Process and Systems Analysis: Developing an Online Shopping Platform

This report, submitted by a student, analyzes the opportunity to develop an online shopping platform for a fashion business. It begins with an introduction highlighting the need for innovative solutions in today's complex supply chain. The report proposes an online platform to streamline processes, improve customer experience, and integrate various departments. Part 1 focuses on analyzing the opportunity using marketing theories such as internet marketing strategies, network theory, and generational marketing. It also explores the application of models like the AIDA model and the PPTI framework. The report examines the need for organizational restructuring, outlining new roles like brand manager, internet marketing coordinator, and big data analyst. Performance evaluation metrics are discussed, emphasizing the potential for digital platforms to enhance competitiveness. Part 2 presents an implementation plan, including risk management strategies. The report concludes with a reflection on the benefits of the proposed online platform and its potential to drive business performance.

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Managing Process and Systems
Student Name:
Institutional Affiliation:
Name of Instructor:
Date of Submission:

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Introduction
Objective.
Today’s business environment requires visionary companies to implement innovative
solutions to manage the increasingly complex supply chain effectively (Antonowicz 2018).
Customer compliance and other logistics are shifting towards an omnichannel retail model, and
therefore, it’s our job to change and accomplish these continually changing process constantly
(Rai, Verlinde and Macharis 2018). Most of the time, the sales staff and agents get an order form
our customers, but it takes a lot of time to confirm whether the item is available in our
warehouses. As the warehouse manager and the head of logistics, I have identified an
opportunity whereby we can develop an online shopping platform where the customers can
access the warehouse, screen for their preferences and make orders through the platform.
Nowadays, customers prefer making purchases over their smartphone rather than going to the
shop (Khitoliya 2012). The platform will be multidimensional as it will institute an
interconnected element among all departments involved with the company’s inventory, i.e., the
warehouse manager, sales staff and agents, and the head of the buying department.
Another concept of the online shopping platform is that it will have our apparel products
noticed in the galaxy of the online marketplace. Customers will also be able to make orders and
have them tailor-made according to their preferences. Citing the operation strategy, I have
reflected on the bottom-up perspective and learned from the day-to-day activities in identifying
this opportunity. Also, a market requirement in the outside-in perspective will play a vital role in
translating the intended market position. Our performance objective can only be accomplished
by identifying what the customers expect and the systems and processes we can implement to
reach to our customers. We need a system that is dependable and flexible so that the customers

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can quickly access our products. We also need an error-free process with a fast throughput to
conform to the current trend in the business. If this opportunity of an online shopping platform is
implemented, the operation systems PPTI framework will be established in that there will be a
reliable connection between the process, people, information, and technology.
Part 1- Analysis of the Opportunity
Online market platform.
As a growing business, we need to identify and anticipate the right marketing strategies
that will satisfy the needs of our customers profitably. To create an effective marketing strategy,
a fashion brand needs to use several channels that precisely targets the intended market (Iyer et
al. 2018). We need to apply the internet marketing strategies theory and empirical research based
on our company’s performance objectives. In the current error of industrial society, virtual
network service sand intangible services have become the subject of study for market researchers
(Brady, Bourdeau and Heskel 2005). It is was noting that the most important value is growing.
Many researchers try to demystify the progressive development of a physical commodity to the
different stages it undergoes before it can reach its final level. However, the tertiary services are
our major concern as we try to integrate the sector’s recent service marketing strategies. The
emergence of these services has widened the gap by making the customers realize that self-
perception is important.
Marketing theorists apply a scientific approach that explains the consumers’ purchasing
attitude and behaviors (JinHyunJoung, 고고고 and 고고고 2012). Most of the established companies
apply these guides when arriving at decisions on the best way to communicate with their
customers on their product value. The network theory can be used as an overlapping tool for

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learning patterns about how we can develop relevant social networks with our customers and
influence their behavior towards our products. A study conducted at Columbia University
reported that the success of any product is impossible to predict, but we can influence the
decisions of the consumers by implementing influential internet platforms(Allred and
Chakraborty 2004). There is also the collective intelligence theory that a company that has
combined its services is more productive than a company that runs its departments as parts.
Internet marketing is a crowdsourcing tool, where we can apply collective intelligence and make
consumers part of our campaign (Simmons 2007). We are looking to build a platform where
customers can give feedback, rate our products as well as communicate their preferred taste. It is
a precise and straightforward approach which will give us prior information on the currently
untapped market setting.
To further support the opportunity, there is the generational marketing theory that holds
that different generations have different attitudes and behaviors which shapes their view of the
world. In this regard, promotional mix model can be applied (see figure 1). This particular model
depends upon the advertising, public relations, sales promotion and personal selling. The plan of
the organization is mainy focussed on target market so that production of the organizational
goals and profits can be achieved.

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Figure 1. Promotion Mix
(Sources: created by author)
Online platforms are primarily the only ways that companies can reach these different
generations and ensure that they have respectively satiated the needs of the generations(Berkup
2014). They have to identify the needs of generation Y and the millennials to avoid conflicting
interests and losing customers in the process. I have drawn illustrations form the above
marketing theories to show how consumers are increasingly using modern technologies like
mobile phone, websites, the internet and other innovative means which allows them to move
from mass markets to segments of one. We need to establish a relationship marketing to build
customer loyalty. The opportunity in the platform will generate a means through which we can
communicate to our customers more frequently. We will also develop customized alerts for our
Promotio
n Mix
Advertisment
Public
relations
Personal
selling
Sales
promotion

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customers every time we have a new product in our warehouse. That way, we can improve
service quality perceptions. We mentioned the operation systems PPTI framework in the earlier
literature. Our online shopping platform should bring all the elements of the framework into
functionality. In this respect, the AIDA Model can be discussed which relates to the consumer’s
respond to the promotional messagres through cognotiove, conative and affective methods (see
figure 2). This model is based on the four pillars or components named, attention, interest, desire
and action. In this respect, six stages are properly followed which include secure attention,
holding attention through interest, arousing desire, creating of belief and confidence, securing
decision as well as actions and create satisfaction.
Figure 2. AIDA Model
(Source: created by author)
attention
action
interest
desire

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We need technology that can position our company broadly and align the process with
performance objectives. In that case, the proposed online platform will link the variety of
products to the demand in the market. The varieties will be visible to the market at any time. It
will also develop a short-waiting tolerance because we will have the preferences of the customer
and have the product tailor-made with much ease. The system will also make process mapping of
our products easier and the process design, i.e., the SIPOC, will be easier to define.
Explanation of structure.
Fig 1: Current organization structure.
The digitalization of the company’s sales and marketing processes will lead to the need for a new
organization chart. It will create the need for rapid organizational changes which have been
deeply analyzed in this content. The digital transformation will give the customers a direct
correlation in the company's brands of clothing and fashion accessories. We will, therefore, need
personnel with valued and technical knowledge in the field of digital marketing in the global

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market. It is a new scenario, and it’s projected that about 48% of job positions will disappear
mainly due to the incorporation of new technology in the various less qualified positions. It will
create a new structure with new professional positions. These positions have been analyzed in
details below.
i) Marketing and brand management.
The role of the brand manager is to develop a brand strategy that is more current than ever. In the
previous structure, their role was to coordinate the sales. However, this position has gained new
complexities of creating, strengthening, and maintaining the brand-customer relationship as the
brand grows. The personnel has to have knowledge and experience in the field of fashion and
how they can influence the customers’ habits. In this regard, the model named Keller's Brand
Equity Model can be discussed (see figure 3). This model can effectively makes the
organizations understand the customers and implement the strategies properly. In order to create
the WOW factor, the organostions must know the strategies of implementation and give right
experience to the customers.

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Figure 3. Keller's Brand Equity Model
(sources: careted by author)
ii) Internet marketing coordinator.
They are responsible for developing new strategies through which customers can be made aware
immediately there is a new brand already in stock in the warehouse. They create campaigns and
promotional information for the products. They also track the processing of orders from the sales
department to the distributors. They also distribute the product across different networks to
detect the consumer’s habits.
iii) E-commerce catalog manager.
They generate and load all the details of the products so that the customers are aware of the
product specifications. They also generate information like technical guides, revisions of the
products, and discounting information.
Reso
nanc
e
Brand
response
Brand meaning
Brand identity

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iv) Brand manager.
It is the most crucial position in the new organization structure. They act as bridges for the close
relationship between the various newly created job positions. They work side by side with the
organization manager that products are manufactured in the best possible conditions. They also
analyze the behavior of the customers and predict consumer desires. They work with the buying
department to keep updates on sourcing and procurement. The model like brand pyramid is used
effectively in this regard where the managers illustrate five key stages namely bonding,
advantage, performance, relevance and presence which ensure the company with the
effectiveness of the customer loyalty (see figure 4).
Revenue potential
Figure 4. brand pyramid
(Sources: careted by author)
Bonding
Advantage
Presence
Relevance
Performance
Loyalty

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v) Big data analyst.
Nowadays, companies have a lot of information from each of the departments, which is still
the case in our organization. We need a professional who can read and analyze the information
and transform its statistics to generate value to the company. They give meaning to large
databases collected every hour. They are also responsible for decision making in large-scale
environments like analysis projects and e-commerce. They need to have a technical and
programming competence.
vi) E-commerce analyst specialist.
They are professional experts in the organization’s electronic commerce. They generate
business strategies to improve the online platform and help the customers to reach the product.
They are also responsible for giving reports regarding commercial data like the usability of the
product, commercial habits, and web traffic.
Vii) Digital project manager.
He/ She is responsible for verifying whether the digital products meet the customer’s
specifications. They oversee the technical development of e-commerce applications, easy to use
mobile and social applications, e-mail marketing, etc. They identify possible contingencies that
affect the online environment and mitigate them before they occur. They ensure that problems on
digital products are resolved within the least time possible. Lastly, they create a budget per
project and identify the risks inherent to it.
Performance evaluation.

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Even the smallest companies have the potential to compete through the digital platform
(Cenamor, Parida and Wincent 2019). Creating multiple storefronts through the online platform
puts the power of enterprise technology into a whole new level. E-commerce sales never sleep or
go on vacation; thus, they are available on a 25hrs schedule. All markets and demographics can
be connected through the online platform creating an integrated runway for the company to go
global ("Creating New Markets In The Digital Economy: Value And Worth" 2014). People carry
enough power in their pockets, and the majority of customers prefer online shopping to walk to
the store. A clothing company needs to diversify its features and implement a program that is
more functional and engaging no matter the complexity of the technology applied (Hwang,
Chung and Sanders 2016). We need to implement a system that gives our customers feel the
products we have in the warehouse.
The themes in the online shopping platform should be fully responsive to give the
customers a clear view of the online marketplace (Ling, Chai and Piew 2010). Another
advantage of the online platform is going global. We will get an opportunity to scale up and
establish our brands in the broader market. We will get a chance to attract large traffic of
customers to test our products. Ultimately, our digital market place will enable us to create
engagements with our customers and generate sales directly. The fashion trend tends to be
quickly changing, and the world of technology is quickly diving for the opportunity. We need to
put in a more refined mix of healthy efforts to motivate and attract a vast number of potential
customers. If our online platform is powerful enough, it will give us complete command of the
marketing activities and leverage them to our advantages. We can’t say that creating an online
platform is at volition. It is the new trend, thanks to the new technologies and smartphones that