Prepare an in-depth analysis of two case studies for assignment 2.

Management Information System MIS 201

Semester 2 (2019-2020)

Assignment 2 Details

DUE DATE: 11/4/2020 by 11:59 PM

Prepare an in-depth analysis of two case studies for assignment 2. Here are some guidelines:

 This is an individual assessment, which is a part from your course score. It requires effort

and critical thinking. So, avoid copy/paste answers.

 This ASSIGNMENT 2 will worth 9 marks out of 15, it is about case studies 3 and 4

(During this semester total grade of the assignment is 25, Case Studies Questions 15

Marks and Presentation 10 Marks)

 Answer all the questions listed below for each case.

 The ‘answers’ to the questions are best formulated by reviewing the case and the reading

materials up and including the current week in the course. Also, you can support your

answer with additional references.

 References must followed Harvard Reference style. For more details about Harvard

Reference style, check this resource:

https://library.aru.ac.uk/referencing/harvard.htm

 The questions are worded to help you apply the readings to the case, so don’t limit

yourself to the case’s terminology and perspective. The best analysis will abstract the case

content by applying the reading materials to draw broader lessons about the material.

 Add cover page in the first page of your assignment, it is uploaded into Blackboard with

assignments’ files. Marks will be deducted if the cover page is not included.

 Do not include the full case study in your assignment file. Write only questions and

answers.

 Submit your assignment in only WORD format.

Case Study 3: Driving Ari Fleet Management with Real-Time Analytics

1) Why was data management so problematic at ARI? (1 Mark) 2) Describe ARI's earlier capabilities for data analysis and reporting and their impact

on the business. (1 Mark)

3) Was SAP HANA a good solution for ARI? Why or why not? (1 Mark) 4) Describe the changes in the business as a result of adopting HANA. (1 Mark)

Case Study 4: Zappos

1) Define SCM and how it can benefit Zappos. (1 Mark) 2) Explain CRM and why Zappos would benefit from the implementation of a CRM

system. (1 Mark)

3) Demonstrate why Zappos would need to implement SCM, CRM, and ERP for a

connected corporation. (1 Mark)

4) Analyze the merger between Zappos and Amazon and assess potential issues for

Zappos customers. (1 Mark) 5) Propose a plan for how Zappos can use Amazon’s supply chain to increase sales

and customer satisfaction. (1 Mark)

Case Study 3: Driving Ari Fleet Management with Real-Time Analytics

Automotive Resources International®, better known as simply ARI®, is the world's largest privately-

held company for vehicle fleet management services. ARI is headquartered in Mt. Laurel, New Jersey

and has 2,500 employees and offices throughout North America, Europe, the UK, and Hong Kong. The

company manages more than 1,000,000 vehicles in the U.S., Canada, Mexico, Puerto Rico and Europe.

Businesses that need vehicles for shipments (trucks, vans, cars, ships, and rail cars) may choose to

manage their own fleet of vehicles or they may outsource fleet management to companies such as ARI

which specialize in these services. ARI manages the entire life cycle and operation of a fleet of vehicles

for its customers, from up-front specification and acquisition to resale, including financing,

maintenance, fuel management, and risk management services such as driver safety training and

accident management. ARI also maintains six call centers in North America that operate 24/7, 365 days

a year to support customers' fleet operations by providing assistance regarding repairs, breakdowns,

accident response, preventive maintenance, and other driver needs. These call centers handle about 3.5

million calls per year from customers, drivers, and suppliers who expect access to real-time actionable

information.

Providing this information has become increasingly challenging. Operating a single large commercial

vehicle fleet generates high volumes of complex data, such as data on fuel consumption, maintenance,

licensing, and compliance. A fuel transaction, for example, requires data on state taxes paid, fuel grade,

total sale, amount sold, and time and place of purchase. A simple brake job and preventive maintenance

checkup generates dozens of records for each component that is serviced. Each part and service

performed on a vehicle is tracked using American Trucking Association codes. ARI collects and

analyzes over 14,000 pieces of data per vehicle. Then multiply the data by hundreds of fleets, some

with up to 10,000 vehicles, all operating simultaneously throughout the globe, and you'll have an idea

of the enormous volume of data ARI needs to manage, both for itself and for its customers.

ARI provided its customers with detailed information about their fleet operations, but the type of

information it could deliver was very limited. For example, ARI could generate detailed reports on line-

item expenditures, vehicle purchases, maintenance records, and other operational information presented

as simple spreadsheets, charts, or graphs, but it was not possible to analyze all the data to spot trends

and make recommendations. ARI was able to analyze data customer by customer, but it was not able to

aggregate data across its entire customer base.

For instance, if ARI was managing a pharmaceutical company's vehicle fleet, its information systems

could not benchmark that fleet's performance against others in the industry. That type of problem

required too much manual work and time, and still didn't deliver the level of insight management

thought was possible.

What's more, in order to create reports, ARI had to go through internal subject matter experts in various

aspects of fleet operations, who were called "reporting power users." Every request for information was

passed to these power users. A request for a report would take 5 days to fill. If the report was

unsatisfactory, it would go back to the report writer to make changes. ARI's process for analyzing its

data was extremely drawn out.

In mid-2011, ARI implemented SAP BusinessObjects Explorer to give customers the enhanced ability

to access data and run their own reports. SAP BusinessObjects Explorer is a business intelligence tool

that enables business users to view, sort and analyze business intelligence data. Users search through

data sources using an iTunes like interface. They do not have to create queries to search the data and

results are shown with a chart that indicates the best information match. The graphical representation

of results changes as the user asks further questions of the data.

In early 2012, ARI integrated SAP BusinessObjects Explorer with HANA, SAP's in-memory

computing platform that is deployable as an on-premise appliance (hardware and software) or in the

cloud. HANA is optimized for performing real-time analytics and handling very high volumes of

operational and transactional data in real time. HANA's in-memory analytics queries data stored in

random access memory (RAM) instead of on a hard disk or flash storage.

Things started happening quickly after that. When ARI's controller wanted an impact analysis of the

company's top 10 customers, SAP HANA produced the result in 3 to 3 1/2 seconds. In ARI's old systems

environment, this task would have been assigned to a power user versed in using reporting tools,

specifications would have to be drawn up and a program designed for that specific query, a process that

would have taken about 36 hours.

Using HANA, ARI is now able to quickly mine its vast data resources and generate predictions based

on the results. For example, the company can produce precise figures on what it costs to operate a fleet

of a certain size over a particular route across specific industries during a certain type of weather and

predict what the impact of changes in any of these variables. And it can do so nearly as easily as

providing customers with a simple history of their expenditures on fuel. With such helpful information

ARI provides more value to its customers.

HANA has also reduced the time required for each transaction handled by ARI's call centers—from the

time a call center staffer takes a call to retrieving and delivering the requested information—by 5

percent. Since call center staff account for 40 percent of ARI's direct overhead, that time reduction

translates into major cost savings.

ARI plans to make some of these real-time reporting and analytic capabilities available on mobile

devices, which will enable customers to instantly approve a variety of operational procedures, such as

authorizing maintenance repairs. Customers will also be able to use the mobile tools for instant insight

into their fleet operations, down to a level of detail such as a specific vehicle's tire history.

Case Study 4: Zappos

Tony Hsieh’s first entrepreneurial effort began at the age of 12 when he started his own custom button

business. Realizing the importance of advertising, Hsieh began marketing his business to other kids

through directories, and soon his profits soared to a few hundred dollars a month. Throughout his

adolescence, Hsieh started several businesses, and by the time he was in college he was making

money selling pizzas out of his Harvard dorm room. Another entrepreneurial student, Alfred

Lin,bought pizzas from Hsieh and resold them by the slice, making a nice profit. Hsieh and Lin

quickly became friends. After Harvard, Hsieh founded Link Exchange in 1996, a company that helped

small businesses exchange banner ads. A mere two years later, Hsieh sold Link Exchange to

Microsoft for $265 million. Using the profits from the sale, Hsieh and Lin formed a venture capital

company that invested in start-up businesses. One investment that caught their attention was Zappos,

an online retailer of shoes. Both entrepreneurs viewed the $40 billion shoe market as an opportunity

they could not miss, and in 2000 Hsieh took over as Zappos’ CEO with Lin as his chief financial

officer.

Today, Zappos is leading its market and offering an enormous selection of more than 90,000 styles of

handbags, clothing, and accessories for more than 500 brands. One reason for Zappos’ incredible

success was Hsieh’s decision to use the advertising and marketing budget for customer service, a

tactic that would not have worked before the Internet. Zappos’ passionate customer service strategy

encourages customers to order as many sizes and styles of products as they want, ships them for free,

and offers free return shipping. Zappos encourages customer communication, and its call center

receives more than 5,000 calls a day with the longest call to date lasting more than four hours.

Zappos’ extensive inventory is stored in a warehouse in Kentucky right next to a UPS shipping center.

Only available stock is listed on the website, and orders as late as 11 p.m. are still guaranteed next-day

delivery. To facilitate supplier and partner relationships, Zappos built an extranet that provides its

vendors with all kinds of product information, such as items sold, times sold, price, customer, and so

on. Armed with these kinds of details, suppliers can quickly change manufacturing schedules to meet

demand.

Zappos Culture

Along with valuing its partners and suppliers, Zappos also places a great deal of value on its employee

relationships. Zappos employees have fun, and walking through the offices you will see all kinds of

things not normally seen in business environments—bottle-cap pyramids, cotton-candy machines, and

bouncing balls. Building loyal employee relationships is a critical success factor at Zappos, and to

facilitate this relationship the corporate headquarters are located in the same building as the call center

(where most employees work) in Las Vegas. All employees receive 100 percent company-paid health

insurance along with a daily free lunch.

Of course, the Zappos culture does not work for everyone, and the company pays to find the right

employees through “The Offer,” which extends to new employees the option of quitting and receiving

payment for time worked plus an additional $1,000 bonus. Why the $1,000 bonus for quitting?

Zappos management believes that is a small price to pay to find those employees who do not have the

sense of commitment Zappos requires. Less than 10 percent of new hires take The Offer.

Zappos’ unique culture stresses the following:

1. Delivering WOW through service

2. Embracing and driving change

3. Creating fun and a little weirdness

4. Being adventurous, creative, and open-minded

5. Pursuing growth and learning

6. Building open and honest relationships with communication

7. Building a positive team and family spirit

8. Doing more with less

9. Being passionate and determined

10. Being humble

Zappos’ Sale to Amazon

Amazon.com purchased Zappos for $880 million. Zappos employees shared $40 million in cash and

stock, and the Zappos management team remained in place. Having access to Amazon’s world-class

warehouses and supply chain is sure to catapult Zappos’ revenues, though many wonder whether the

Zappos culture will remain. It’ll be interesting to watch!19