Shoecarnival: E-Business Model, Marketing, and Infrastructure Report

This report provides a comprehensive analysis of Shoecarnival's e-business model, focusing on its online shoe sales and marketing strategies. It covers various aspects, including the company's value proposition, strategic goals, and business models (B2C and B2B). The report delves into Shoecarnival's marketing strategy, analyzing political, economic, social, and technological factors impacting the business. It examines the e-business infrastructure, hardware and software requirements for a mobile application, and payment processing methods. Additionally, the report addresses privacy, security, and legal issues, along with potential risks and benefits. The report concludes with recommendations for Shoecarnival's e-business development, highlighting challenges faced during project implementation and the resources used. The report also assesses the company's current e-business model and suggests improvements in marketing, infrastructure, and security to enhance its online presence and customer engagement.

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E-Business Model & Information
Shoecarnival
10/5/2017

Shoecarnival
Table of Contents
Reflections and Challenges......................................................................................................2
Resources Used in the Project..................................................................................................2
Introduction..............................................................................................................................3
Aim of the Report.................................................................................................................3
Objectives of the Report.......................................................................................................3
Scope of the Report..............................................................................................................3
Limitations of the Report.....................................................................................................3
Organization Background........................................................................................................ 3
Value Proposition.....................................................................................................................4
Strategic Goals and Objectives.................................................................................................4
Business Model of Shoecarnival..............................................................................................4
Marketing Strategy...................................................................................................................5
Analysis on the Political Aspect...........................................................................................5
Analysis on the Economical Aspect.....................................................................................5
Analysis on the Social Aspect..............................................................................................5
Analysis on the Technological Aspect.................................................................................5
E-Business Infrastructure and Payment Processing..................................................................6
Hardware Requirements.......................................................................................................6
Software Requirements........................................................................................................6
Privacy, Security and Legal Issues...........................................................................................7
Legal Issues..........................................................................................................................7
Privacy and Security Issues..................................................................................................7
Other Risks...............................................................................................................................8
List of Benefits.........................................................................................................................8
Conclusions & Recommendations...........................................................................................9
References..............................................................................................................................11
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Shoecarnival
Site URL - https://suleman4195.wixsite.com/shoesite
Reflections and Challenges
A number of challenges were experienced during the project:
 The understanding of the grid system along with the templates that were used was
difficult to grasp. Also, the understanding of the several templates and the difference
between each template was not easy to get used to at the first attempt.
 The understanding of the plug-ins involved in the site and the modules and extensions
used was not easy. The understanding of the process involved in the inter-linking
between all of these components also took time.
 The primary task was to develop the home page that involved a menu with various
menu options. The process of management of the menu and the selection of the menu
items was one challenge. Due to the lack of initial understanding, the resolution of the
issues, such as, no display of the content, technical failures etc. were not getting
resolved.
Resources Used in the Project
The challenges that have been listed above along with the other details could be understood
and resolved by analyzing, studying and referring to different resources. These resources
provided the required detail and the information on the associated components.
The basics were acquired first by using https://guides.co/g/the-basics-of-wix as the resource
to get an idea of Wix and its associated details.
The website design and the details related with the same were acquired by making use of the
resource as https://www.websitebuilderexpert.com/wix-tutorials/.
It was not easy to add an online store to Wix and there was a lot of information and guidance
that was required for this part. This process was made easy and doable by making use of
https://www.wix.com/ecommerce/website as the resource.
A number of videos are available on YouTube on Wix and the functions that can be
performed on the same. The basic tutorials of Wix to build a website and add an online store
to the same were referred through https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2hDW8_Y7bNc and
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2erBDoiTxzY.
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Introduction
Aim of the Report
The aim of this report is to highlight the major points of the solution that has been proposed
for the website https://suleman4195.wixsite.com/shoesite
Objectives of the Report
The main objectives of the report are to bring forward the e-business model of shoecarnival
and the information around the recommended solution including details of e-business
marketing and infrastructure, payment processes, advantages and set of issues.
Scope of the Report
The report covers the details of the proposed solution from different aspects, such as,
organizational, operational and technical.
The specific estimations such as project schedule and project budget are not covered in the
report.
Limitations of the Report
The information around the constraints and dependencies in association with the proposed
solution has not been highlighted in the report.
Organization Background
Shoecarnival is a company that sells shoes for women, men and kids online. It has partnered
with several shoe brands from all across the globe to make sure that the customers get their
desired shoes. The following are the primary functions that are performed by the company:
 Selling of various shoe types and products for women, men and kids.
 Collaborating with shoe brands to include their catalogue on the site.
 Selling of accessories, such as, backpacks, duffle bags, handbags etc.
There are various shoe brands that are already associated with the company like Adidas,
Puma, Vans, Clarks, and Converse etc. It is required to collaborate with more brands to offer
wider range of shoes to the customers. Also, the expansion of the customer base is intended
by the company. The solution proposed for the same is the integration of social media
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platforms in the website along with enhancement of the features in the website. Also, a
mobile application shall be developed for the business.
Value Proposition
Value proposition comprises of collaboration from other shoe brands and sellers to include
their catalogue on the website. There will be promotional events and contests that will be
organized for this purpose so that the shoe sellers and brands wish to collaborate with
Shoecarnival. Also, the customer base is required to be expanded for the company which
shall be done by making use of social media groups and platforms to inform the customers
regarding the discount deals and offers so as to attract maximum number of customers.
Strategic Goals and Objectives
The main object of the organization is to maximize its partners and the customer base. There
are certain show brands that will be targeted in the first phase followed by the other brands in
the next series of phases. The expansion of customer base will primarily focus upon the
women customers followed by men and kids. This will lead to increased revenues for the
company and increased sales as well.
The partners and the brands that will collaborate with Shoecarnival will be required to pay a
certain share to Shoecarnival as well which will add to the profits earned by the company
(Brohi et al., 2016).
The social media marketing will be required to be enhanced for this purpose so that the
company may reach out to more number of people that may be shoe brands or the customers
associated with the company.
Business Model of Shoecarnival
There are two business models that have been proposed for Shoecarnival. The first model is
the Business to Consumer (B2C) model which will include the strategies and business
decisions that will be taken to expand the customer base. The primary decision in this area
will be the enhanced use and promotion of the company on the social media platforms and
development of a mobile application for the company (Martinez-Lopez, 2010). The second
model will be Business to Business (B2B) model which would include the strategies and
business decisions that will be taken for collaboration with the shoe brands and sellers in the
market (Pandya and Dholakia, 2005).
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Marketing Strategy
The customers that will be targeted for the expansion of the customer base associated with
the company will mainly include women followed by men and kids. The shoe brands and
sellers shall be decided as per the results of the market survey.
Analysis on the Political Aspect
Political decisions and regulations have a lesser role to play in case of the shoe industry and
the associated markets. There are certain common factors that can have an impact on the
business decisions and strategies in terms of the taxation laws, rate of inflation, government
stability etc. The chances of the development of a new policy and its negative or adverse
impact on the functioning of the industry are minute.
Analysis on the Economical Aspect
Economy can get impacted by a number of factors and parameters. These may include the
rates of interests, the economic cycles of a particular country, the levels of unemployment
and many more. All of these factors and others can have a positive or a negative impact on
the economy of the country. These factors, however, will not have a huge impact on the shoe
business and industry apart from the interest rates.
Analysis on the Social Aspect
There are many trends and patterns that are witnessed in the areas of fashion and lifestyle.
These trends and preferences of the consumers are some of the social factors that can have a
huge role to play in case of the functioning of Shoecarnival. The demand of a particular shoe
type or product can vary as per the changing trends.
Analysis on the Technological Aspect
Technology is being used in all of the business units and industries. Shoe industry is also
being enhanced with the use and implementation of the latest technology in the areas of shoe
manufacturing and production. These technological trends and concepts need to be analyzed
and the ones that are applicable need to be adapted. Online commerce has become an
essential part of every industry along with the use of social media marketing. These
technological elements shall be analyzed and studied regularly (Pradhan, 2014).
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E-Business Infrastructure and Payment Processing
Hardware Requirements
The mobile application that shall be setup and developed for Shoecarnival may face huge
traffic and a lot of simultaneous users.
There may be many simultaneous transactions that may be performed by the users and there
may also be many incidents. The functioning and query handling ability of the database will
play a very important role. The operating systems, such as, Android and iOS shall be used for
the development of the mobile application so that the transactions can smoothly take place.
There shall be security protocols and mechanisms integrated in the application so that the
security of the information and services is not impacted.
The infrastructural requirements that will be required for the application have been listed
below.
 A tele-communication network that is reliable and secure
 Integrated payment gateway to allow the customers to pay for their orders online
 Electronic clearing and fund transfer systems
 Security of the information through advanced encryption algorithm
Software Requirements
 Database tools
The database tool that shall be used in this application shall make use of Toad
application and Oracle database. The customers that will be making use of the
application may be hundreds and thousands in number at the same time. The database
implemented in the application shall be able to withstand all of such requirements and
Big Data tools shall also be supported by the same. The GUI used for the database
must also be in accordance with the needs and specifications.
 Coding tools
The mobile application shall be developed with the programming language as JAVA
so that it shall be compatible with Android, iOS and other mobile operating systems
(Methodsandtools, 2017). The website features shall be enhanced by making use of
the same programming language with inclusion of the system qualities such as
reliability, scalability, performance and usability.
 Testing
Testing is one of the essential activities that shall be performed on the application.
The test creation and test execution shall be done in the tool as TestLink. For the
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logging, management and reporting of the defects, Bugzilla shall be used as the tool.
There are various types of testing that shall be performed on the website as well as the
mobile application including system and integration testing, regression testing,
security testing, performance and load testing.
Privacy, Security and Legal Issues
Legal Issues
There are various legal policies and regulations that shall be adhered to in case of the mobile
application for Shoecarnival. The electronic payments that are made with the application
shall be secure and there must be e-payments code followed in all of such transactions.
Foreign exchange systems and government agencies must also be collaborated with the
application. There are several malicious codes that may attack the payment information and
transactions. These payment transactions shall be secured by making use of Safepay or other
anti-malware tools (Uop. 2006).
Intellectual property laws and regulations shall also be followed in the application.
Privacy and Security Issues
The use of mobile application in Shoecarnival may bring in many different mobile security
risks and attacks. These risks may be in the form of information security or network security
risks and threats. These may have an adverse impact on the privacy, confidentiality and
security of the customer data and product details stored in the application.
The impact of such attacks can be low to extremely significant in nature. For instance, in case
of the breaching of financial information of a customer, there may be legal impacts and
obligations on Shoecarnival (Onebusiness, 2013).
The different forms of attacks may include malware attacks and risks, network eavesdropping
attacks, man in the middle attacks, SQL injection attacks, information breaches, information
losses and leakage along with many more.
Information availability may also be impacted by the execution of the attacks such as denial
of service and distributed denial of service attacks. There are also other forms of flooding
attacks that may take place.
Many different security controls shall be implemented to make sure that the privacy and
security risks associated with the mobile application do not take place. These controls shall
include a combination of logical controls along with enhancement of administrative policies.
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These technical controls shall include the use and implementation of anti-malware and anti-
denial tools along with network scanners and intrusion detection systems. There shall also be
enhanced monitoring and review practices that must be carried out.
Other Risks
E-commerce and mobile commerce are not the new trends in the market. There are already a
number of business units that have their presence on the online platforms including mobile
mediums. Due to this reason, there may be market risks associated with the solution that has
been proposed for Shoecarnival.
It will be required to develop the strategies and include the features in the mobile application
that are not being offered with any of the competitors. These may include promotional offers,
discounts and deals.
There will also be numerous changes that may come up with the business operations and their
mode of execution. The members of staff may take a little while to easily adapt with the
changes. This may have an adverse impact on the productivity and efficiency levels.
An initial round of training will be required to be provided to the employees and the end-
users along with the inclusion of system documentation. In case of absence of these system
documents or the training sessions, there may be technical and operational errors executed by
the users. Some of these errors may lead to impacts that may not be allowed to be rolled back.
List of Benefits
The primary motive and purpose of any business unit is to make sure that the customers
associated with the business are satisfied and the revenues earned by the business
organization are high.
In case of Shoecarnival, the customers that the company is targeting may already be using
other online providers. The basic demands of the customers include reasonable prices of the
shoes along with huge catalogue so that they may choose the desired product from a diverse
range on the website or mobile application. The user experience that the customers earn from
the website or mobile application is also one of the major factors. The development of mobile
application and enhancement of the existing website of Shoecarnival will allow the ability to
the organization to earn better levels of customer satisfaction. The use of safe modes of
payments along with security protocols and mechanisms will allow the execution and
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completion of payment transactions safely. This would enable enhanced customer trust and
engagement with the organization.
There will be many initiatives that will be done by the business units to collaborate with the
shoe brands and sellers. This will enhance the market reputation of the company in the
market along with the revenues earned by the company. The promotional activities that will
be carried out on the social media platforms will allow the expansion of the partners and
customer base which will lead to the achievement and accomplishment of the goals (Wills,
2014).
The customers are now making shift towards the business units that are making use of latest
technological tools and trends. With the inclusion of latest features in the website along with
the mobile application, there will be enhanced levels of customer attraction that will be
earned. This will further add to the organization’s capabilities to achieve the goals and
objectives (Khurana, 2017).
Conclusions & Recommendations
Online presence along with a strong presence on the social media platforms has become a
necessity for the business units in the present times.
Shoecarnival is an online shoe store that has its websites with certain basic features present
on the website. In order to enhance the number of partners and the customer base associated
with the site, it has been proposed to have a strong integration of the social media platforms
on the website. Also, a mobile application has been recommended for the purpose.
It is necessary to plan out all of these activities along with the requirements in such a manner
that the goals and objectives of the project as well as the business unit are achieved.
There are various development and management methodologies that can be used for this
purpose. The development methodology that has been proposed for the solution is agile
methodology for system development. It will allow the solution to be developed in such a
manner that it is flexible and adaptable in nature. Also, the management of the project shall
be done by making use of the methodology as Project Management Body of knowledge
(PMBOK). There will be many risks, conflicts and problems that will be associated with the
project that will be needed to be efficiently managed. These capabilities and abilities will be
offered by the use and implementation of the PMBOK methodology in the company.
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References
Brohi, H., Prithiani, J., Abbas, Z., Bhutto, A. and Chawla, S. (2016). Strategic Marketing
Plan of Nike. SSRN Electronic Journal.
Khurana, A. (2017). Why E-commerce Is Taking the Retail World by Storm. [online] The
Balance. Available at: https://www.thebalance.com/advantages-of-ecommerce-1141610
[Accessed 04 Oct. 2017].
Martinez-Lopez, L. (2010). Intelligent e-services and multi-agent systems for B2C e-
commerce. Internet Research, 20(3).
Methodsandtools (2017). Software Development Tools: Java, JavaScript,.NET, PHP, Ruby.
[online] Methodsandtools.com. Available at:
http://www.methodsandtools.com/tools/tools.php [Accessed 04 Oct. 2017].
Onebusiness (2013). The Legal and Privacy Issues of Doing E-Business. [online] Available
at:
https://www.onebusiness.ca/sites/default/files/MEDI_Booklet_Legal_Privacy_Issues_accessi
ble_E.pdf [Accessed 04 Oct. 2017].
Pandya, A. and Dholakia, N. (2005). Conceptualizing B2C Businesses as a New Category of
Services. Journal of Electronic Commerce in Organizations, 3(1), pp.1-12.
Pradhan, S. (2014). Total Quality Management in Service Sector: Case Study of Academic
Libraries. Journal of Business and Management Sciences, 2(3A), pp.29-32.
Uop (2006). E-Commerce Legal Issues. [online] Available at:
https://www.uop.edu.jo/download/research/members/tisgway_ecom.pdf [Accessed 04 Oct.
2017].
Wills, B. (2014). 18 Major Benefits of e-Commerce Business for Retailers & Customers in
2015. [online] Medium. Available at: https://medium.com/@briannawillsss/18-major-
benefits-of-e-commerce-business-for-retailers-customers-in-2015-63c5fc87f679 [Accessed
04 Oct. 2017].
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