Analyzing the Failure of Target Canada's Implementation of Information Systems and ERP System Consid

Mistakes Made by Target Canada in its Implementation of Information Systems

Part A 
Target stores had a short stint operating in the Canadian market. Soon after opening more than 100 stores across the country, the company decided to close all of its Canadian operations. This decision made significant headlines in the news.

For this assignment, use information found in different news sources and using the topics on information systems, write an essay analyzing the extent to which an improper implementation of Information Systems by Target Canada may have caused its failure.

1. With the information you collect from your sources, identify three (3) mistakes that Target Canada made with its use of Information Systems as part of the implementation of its stores in Canada.

2. Explain what Target Canada could/should have done to overcome the mistakes/ challenges presented in question #1.
3. Describe how the concept of a fully integrated:
Supply Chain Management (SCM) system and 
Customer Relationship Management (CRM) system 

Should have helped Target if it was implemented and utilized strategically/ tactically/ operationally as part of the business value chain. 
Using your own words, make sure you briefly discuss the concepts of Business Value Chain, and provide at least 3 advantages/potentials each if Target had implemented SCM and CRM in your description.

Altitude Online: Enterprise System Considerations 
Altitude Online is an Online Services Company that specializes in the following: 
Online marketing optimization: Optimizing online advertising strategies based on target audiences and using the latest online trends 
• Customer insight: Tracking customer decisions and media usage on Web sites 
• Online market segmentation: Identifying a target audience by observing highly detailed characteristics mapped to online behavior 
• Online marketing ROI: Analyzing the financial success of a variety of online advertising and marketing strategies 
• Effective Web design: Developing and executing winning design strategies for e-commerce sites 
• Online brand building: Tracking online conversations, engaging influencers and advocates, and calming detractors 

Altitude is now in the need of identifying a new ERP system that will address its needs as a growing company. 
Altitude Online IS staff are beginning to prepare their databases for conversion to an ERP system. Each Altitude Online regional office maintains its own database and database management system (DBMS). In addition to relying on the database for daily operations, regional managers produce weekly, monthly, and quarterly reports that they provide to corporate headquarters in New York. 

The new ERP system will eliminate the need for managers to transfer reports, because it will enable executives at headquarters to view real-time data from all regions at any time. Prior to the installation of the new ERP system, databases across the organization must be standardized so that they can be easily merged. 

After reviewing several ERP solutions for medium-size businesses from a variety of vendors, the management team decided on a package that best met Altitude Online’s needs. The team considered an on-demand SaaS (Software as a service)product that was stored and managed on the vendor’s servers to be delivered to Altitude Online employees across the country via the Web. Ultimately, however, the team chose a full ERP solution that would be installed on Altitude Online servers in New York, backed up on servers in Chicago, and shared across corporate offices via leased lines from a telecom company.

Since Altitude Online already has an IT staff and servers, it made sense for the company to select a system that it could manage itself, with some assistance from the vendor. Also, using a robust ERP rather than a SaaS ERP would provide support for the company’s future growth. The ERP that Altitude Online selected provides all of the core business systems in one integrated package. It includes the following services.