Overview
Conduct a case study analysis on the information management system of a company you choose from a list of possibilities and provide that analysis in a Word document of approximately 800–1000 words.
Meeting customer demands and high efficiencies are the goals of the majority of supply chains, and companies strive to develop sustainable long term supply chain solutions.
By successfully completing this assessment, you will demonstrate your proficiency in the following course competencies and assessment criteria:
• Competency 1: Design a supply chain to support an organizational strategy.
o Describe an organization’s information management system (IMS).
• Competency 2: Improve efficiency in the supply chain.
o Evaluate the competitive aspects of an organization’s IMS.
o Describe how the IMS helps coordinate between supply chain partners.
• Competency 3: Manage a supply chain in order to satisfy customers.
o Explain how an IMS helps monitor orders and inventory levels and satisfy customers.
o Explain why managing information is equally or more important to a company than moving products.
• Competency 4: Communicate in a professional manner that is consistent with the expectations for supply chain managers and participants.
o Exhibit proficiency in writing, critical thinking, and academic integrity by appropriately attributing sources.
Context
There is a need for coordination in the supply chain and to understand the impact of coordination on supply chain performance. The information management system measures the success of each supply chain partner and allows the members to improve as they develop trust and closer working relationships. The innovation and changes produced in supply chains, in response to market changes or from the drive to improve efficiency, effectively customize its structure, and improve its performance.
Questions to Consider
To deepen your understanding, you are encouraged to consider the questions below and discuss them with a fellow learner, a work associate, an interested friend, or a member of the business community.
For the following questions, refer to the National Geographic video, Ultimate Factories: IKEA, and Kinnander’s article, “IKEA’s Challenge to the Wooden Shipping Pallet,” listed in the Resources.
• What is the importance of developing a sustainable supply chain?
• What are three initiatives that IKEA is doing to make its supply chain sustainable?
Assessment Instructions
For this assessment, consider that you work for a company that develops and sells case studies and case study analyses. Your company’s primary customers are colleges and universities wanting to use them within their courses, but your company also has customers using them for management training and development. Your manager asked you to conduct research and write a case study analysis about a company’s information management system (IMS). She’s specifically interested in you doing this associated with one of a small set of possibilities she provided to you. You may use the same company you selected in a prior assessment or you may select a different company from the following list:
• L. L. Bean.
• Amazon.com.
• Starbucks.
• Intel.
• Johnson and Johnson.
You and your manager discussed the high level outline of your case study analysis and agreed you should address the following items. As the basis for your research, you can use any of the resources noted in this course, in the library, and on the Internet.
1. Analyze and describe the company’s information management system. As part of your analysis, analyze if its IMS gives the company a competitive advantage over their competition.
2. Recommend improvements for the competitive aspects of the organization’s IMS.
3. Analyze how the IMS helps coordinate between supply chain partners.
4. Analyze how the IMS helps to monitor orders and inventory levels and satisfy customers.
5. Analyze why managing information is equally or more important to the company than moving products.
Based on the intended audience, your report should be well organized and written in clear, succinct language. Target 800–1000 words. Follow APA rules for attributing sources that support your analysis and conclusions.
Academic Integrity and APA Formatting
As a reminder related to using APA rules to ensure academic honesty:
1. When using a direct quote (using exact or nearly exact wording), you must enclose the quoted wording in quotation marks, immediately followed by an in-text citation. The source must then be listed in your references page.
2. When paraphrasing (using your own words to describe a non-original idea), the paraphrased idea must be immediately followed by an in-text citation and the source must be listed in your references page.
Suggested Resources
The following optional resources are provided to support you in completing the assessment or to provide a helpful context. You may use any scholarly source (3 sources min)
Library Resources:
• Blanchard, D. (2010). Supply chain management best practices (2nd ed.). Hoboken, NJ: Wiley.
• Drake, M. (2011). Global supply chain management. New York, NY: Business Expert Press.
• Greeff, G., & Ghoshal, R. (2004). Practical e-manufacturing and supply chain management. Oxford, England: Newnes.
• Farooqui, S. U. (2010). Encyclopedia of supply chain management: Volume I. Mumbai, India: Himalaya Books Pvt.
• Farooqui, S. U. (2010). Encyclopedia of supply chain management: Volume II. Mumbai, India: Himalaya Books Pvt.
• Farooqui, S. U. (2010). Encyclopedia of supply chain management: Volume III. Mumbai, India: Himalaya Books Pvt.
Course Library Guide
You are encouraged to refer to the resources in the BUS-FP3022 – Fundamentals of Supply Chain Management library guide to help direct your research.
Internet Resources
• Kinnander, O. (2011). IKEA’s challenge to the wooden shipping pallet. Bloomberg Business Week. Retrieved from http://www.businessweek.com/magazine/ikeas-challenge-to-the-wooden-shipping-pallet-11232011.html.
• Sustainable Supply Chain Foundation. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.sustainable-scf.org/
Bookstore Resources
The resources listed below are relevant to the topics and assessments in this course and are not required.
• Chopra, S. (2019). Supply chain management: Strategy, planning and operation (7th ed.). Boston, MA: Pearson.
SCM Case Analysis: Information Technology
Amazon is a multinational internet-based enterprise that offers e-commerce, cloud computing, artificial intelligence, and digital streaming services. As an e-commerce enterprise, Amazon strives to relay the right information to the right people to ensure quick and cost-effective delivery of products to domestic and international consumers. One way Amazon achieves this level of efficiency is through the use of an information management system. This case analysis aims to explore Amazon’s Information Management System (IMS), its competitive advantage over industrial peers, how it helps coordinate between supply chain partners and monitor orders, and inventory levels to satisfy consumers. The paper also examines why managing information is equally essential to the company and offers recommendations on improvements that Amazon could make to its IMS to make it more competitive.
Amazon’s Information Management System
Research on Amazon’s operations reveals that the company has a two-piece information management system comprising a simple storage service and a web service. The company’s web developers mainly use the simple storage service. In contrast, the Amazon web service constitutes several information systems, such as the customer relationship management system (CRM), smart analysis search system, and transaction processing system, which are highly integrated to facilitate information exchange and promote the firm’s processes. As the literature suggests, CRM is essential in centralizing and integrating transaction records and customer data and making this information accessible to key stakeholders (Gil-Gomez et al., 2019). In Amazon, the CRM is used to gather consumer information and promote effective communication among the Amazon staff, sellers and buyers. Moreover, the firm uses the smart analysis search system to secure consumers’ data and personalize services, while the transaction processing system is used to facilitate safe and secure purchases (Imran, 2014). In essence, Amazon’s IMS provides a competitive advantage against its competitors by fostering efficient acquisition, exchange, and management of information across stakeholders that promotes customer satisfaction.
Despite being a competitive advantage, Amazon can improve its IMS to make it more efficient relative to its competitors. One way in which the firm can achieve this is by integrating its website operations with social networking. Demir (2017) notes that the MIS of e-commerce firms such as E bay exists in the social space, which allows them to integrate consumers’ shopping experience with their social networking profile. Similarly, Amazon should integrate its website with social networking to share its consumers’ reviews on social sites, thus fostering trust among prospects.
How IMS Help Coordinate Between Supply Chain Partners
Besides being a competitive advantage, Amazon’s IMS helps coordinate the supply chain partners by promoting effective communication across the supply chain. This action is achieved through the web service or the web application, which allows users to interact with the web’s functionality through different user interfaces (Sarhan & Gawdan, 2018). For example, Amazon’s web service is designed in such a manner that it can operate in conjunction with other internet-enabled devices such as laptops and smartphones. This interoperability level promotes coordination across the supply chain partners by enabling Amazon staff, sellers, and clients to communicate effectively.
How IMS Help Monitor Orders and Inventory Levels and Satisfy Customers
In addition to promoting coordination, Amazon’s IMS helps the involved parties monitor orders and inventory levels, which promotes customer satisfaction. This action is made possible with the Enterprise Resource Management system’s help, which automates order placement and delivery tracking. Moreover, the automated resource management system enables Amazon staff and sellers to monitor inventory levels and replenish before the stock runs out. The frequent replenishment, accurate order tracking, and placement help meet the client’s demand, thus promoting high customer satisfaction levels.
Importance of Managing Information to the Company
At its basic, managing information in Amazon is equally essential as moving products, because it is the core pillar of the firm’s operations. It is worth noting that Amazon operates as an internet-based enterprise despite owning warehouses where goods are stored before delivering to the final customer. This online-based operation differs from a brick-and-mortar store where consumers can walk into the retailer and select the goods they wish to purchase. As an online retailer, Amazon relies heavily on information to evaluate consumers’ preferences, determine their historical purchase options and use this data to trigger subsequent purchases. Besides, without accurate and adequate information, Amazon may not know where, when and what to deliver to consumers to enhance their satisfaction. In essence, information management in Amazon is equally important as moving product because it promotes efficient identification of consumers’ preferences and needs satisfaction.
Conclusion
As seen from this analysis, Amazon invests significantly in its two-piece IMS, which enables it to acquire, manage, and exchange information for efficient business processes. Moreover, the research reveals that Amazon’s IMS promotes cooperation among supply chain partners by enabling Amazon staff, buyers, and sellers to interact through the web services. The analysis also shows that Amazon’s IMS allows suppliers to monitor their inventory levels and restock on time to meet customer demands and thus attain high levels of client satisfaction. Overall, Amazon’s IMS is a competitive advantage for the entity; nevertheless, it can be improved by integrating it with social networking to enhance consumers’ trust in the entity’s services.
References
Demir, A. (2017). Management information system: Case study of Amazon.com. Journal of Research in Business and Management, 4(11), 11-17. http://www.questjournals.org/jrbm/papers/vol4-issue11/B4111117.pdf
Gil-Gomez, H., Guerola-Navarro, V., Oltra-Badenes, R., & Lozano-Quilis, J.A. (2019). Customer relationship management: Digital transformation and sustainable business model innovation. Economic Research, 33(1), 2733-2750. https://doi.org/10.1080/1331677X.2019.1676283
Imran, A.A. (2014). A study on Amazon: Information systems, business strategies and e-CRM. Academia. https://www.academia.edu/8001771/A_STUDY_ON_AMAZON_INFORMATION_SYSTEMS_BUSINESS_STRATEGIES_AND_e_CRM
Sarhan, Q.I., & Gawdan, I.S. (2018). Web applications and web services: A comparative study. Science Journal of University of Zakho, 6(1), 35-41. https://www.researchgate.net/deref/https%3A%2F%2Fdoi.org%2F10.25271%2F2018.6.1.375
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