case study is a reflection of the business environment and the ability of a company to survive and thrive.

Enterprise Social networks
Student Name
Institute and Affiliation
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Table of Contents
Introduction:....................................................................................................................................3
Organisational Overview:................................................................................................................3
Conclusion:......................................................................................................................................4
References:......................................................................................................................................5
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Introduction:
The e-commerce website is faster selling or buying procedure. Customers can easily find their
desired products. The e-commerce site has no geographical barriers and reaches customers
around the world (Sharma and Lijuan, 2015). It enables customers to post their comments
regarding services and products. It also helps to improve the site for the long run. It operates 24/7
to help the customers to choose the products and services at any time (Hartono et al. 2014). The
benefit of the e-commerce site is that it needs low operational cost with good quality service. In
this report, the researcher has chosen FreshDirect, the e-commerce site of the United States (US).
In this report, the researcher will present detail operational process of FreshDirect.
Organisational Overview:
FreshDirect was founded in the year 1999 by Joe Fedele and Jason Ackerman in NewYork, US.
It is an online grocery to sell fresh food and other grocery brands with up to 25% lower than the
prices of supermarkets and delivers it to the customer door. The company has more than 2000
employees who prepare the meals and groceries for its customers. ‘Just In Time' is a
manufacturing practice and helps to reduce waste and to improve freshness and quality. It buys
foods directly from fisheries, dairies, and farms so, it is fresh and less expensive. FreshDirect
uses the software SAP. It helps in the process to place thousands of orders on their website every
night. Dispatched orders go directly to the bakery, kitchen, and produce ripening rooms, areas of
production, fresh storage rooms and deli. The main aim of FreshDirect is to provide a superior
online shopping experience to change the lives of the people. Due to the database when the
customers are logged on their site, all visits are stored to track the customers. Frequent customer
survey also helps to know the customer preferences (Chen et al. 2015). FreshDirect has also
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done the same to develop their product service and quality according to the need of the
customers. Investment technology infrastructure is another most crucial part of the e-commerce
site (Olajide et al. 2016). FrsechDirect has appointed customer relationship manager, storefront,
payment processor, and business intelligence. FreshDirect core mission is to provide products
and service to the door of the customers at a cheaper price compared to other e-commerce sites.
It helps them to make loyal customers and they also spend money to attract more customers
through offers and free shipping. The company is on expansion to reach all territorial customers.
Conclusion:
Through the discussion, it has been identified that FreshDirect is successful in their e-commerce
business due to its innovative operations strategy. The key objective of FreshDirect is to provide
a quality product at a cheaper price. However, it has also been identified that FreshDirect
delivery service and quality of food is satisfiable to the customers. Their ‘’Just In Time" slogan
has helped their working process. Hence, an E-commerce site is surely a gift for the people of
modern days.
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References:
Chen, J.V., Yen, D.C., Pornpriphet, W. and Widjaja, A.E., (2015). E-commerce web site loyalty:
A cross cultural comparison. Information Systems Frontiers, 17(6), pp.1283-1299.
Hartono, E., Holsapple, C.W., Kim, K.Y., Na, K.S. and Simpson, J.T., (2014). Measuring
perceived security in B2C electronic commerce website usage: A respecification and
validation. Decision Support Systems, 62, pp.11-21.
Olajide, F., Adeshakin, K., Misra, S. and Ayo, C.K., (2016). On the Investigation of Social
Network Analysis for E-Commerce Transaction in South-West Region of Nigeria. International
Journal of Pharmacy & Technology, 8(4), pp.23108-23114.
Sharma, G. and Lijuan, W., (2015). The effects of online service quality of e-commerce
Websites on user satisfaction. The Electronic Library, 33(3), pp.468-485.
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