Final Project Milestone One: Introduction, Business Requirem ✓ Solved

3-2 Final Project Milestone One: Introduction, Business Requ

3-2 Final Project Milestone One: Introduction, Business Requirements, and Competitors and Technology

Prompt: Imagine you work for the small brick-and-mortar business described in the final project case scenario. The owner wants to generate new revenue through e-commerce but needs to improve current technology. Create a business systems analysis that:

I. Introduction

A. Clearly state the problem the business owner is seeking to solve and what the business ultimately wants to do.

B. Identify and briefly describe two technologies from the provided list that you will research.

II. Business Requirements

A. Explain the objectives of integrating new technology (what the project should accomplish and how it supports the business goal).

B. Provide a project description addressing: i) what the business needs to do to satisfy objectives; ii) desired results at project end; iii) why the owner should consider implementing new technology.

C. State key technological requirements any new technology must meet (capabilities required).

III. Competitors and Technology

A. For Technology One: select a competitor in the same industry; describe what it does and how it uses this technology, with examples.

B. For Technology Two: select a competitor; describe what it does and how it uses this technology, with examples.

C. Explain one specific way one competitor is benefiting from technology and the potential benefit to your business if adopting the same approach.

Use this analysis to support future technology recommendations.

Paper For Above Instructions

Executive Summary

This business systems analysis evaluates how a small brick-and-mortar specialty retailer can integrate new technologies to launch e-commerce, improve operational efficiency, and support growth. The business problem, project objectives, project description, technical requirements, and competitor technology examples are presented to inform later technology selection and a decision matrix.

I. Introduction — Problem Statement and Selected Technologies

Problem statement: The owner of a small specialty retail shop seeks to expand revenue by establishing an e-commerce presence but currently operates with fragmented, legacy systems for point-of-sale (POS), inventory, customer records, and reporting. This fragmentation prevents real-time inventory visibility, online ordering, efficient shipping, integrated payments, customer relationship management, and actionable reporting. The business ultimately wants to operate omnichannel (in-store + online) sales with synchronized inventory, secure payment processing, order-tracking, CRM, and analytics to drive revenue and customer retention (Laudon & Traver, 2020).

Selected technologies to research:

1) Cloud computing (cloud-based e-commerce and integrated back-office) — a hosted platform to run the online storefront, order management, and integration with POS and inventory systems to ensure real-time synchronization and scalability (Gartner, 2019).

2) Business analytics and business intelligence (BI/analytics) — tools to analyze sales, inventory turnover, customer behavior, and marketing performance to inform merchandising, promotions, and logistics decisions (Forrester, 2020).

II. Business Requirements

A. Project Objectives

The primary objectives are:

- Enable online sales (web + mobile) integrated with in-store operations.

- Achieve real-time inventory visibility across channels to avoid overselling.

- Provide secure, PCI-compliant payment processing and order tracking.

- Centralize customer contacts and enable targeted marketing.

- Deliver actionable reporting and analytics for decision-making.

- Scale infrastructure cost-effectively as online demand grows (Laudon & Traver, 2020; PCI SSC, 2018).

B. Project Description

What the business must do to satisfy objectives:

- Implement a cloud-based e-commerce platform that integrates with the existing POS or replaces it with a cloud POS that syncs inventory and sales.

- Deploy an order management system (OMS) to handle fulfillment, shipping, returns, and status updates.

- Integrate a CRM module for customer profiles, purchase history, and communications.

- Implement BI dashboards for sales, inventory, and marketing metrics.

Desired results at project completion:

- A functioning online storefront accepting secure payments, showing accurate inventory, and providing shipment tracking.

- Unified inventory system preventing stock inconsistencies and enabling reordering rules.

- CRM-driven email and loyalty programs that increase repeat purchases.

- Regular analytics reports and dashboards informing promotions and inventory buys.

Why implement new technology:

- Consumer buying increasingly shifts online; omnichannel capability captures additional market share and improves resilience to physical disruptions (McKinsey, 2020).

- Automation reduces manual errors, labor costs, and fulfillment delays while improving customer satisfaction and lifetime value (Shopify, 2021).

C. Key Technological Requirements

Any selected technology must be capable of:

- Integrating online shopping with existing or upgraded POS and inventory systems via APIs.

- Managing inventory, SKUs, multi-location stock levels, and shipping/fulfillment workflows.

- Processing online payments securely and remaining PCI-DSS compliant.

- Providing order status checking, notifications, and returns management.

- Hosting CRM functionality (customer profiles, segmentation, email automation).

- Generating reports and dashboards for sales, inventory, and customer analytics.

- Supporting mobile-responsive storefronts and mobile commerce.

- Scaling cloud resources and maintaining uptime with data backup and security protections (Gartner, 2019; PCI SSC, 2018).

III. Competitors and Technology Examples

Technology One — Cloud Computing: Competitor Example: Warby Parker

Warby Parker is a direct-to-consumer eyewear retailer that built a seamless omnichannel experience using cloud-hosted e-commerce, centralized inventory, and an integrated back office to allow online ordering, in-store pickup, and returns (Turban et al., 2018). Specific examples include real-time inventory visibility across fulfillment centers and streamlined checkout flows that reduce cart abandonment (Laudon & Traver, 2020). Their cloud approach supports rapid scaling and frequent feature releases (Shopify, 2021).

Technology Two — Business Analytics: Competitor Example: Sephora

Sephora leverages business analytics and BI to personalize marketing, optimize inventory placement, and measure campaign ROI. Sephora’s use of customer data, loyalty program analytics, and mobile behavior insights enables targeted promotions and improves conversion rates (McKinsey, 2020). Example: real-time dashboards influence in-store replenishment and online merchandising choices to maximize sales per SKU (Forrester, 2020).

Benefit Transfer: One Specific Advantage

One specific way Sephora benefits from analytics is personalized email and mobile offers that increase repeat purchases and average order value. If the small retailer implements similar BI-driven personalization and segmentation, it can expect higher repeat purchase rates, more effective promotional spend, and better inventory allocation, reducing stockouts and markdowns (Forrester, 2020; McKinsey, 2020).

Implementation Risks and Mitigation

Key risks include data security and PCI compliance, integration complexity with legacy POS, and upfront costs. Mitigations: choose PCI-compliant payment gateways, adopt middleware or SaaS solutions with proven connectors for common POS systems, and phase the implementation (launch online catalog first, then OMS and CRM) to spread costs and reduce disruption (PCI SSC, 2018; Oracle, 2020).

Conclusion and Next Steps

Summary: Moving to a cloud-based e-commerce platform plus BI/analytics directly addresses the business problem by enabling online sales, unified inventory, secure payments, and actionable insights. Next steps: complete a decision matrix comparing specific vendors (e.g., Shopify Plus, NetSuite Commerce, Magento Cloud) on technical requirements, cost, and integration; pilot the chosen stack; and measure KPIs (online revenue, cart conversion, inventory accuracy, repeat rate) to validate outcomes (Shopify, 2021; Oracle, 2020).

References

• Laudon, K., & Traver, C. (2020). E-commerce 2020: Business, Technology, Society. Pearson. (Laudon & Traver, 2020)
• Turban, E., King, D., Lee, J., Liang, T.-P., & Turban, D. (2018). Electronic Commerce: A Managerial and Social Networks Perspective. Springer. (Turban et al., 2018)
• Shopify. (2021). Shopify case studies and platform documentation. https://www.shopify.com/ (Shopify, 2021)
• McKinsey & Company. (2020). The consumer demand for digital and omnichannel experiences. McKinsey Digital. (McKinsey, 2020)
• Forrester Research. (2020). Business analytics and customer insights best practices. Forrester. (Forrester, 2020)
• Gartner. (2019). Cloud strategies for small to medium enterprises. Gartner Research. (Gartner, 2019)
• PCI Security Standards Council. (2018). PCI DSS: Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard. https://www.pcisecuritystandards.org/ (PCI SSC, 2018)
• Oracle NetSuite. (2020). Cloud ERP and inventory management solutions for retailers. Oracle NetSuite White Papers. (Oracle, 2020)
• Amazon.com, Inc. (2019). Platform scalability practices and e-commerce operations. Amazon corporate reports. (Amazon, 2019)
• Statista. (2021). Global e-commerce growth and small business adoption statistics. https://www.statista.com/ (Statista, 2021)