Creating a Winning E-Business - Case Study Example

Vision and Scope Document Е-Business Sport Store Prepared by Table of Contents Vision and Scope for ii ii 1. Business Requirements 3 Vision and Scope for 13 5 1.1. Background 3 1.2. Business Opportunity 4 1.3. Business Objectives and Success Criteria 5 1.4. Customer or Market Needs 6 1.5. Business Risks 6 2. Vision of the Solution 7 2.1. Vision Statement 7 2.2. Major Features 8 2.3. Assumptions and Dependencies 9 3. Scope and Limitations 9 3.1. Scope of Initial Release 10 3.2. Scope of Subsequent Releases 10 3.3. Limitations and Exclusions 10 4. Business Context 10 4.1. Stakeholder Profiles 11 4.2. Project Priorities 11 4.3. Operating Environment 12 5. References 13 1. Business Requirements A huge part of the global marketplace is controlled by e-commerce. Not everyone has succeeded in the e-business. Thus, most of the successful e-commerce merchants are trustworthy dealers who have invested time and money. a. Trust- the greatest requirement in the e-business is trust. With the age of Facebook, Myspace and twitter, trust is required when dealing with the customer information. Thus, for the business to operate and succeed online, it must embrace trustworthiness and build a strong customer relation. b. Strategy – to become a successful online merchant you need to have a strategy on how to start and run the business. Most people think e-business is about starting a website and get an easy way to fish easy money, but it needs an investment strategy including financial and time input. Thus, starting an e-business I will need to have good strategy on the customers will see the site and judge the success in business to build a trading trust. c. Suitability ­– it is important that, when starting an online business as a merchant I need to know the suitability of the products am offering in the market. Therefore, for the business to be successful I will require to have a good judgment on the goods and services and their suitability to the market. 1.1. Background Sports Store Center- An online store for sport clothes, shoes and accessories set with variety of sizes and gender. The store has consideration for both male, female and children categories. Running the store online will provide ease to deliver the commodities to the customers across the Middle East at Zero Rated fee. Therefore, I advocate having a business that will provide quality customer service as well as maintain the customer relation in the Middle East. Unlike other online shops, the Sports Center Store will specialize strictly on the sportswear for all gender. In addition, I have knowledge on the market analysis in the Middle East, which makes the idea an ideal plan to focus on sportswear and provide free delivery in the region. Therefore, I have focuses on the regional advantage to have a specific industry niche with no competition. With excerption of new sportswear, that has no replication around the region, greater service to customers, and fair prices, Sports Center Store will take advantage of this unbelievable chance. The storeowner has ensured that the set location for the market provides real beneficial foot traffic and has ease of accessibility. The sales manager will lay an efficient service to customer that will see an increment in sales and devote an utmost attention to the customers. 1.2. Business Opportunity Most online shoppers have been used to paying for the delivery of the products at a certain percentage of the purchasing cost. Unlike all these businesses, the sport Center store will ensure all goods purchased in the Middle East are delivery at no extra cost. Further, the chances of acquiring top online market status are my central idea, which will allow more customers to join the market. This aims at capturing more customers from this region, which ensure a smooth customer relation. With the higher chances of customers falling into online fraud, this becomes our greatest challenge. This challenge may have a greater effect in reducing the customer confidence to trusting e business. Therefore, there is a need to convince the wide notion of the online shoppers about the right place to shop. Concerning challenge in market competition, the market will solely deal with sportswear. Therefore, the main competitors in online market being eBay and Amazon, my business will focus on sports, which mean I will have my target customers in sports. 1.3. Business Objectives and Success Criteria The main objectives for starting this business include: Maintaining profitability index that will allow the business to run at a cost will never surpass the revenues. To ensure the business remain as productive as possible and capture more customers that will promote development in the business. To maintain good customer relation in the online market that will see an increased purchase and trust from the customers. Employee retention- considering employee turnover as an increased cost in the business recruitment, my focus is to ensure I do not incur extra expenses in such situations thus maintaining my employee is a key priority. To maintain and uphold the business core values set in the mission and vision of the company, to cater for customer interaction and responsibility and meet the employee satisfaction. In order to determine the future direction of the market, it is necessary to understand the possible avenues that will allow the business to run smoothly. You have to lay down strategic plans that will help in making decisions and allocating resources. This way the business will have set goals that will help it venture into the market at a low risk situation, making a win-win strategy. 1.4. Customer or Market Needs It is clear from the existing market, the customer after sales services is not fully exploited for instance my market will ensure that we deliver goods to customers in the Middle east. Therefore, reaching out for the customer though search engine optimization (SEO) would create more space to encourage more buying to stream in the shop. Moreover, creating a friendly, easy to use website will encourage customers to shop with ease and driven by innovation. To meet the customer needs the business will focus in: a. Innovativeness that encourages more consumers in the market b. Focus on improving my products to reduce the competition in the market c. Ensure that the employee-customer relation is positive to create more space to attract customers. 1.5. Business Risks In the e-business models, you might think they are a no-hussle world and as if they have no financial woes. Therefore, I have considered a number of risks that the e-business may encounter. Hidden costs- one of the major success that the e-business is centered in is the costs that the business incur from website design, costs to maintain the website and the need to hire a third party to build the website. These costs are more demanding and appear to be constant unless I do an in house website design and maintenance. It is important plan on how to reduce the start up costs, for instance, learn how to manage the website, and how to increase traffic to website through SEO as my marketing strategy (Napier, 2011). Data security- as a business owner I will need to protect my business against hacking and other internet scan through the necessary security measures like encryption of the secure socket and contracting third parties to conduct transactions. Additionally, it would be necessary to take into consideration the right measures that I may require in ensuring secure data and have transaction at no risk of fraud (Canzer, 2006). Marketing failures- both offline and online markets rely on effective marketing strategies. It is possible to turn the entire business into a waste if I do not use the marketing strategy to drive traffic into the website. Therefore, for such a situation I will require to have SEO in my marketing strategy to increase traffic in my business. 2. Vision of the Solution The business will follow the customer needs to ensure that customers will receive their products in time regardless of the distance. In addition, the business will ensure that customer receives quality services that will drive the future development of the business. 2.1. Vision Statement Product mission- to ensure customer receive the best quality sportswear at an efficient and timely service. Economic vision – to operate the business at a growing rate that will be seen through a profitable rate done proper economic decisions. 2.2. Major Features For a business to be successful, it must entail a number of key features. These features will act as the public tools that will sell the business to the public as the wining factors. 2.2.1 Medium Online business relies solely on internet and the niche it occupies. E-business uses internet as the only medium that promote the exchange of services to the clients. 2.2.2 Website A successful e-business will need to have a website that will act as the key medium for all transactions. A website makes the e-business what it is, since there cannot exist and e-business without a website. 2.2.3 Communication A key feature in online business is communication. When your business is online, it needs proper communication with the customer and this step up the client-owner trust in the business. Therefore, the use of media like email and direct call to the customer is inevitable. 2.2.4 Location and position Business versatility is another key feature in e-business. Therefore, it is easy that e-business can be run from home at minimal cost unlike conventional businesses that need an office to operate. 2.2.5 Access Focusing on setting an online strategy that will well the products offered by the business, it is important that the business to have ease of access by the customers. This is to mean that the business will run 24 hours per day in a week. In short, customers will receive a continuous service and they will have an opportunity to interact with the owners and receive immediate services and feedback. 2.3. Assumptions and Dependencies When planning on this business start up, I assumed that the selling of the goods would have a fast customer track. In addition, I assumed that the customers would develop an immediate trust to start impromptu transactions with the business. When starting this business, I will need to hire third party vendors, who will provide website design services as well as maintaining the website to increase traffic to the my website. 3. Scope and Limitations Scope Considering the business will operate online at large. There will be a need to cultivate quality and timely interaction to the customer. Further, the business will have to ensure that customer demands are met at all cost maintaining the business resources intact. Limitations Major limitations for my e-business include Competition- considering that the business will run online, increasing website traffic in a big challenge while other competitors offering variety commodities remain as leading competitors in the market. Lack of good market- it is big challenge when planning on the customer you want to target when their exist other competitors in the same market. Thus, getting good market my product will be a limitation that I will need to work on to increase market range. 3.1. Scope of Initial Release The sportswear I will be dealing with in my business are of wide variety of goods like Nike, Reebok, Adidas, Oakley and some other accessories like tennis balls, golf ball, badminton racket, etc …that will be in all packages starting from adults to children in all gender. 3.2. Scope of Subsequent Releases The business will focus on the customer relation to provide quality services. Therefore, the business will foresee that there will always be follow up measures that will be set to ensure the deliveries made to customer are confirmed. In addition, customer feedback will be part of the business to determine the rate at which the business is operating. 3.3. Limitations and Exclusions The business will not have an immediate delivery of the products to clients, since different clients are in different locations. Therefore, the client will need to agree to the terms of delivery of the goods. 4. Business Context In summary, the business will need to meet all the important issues that the customers will need to have in purchasing and entering into a contract with the business. Additionally, the business will deal with a variety of clients ranging from different languages, which will have to serve from the same platform. Therefore, customers will have the most efficient platform where they will be at a position to get what they need with ease and get immediate response. Moreover, the business will need to focus on stakeholders who will drive the success of the customer services. 4.1. Stakeholder Profiles The business stakeholders will be involved in a number strategies that will see the improvement of the business and its success, which are summarized below: Stakeholder Major value Attitudes Major Interests Constraints Executives modified revenue streamlined business processes mechanization of antecedently manual tasks See production as way to raise in the market share by 25% More productive boast set than rivals; time to market and concentrate on profits and customers Maximum budget = $1.4M editors less errors in work cut down of rework bettered productivity highly open, but expect top serviceability Auto error adjustment; ease of use; and high dependability Must operate on low-end workstations legal aides quick access to data low frustration degree equated to current applications in other markets conformity to current measures or ordinances Resistant- unless merchandise is main factor-simpatico with recent system Ability to deal much bigger database than recent/new system; easy to comprehend Zero budget for developing 4.2. Project Priorities Dimension Driver (state objective) Constraint (state limits) Degree of Freedom (state allowable range) Schedule Website to be ready by 09/01/2013; meet the stakeholders on 09/15/13 Launch the website 09/20 Designing the website; securing the means of transport 80-85% Adjustable to meet the cost requirements Features Clients Marketing; meeting the customer requirements 100% service to client as top priority must be met Quality Service delivery Customer Location 20-35% customer trust on the business operations Staff Work force needed The team should be of I director, 1 marketing manager, 2 Website developers 15 % acceptance to work as a team Cost Startup capital Purchasing the sportswear sizes budget overrun up to 15% acceptable without executive review 4.3. Operating Environment The environment under which the business will operate will majorly focus on several factors that must be met to succeed in the business. 4.3.1 Availability The business platform will be readily available in a multilingual base to encourage clients from different ethnic groups, and cultures to shop comfortably. 4.3.2 Reliability There will be a service charter that will focus on search engine optimization to ensure the website acquires a top rank in the search options, which will keep clients update on any new arrivals. 4.3.3 Integrity Starting the e-business requires support from the customers. Thus, the owners integrity to provide quality services and acquire trust from the clients will ensure that there is wholeness in all the business transactions there in. 4.3.4 Performance Considering that there is internet swindle, viruses, network failure and data insecurity, all the business data will have a remote storage system set to ensure smooth operation. To promote safe working, a backup system will keep track of all the transactions conducted in the business. 5. References Napier, H. A., (2011), Creating a Winning E-Business, Second Edition. New York: Cengage Learning. Canzer, B., (2006). E-Business: Strategic Thinking and Practice: Strategic Thinking and Practice. New York: Cengage Learning. Read More