管理信息系统案例分析：Case-Study-Zara

1.HowwouldyouadviseSalgadotoproceedontheissueofupgradingZara’sPOSsystem?ToanswerthequestionwhetherornotupgradingZara’sPossystem,wemustagreethatthePossystemshouldhelpthecompanytouseinformationwiselytoaddvaluetotheirperformanceinsomecriticalfieldssuchasfinancing,marketing,operationandsoon.Moreover,thePossystemoughttobesuitablefor3dimensionsincludingorganization,technologyandpeople.(1)ShouldthecompanyupgradethePOSterminalstoamodernoperatingsystem?Atpresent,Zara’sPossystemgivessupporttoitsdailyoperatingandmanagement.Managersandemployeesinheadquarteraswellasvendormembersallovertheworlduseitwell.However,thereisacontradictionwecan’tignore.Zara’sPOSsystemrunsonDOSwithoutassistofthesupplier,Microsoft,whichleadstoatroublethatZaradoesn’thavePOSsoftwarethatworkswithitsPOShardware.Inotherwords,Zarafacesadilemma.Someholdtheviewpointthatit’snotnecessarytoupdatethePOSterminaltoamodernoperatingsystem.OnereasonisthatmembersininformationsystemdepartmentareabletocompileDOS-compatibleprograms.AnotherreasonisthatupgradingPOSsystemmaypushstoremanagersandemployeesinamessandittakestimetoadapttothenewone.Inaddition,ZaraisabigcustomerforDOS.That’stosayZarahasthepowertobargain,whichmeansalowercost.However,POSsystemwalksontwolegs,thesoftwareandhardware.Inthelongterm,Zaraneedstoupgradeit.SinceZaraisbecomingmoreandmoreglobalwithincreasingtrendinrevenue,profitandbranchesaroundtheworld.Forfurtherdevelopment,Zarahadbetterkeeppacewithinternationalconventions.Afterall,fromtechnologicalangle,Zara’ssystemfallsbehind.What’smore,noonecanpromisehardwarewithincompatiblesoftwarewillalwaysrunsmoothly.Whatifitbreaksdown?Nosupport.YoucanimaginethedamagetoZara.Naturally,thetransitionneedsaspecificplan.Maybe,theprocessfrompointtosurface,takingexternalandinternalenvironmentintoconsideration,isagoodchoice.(2)Shouldthecompanybuildin-storenetworks?Yes,itshouldbuildin-storenetworks.Now,thePOSterminalswerenotconnectedtoanotheroneviaanyin-storynetwork,soemployeescopieddailysalestotalsfromeachterminalontoafloppydisk,thecarriedthesediskstotheonemodem-equippedterminaltoaccomplishthetransition.AndmodernPOSterminals,sincetheywerereallymodernPCs,couldaccommodateevenmoresophisticatedcapabilities,especiallynetworkswithinstoresandacrossthecompany.Wirelessnetworkswereparticularlyintriguingsincetheyweremuchcheapertoinstallwithinastore.Withawirelessnetworkinplace,itwouldnolongerbenecessarytocarryfloppydisksaroundthestoreattheendofeachbusinessdaytotallyuptotalsales.Inaword,buildingin-storenetworkscansavemoremoneyforthecompany,andimproveitsefficiency.(3)Shouldthecompanygiveemployeestheabilitytolookupinventorybalancesforitemsintheirownstores?Wethinkthecompanyshouldgiveemployeestheabilitytolookupinventorybalancesforitemsintheirownstores.Nowinthecompany,orderingisstandardizedaroundtheworld.Storepersonnelcannotlookuptheirinventorybalancesonanyin-storecomputer,socanvassingthestorewastheonlywaytolearnaboutstocklevels.Inthisway,onlythestoremanagersknowwhathadbeensold.Thecompanyshouldgiveemployeesthepowertocheckinventorybalancesforitemsintheirownstores.Firstly,theemployeeswillknowhowwelltheywork.Iftheyhavefinishedtheachievementwell,theywilldotheworkenthusiastically.Ifnot,theywillmakeeffortstorealizegoal.Secondly,iftheemployeesknowwhatkindofgarmentsellsbetterorworse,theywilltakethedifferentstrategieswhentheysellthedifferentkindsofgarments,whatwillearnmoremoneyforZara.Thirdly,theemployeescangivesuggeststostoremanagersaboutordering,whichwillimprovetheemployees'satisfactionandparticipation.Inaword,ifthecompanygivesemployeestheability,Zarawillbemorelikelytomakeabigdifferenceandrealizethebusinessstrategy.(4)Shouldthecompanygiveemployeestheabilitytolookupinventorybalancesforitemsinotherstores?Ourteamholdstheopinionthatthecompanyshouldgiveemployeestheabilitytolookupinventorybalancesforitemsinotherstores.Thereasonsareasfollows:1)Itwouldpromotethecompany’sinternalinformationchange.2)Eachbranchwillhavemoreaccesstoparticipateintheoperation.3)Itwillmakegreatcontributiontoprovidingmuchmoreusefulinformationforshopgoodstransferamongnearbystores.4)Wealsobelievethattheautomatedlookupcanbetrust---whetheronlineinventorybalancesaregenerallyaccurateinretailenvironments.Eachbranchalsowantstoshowthelocalconsumer’sdemandwiththerealsalesdate.2.WhatisZARA’sbusinessstrategy?Itsbusinessstrategyismainlydifferentiationintegratedwithcostleadership.Thedifferentiationrevealson:therapidresponseforthemarketdemand,thefashionabledesignwithinextremelyshortperiodcomparedwithitscompetitors,theconstantlychangingshoplayoutsandtheart-designedwindowdisplay.Intermsofcostleadership,itprovidesproductswithrelativelyreasonableprice,whichjust“canbeworn10times”,byconductinglittleadvertisingsandverticallyintegratedmanufacturingoperationanddistributionsystembasedoninformationsystem.3.HowZararealizethestrategy?Asfarasweareconcerned,wethinkZararealizethestrategythroughthreeaspects:Businessmodel,Operations,IT.Thenwewillexpoundtheseaspects.BusinessModel(I)Thebusinessidea----retailing,manufacturingandapparelindustryintegrated.(II)Systemform