Supply Chain Management

The way of doing business has changed dramatically, thanks in part to the advent of the internet. The convenience of ordering products online, and having them delivered to your doorsteps, beats having to drive to a store, choosing your item if it’s available, having to stand in long lines to pay for the item, and then returning to the often congested traffic in order to return home. Online businesses are contributing towards having to stay in long line to pay for items purchased a thing of the past. The advancement of technology and e-commerce has increased customers’ expectations and demands for products of high quality standards. Customers want quality at reasonable prices, without having to sacrifice the products quality. XT Online offers customers the convenience of ordering quality products online by way of a state of the art online ordering website. Customers will have the option of picking up the purchased items if they live nearby one of our office locations, without having to stand in checkout lines, or conveniently have them delivered to their home.

XT Online exists to give customers a convenient shopping experience while guaranteeing quality goods at reasonable prices. The company hopes to make online shopping for household items a norm in the cities it enters through constant customer satisfaction.

XT online is an extension of XT Inc., a company that deals exclusively in household products ranging from electronics to furniture and kitchen appliances. XT Online markets itself independently with a view of cutting a niche for itself among customers seeking convenience while shopping. The business stocks goods from reputable suppliers, many of whom customers know for high quality goods. The business has its offices in New York, Los Angeles, and Miami. Customers can pick items from offices closest to them or the company can deliver them at a fee.

XT Online and XT Inc. will carry out joint purchases of items to take advantage of quantity discounts. XT Online has invested highly in a physical store for display of items as well as a quality website, with personnel at hand to update customers on new developments. The online platform allows for a detailed description of the products, their prices, and even terms of conditions. Customers who visit the company’s website can navigate easily, with goods well classified to enhance the experience even for non-technology savvy customers.

All suppliers must commit to selling the company goods of the highest quality. Any defective products have to be replaced within 24 hours of their return. XT Online usually checks whether a company’s product have received negative feedback from customers concerned with standards. To market their goods, the suppliers occasionally give prizes to people who shop through the website. XT Online also carries out surveys to sample customer’s views on quality of items as well as the friendliness of the website and speed of delivery services. The marketing team is also constantly watching out for new trends in e-commerce.

The business markets its services through television advertisements and social websites. Investment in marketing is quite important because of many other websites offering similar services (Cole, 2009). However, the business has to couple this with quality goods as well as personalized services for the customers. All customers who visit the company’s physical store receive a tour; similar to what they would have had they visited the website. In addition, all deliveries are made within 24 hours after the purchase. Customer must be allowed to inspect goods before signing the delivery note.

The employee’s team is quite lean to ensure efficiency and clear division of roles. No job titles of hierarchies exist and each person sets and accomplishes their own goals. A small team helps ease the salary costs. Marketing is the biggest cost for XT Online and the business has invested in algorithms that help evaluate the profitability of online marketing efforts by monitoring online traffic (Chaffey, 2009).

XT Online is a private company owned by three investors with different stakeholders. The managing director has a degree in finance and doubles as the lead financial officer. He is involved in negotiations involving sourcing of finance from credit institutions. The second investor is an attorney and is the lead counsel for the firm. The third investor is the marketing director as well as the head of the team that designed the website. He is involved in its maintenance as well as constant uploading of items and their profiling.

Cole, A.H., (2009). Business enterprise in its social setting. 1st ed. Cambridge, Mass : Harvard University Press.

Chaffey, D. (2009). E-business and E-Commerce management: strategy implementation and practice. (4th ed). Harlow, England. FT Prentice Hall.