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I appreciate the attention to detail with the header. You have the title and page number.

Information Technology in Online Shopping

Christopher Groomes

INFO531

Professor Flores

August 24, 2014

Abstract

Online shopping can be very successful to a business especially in the clothing and apparel industry. Through e- commerce a business is able conduct its business in numerous ways and also communicates to their customers effectively. E-commerce have been in existence for over 30 years and it has grown drastically in many aspects of the business processes that include transaction processing, inventory management and supply chain management. An example of a digital environment includes a website. A good design of the website will require desirability, usefulness and usability. A clothing company will be able to sell and offer after sale services through the internet. Different customers will also be able to search for their desired products and purchase them online. The main business activities that can be conducted online include internet marketing, display of products, monitoring the website, obtaining customer information and record of orders and sales. According to various studies, 60% of clothing industry orders is done online. Therefore, integrating online shopping in this industry is very important to the business. Through e-commerce, the business will be able to integrate its various processes effectively leading to customer satisfaction and the success of the business.

Good effort with the abstract. The abstract provides a high-level view of your paper.

Online Shopping

The company is called Your Choice Apparel and Clothing Company and will be situated in one of the major states in America. The vision of the company is to develop a globally recognized organization. The mission of the company is to establish itself as a major company around the world. The company will have top level managers who will be the key decision makers of the organization. They will require logical information technology systems that will enable them make critical decision. They will also be the middle management who will work closely with the top level mangers. They will also require logical information systems specifically designed to enable them assist the top level mangers make critical business decisions.

Company leaders must be aware that consumers are the drivers of technology change. We must first identify what the buyer wants, and work backwards. The consumer will even pay a premium price if the product or service yields the intended benefit.

The operational managers will be the very critical in the online shopping industry. This manager will require a digital catalog through which they display our products and services using pictures and texts. They will also need a website tracking system that will enable them monitor the activities in the online market that includes visitors, visited pages and the products purchased. There will also be lower level employees who will include producers, marketers and customer care. The producers will require a product database that will enable them produce products that are needed by customers. The sales team will require a sales database for them to maintain information regarding customer orders. The customer care will require a customer database to enable them maintain information regarding our customers.

When thinking about the product or service that we’ll provide our market, we need to consider what is in demand. In addition, let’s evaluate the competition. What are they doing well? What is our competitive advantage? By having a plan, our chances of success increase.

To analyze our competitive environment we used the porter’s five major forces. The first is the bargaining power of suppliers. Our supplies bargaining power is low. The existing problem is the quality we will require from them. Suppliers are however very many for this industry. The next force is consumer bargaining power. Their accounts indicate low leverage. They spend less on clothing and this means their lack a bargaining power. The third force is new entrant’s threat which is also low. However, we shall take caution to maintain a competitive edge. The industry also lacks the fourth force which is threat of new substitutes. There however exist home shopping portals. Finally, the fifth force is the level of rivalry by competitors already in this market. There exist some of major competitors. To maintain a competitive edge we shall increase on discounts and promote quality customer service.

The Company’s Infrastructure and Information Systems Needs

IT infrastructure plan

The IT infrastructure planning is a significant component of the operations of the business. It determines the future success of the business. IT plays a significant role in the business in improving the level of service while reducing the cost of IT operations.

Telecommunication Technologies

This technology explains the connectivity between the electronic devises in the business. In my business the infrastructure and the systems of delivery creates the networks of the business. This technology is very vital in the business activities.

Functional Information systems

The functional systems of the business are based on the various functions of the business that include human resources, marketing, production and finance. These areas require various applications to perform effectively. The main functional areas in the business include financial information system, production and marketing information system and the human resources information system.

The Company’s Management of Data and Knowledge

Data Management systems

The data management systems include a collection of various programs that will be used in storing, modifying and extracting information from various databases. They are very crucial in this business. Some of the examples include the computerized inventory systems and the customer database system.

Problems in Data Management

There are various problems that relate to data management. The main problem is the failure to record data properly. Other problems include not storing the data properly and failure to maintain the data appropriately.

Knowledge Management systems

This is a method that is used to improve the performance of business processes. These systems will be used in applications like the information systems. The departments that will adopt these systems include the information technology department and the human resources department.

The Company’s Use of the Internet

Digital Economy

Digital technology refers to the change in the use of computers in the economy. The computers have generated new opportunities in the market impacting the economy significantly. There is also a high rate of adoption of the digital economy as a strategy to cope with competition.

Web 2.0 technologies

Web 2.0 technologies refer to advanced internet applications and technology that includes social bookmarking and blogs. This technology supports various user empowerments of a business. They are therefore very important in the business.

E-commerce technologies

E-commerce technologies aim at increasing the sales, attraction of customers and improvement of sites checkout experience. They play a major role in supporting the online shopping experience of customers. Online businesses need the right technology applications and tools to keep the website running efficiently.

The Company’s IT Planning and Analysis Processes

IT strategy and planning process

The process will include ensuring the existing technology is effectively applied. This will involve the assessment of learning and operations. The process will also include the establishment of information technology architecture and its guide.

Management decision support and intelligent systems

The design support and intelligent systems support the decision making in the organization. They analyze massive data collections to enable the user to make decisions. The systems have two principals that include data driven and model-driven systems.

IT security policy

This policy will define the framework which the computer systems, infrastructure and the overall computing environment will be safeguarded from both internal and external threats. This systems and applications will be safeguarded from unauthorized access. We shall also ensure they comply with the acceptable IT policies.

Conclusion

Advancement in technology has contributed to online shopping adoption. The clothing industry is one of the fastest growing online businesses all over the world. Through various systems and applications, a business is able to provide for its customers efficiently and effectively. This activity began as a simple audacious shopper’s activity and has grown to be a typical market process in the last few years. There exist economic challenges that reduce the customers trust on online shopping, however clothing online shopping has continued to be very active for many online customers. By successfully implementing a company’s infrastructure and information systems needs, the company will be successful in its online business.

References:

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firm (10th ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Education.

Turban, E., Lee, J. K., King, D., Liang, T. P., & Turban, D. (2009). Electronic commerce 2010.

Prentice Hall Press.

Laudon, K. C., & Laudon, J. P. (2011). Essentials of management information systems. Upper

Saddle River: Pearson.

Pearlson, K., & Saunders, C. S. (2004). Managing and using information systems: A strategic

approach. Hoboken, NJ: Wiley.

Luftman, J. N., Bullen, C. V., Liao, D., Nash, E., & Neumann, C. (2004). Managing the

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Häubl, G., & Trifts, V. (2000). Consumer decision making in online shopping environments: The

effects of interactive decision aids. Marketing science, 19(1), 4-21.

Wolfinbarger, M., & Gilly, M. C. (2001). Shopping online for freedom, control, and fun.

California Management Review, 43(2), 34-55.

Andam, Z. R. (2014). e-Commerce and e-Business.

Brynjolfsson, E. (2011). Wired for innovation: how information technology is reshaping the

economy. MIT Press Books, 1.

Erickson, T. J., Magee, J. F., Roussel, P. A., & Saad, K. N. (2012). Managing technology as a

business strategy. Image.

Your list of references is good! By taking the time to research the topic, you add value.

Christopher - Here are a few comments that will help you develop this project:

(a) Make sure to think of how your product or service will benefit the customer? Do you need to conduct a survey? How do you know it will be accepted?

(b) Do you have the resources (technical specialists) to create the product or service? Will you need to outsource or contract some of your work? If so, what are the pros and cons?

(c) How will you manage the scope? The “scope” is the work that needs to be done on the project? How will you avoid scope creep?

Please make sure to reach out to me with any questions or comments.

Thank you.

Dr. Flores