Information System Strategy: A Case Study Of Woolworths Limited

1.Identification and discussion of the chosen company’s structure, products and services under consideration
2. Operations and functionality: Identify and discuss
 a. The current processes
 b. Any gaps and what is not working properly
 c. Which specific issues that the new system will fix
 d. Criteria that will be used to prove the proposed system meets requirements
3. Discuss what constitutes an Information Systems (IS) Strategy and explain why such strategy is needed as part of the overall organisational strategy.
4. Discuss why the organisation may experience difficulties in developing an Information Systems Strategy. As part of your answer you should suggest solutions to the difficulties you discuss.
5. With reference to your studies on Information Systems failures:
 a. Analyse the typical problems that might be expected to arise within Information Systems projects.
 b. Illustrate your answer with reference to literature and any relevant examples.
 c. Suggest remedies to the problems you have identified.

Digital strategies and information system have attained growth in the recent scenario.  There are various organizations that consider the strategies so that the activities can be performed in an effective manner.  The strategy related to information system considers many policies that give outcome according to the organizational environment and also offer information to each and every division. The information system consists of the software and hardware network that can be considered to collect, create and distribute the method of the data.  An organization can implement a proper information system so that competitive advantage can be attained. It also reduces the expenses and enhances the efficiency of the work.

 Due to the change in the internal and external environments, there are various organizations that face difficulty to align the information system strategies.  This report will give emphasis on evaluating the structure, services, and products of Woolworth's limited.  The report will evaluate information system strategy and also the problems that are faced by the organization at the time of formulating the information system strategy. The report will also discuss about the strategies that will help the company to align the business structure with information system strategy.

Woolworths limited was established in 1924 in Australia. The company conducts the activities in various locations of Australia and New Zealand.  The head office of the company is in Bella Vista, New South Wales, Australia. There are more than 990 stores situated in Australia, India and New Zealand.  By giving focus on the revenue it is evaluated that it is one of the second largest firms in Australia after Wesfarmers. The company is a biggest retailing chain in terms of revenue (Hashem et al., 2015).

The company has more than 205,000 workers conducting the activities in the organization and they offer high-quality products to the consumers at affordable prices.  In 2016, the organization suffered a loss in its income and the competitors are Wesfarmers, ALDI and Coles.  As an outcome, the company started giving focus on implementing the strategic policies and actions so that the competitive advantage can be enhanced. In Australia and New Zealand, the company has attained good position and it serves more than 29 million customers in every week. The company has a positive image in the Australian market due to the high quality and high satisfaction level of the customers (Dhiraj, 2017).

Recently, the company started offering its services by considering the online sources to its consumers and individuals purchase the products directly from the online website of the company or by the mobile application.  The online shopping facility is available at specific locations and express delivery services are considered by the company, so that the products can be delivered on time (Keith, 2012). The company faced loss in 2016, to recover the loss the focus is on redesigning the internal infrastructure and also to enhance the reliability of the information system. The organization also started to give focus on the technologies, so that the efficiency can be maintained of the activities.  The company takes into consideration cloud computing technology so that effectiveness can be increased of the activities.  By using external cloud services the company saves the expenses in a proper manner (Willcocks, 2013).

Benefits of Information System in Woolworths Limited

Big data technology has the capability to enhance the business efficiency and to enhance the customer involvement by analyzing the demand and buying pattern. Woolworths uses big data technology to collect the information related to its customers and to analyze the buying behavior in an effective manner. To enhance the reliability of the reporting capabilities it helps the store managers to take corrective decisions related to business.  Bug data technology offers the store managers to analyze the information that cannot be accessed by the company and it helps to build future strategies in a proper way. The technology is useful in the agile technology as it helps the company to give focus on its actions and also to offer best products in the Limited time period (Valacich et al., 2015).

One of the important benefits of IT infrastructure is real-time connectivity in many stores that help to increase the speed and efficiency of the decision-making process. Woolworths take into consideration real-time connecting in its supply chain so that the performance can be analyzed and also to offer correct information to enhance the current operations. The company established BYOD program that assists the staff to consider Google application engine. It helps them to evaluate the log support request from iPad devices offered by the company (Whittington, 2014).

 In the recent scenario, the information system strategy emphasis on strategizing that considers the active procedure. The strategizing process gives emphasis on collecting the data through the informal system. The information system strategy gives emphasis on a collaboration of the business strategy and IT System.  It helps to gain a competitive advantage so that the activities can be conducted smoothly (Stair and Reynolds, 2013). Woolworths consider the infrastructure related to it and also enhances the efficiency of the business activities along with the management of supply chain.  There are many companies that implement digital systems into the marketing strategies. Many companies can attain a competitive advantage by considering information system strategy into their business models like Google and Apple (Dawes et al., 2009).

Amazon uses information system technology so that the record can be maintained of various products and also it saves time.  In the recent scenario, information technology helps modern companies in developing the competitive strategy that enhances the efficiency of their activities. The role of the information system is enhancing in the companies. Woolworths can implement information system into its business model and also helps to analyze the requirements in the market (Crozier, 2013).The company gives emphasis on utilizing information system so that the niche market can be developed in an effective manner.

Challenges Faced by Woolworths Limited in Implementing Information System Strategy

 Woolworths consider the information system strategy so that the activities can be enhanced and also the operations in the domestic and foreign markets can enhance the market share and customer base.  Information system helps the organization to establish innovative strategies that can help to attain success in the market. The companies can also use open innovation so that the engagement of the customers can be increased and also the efficiency can be improved (Coyne, 2017).

Google considers the information system strategy so that the efficiency can be maintained and also to attain competitive advantage in a proper manner. To increase the process of group discussion modern companies uses the strategy.  The group discussion helps the stakeholders to place their interest in the procedures and to create policies that cover the requirements. It is essential that information system create a strategy that motivates employees of the organization so that they can attain overall efficiency in the activities.

Amazon is one of the largest e-commerce websites and it considers the information system strategy so that efficiency can be improved and also a market response can be achieved.  Amazon takes into consideration the information so that the queries of the customers can be solved. The company has created a market response and also the product development of the business model. The information system also helps in enhancing the knowledge and learning management of the company so that the opportunities for the business can be increased. The company can easily adapt the current marketing strategies so that the activities can be increased (Chapman and Kihn, 2009).

Woolworths face many challenges at the time of implementing and developing the information system strategy into the business structure.  To develop the information system strategy managers are required to analyze the requirements and challenges in the information management. The information system plan should consider all the requirements of the company so to ensure that the information should be shared with each other to enhance collaboration between them (Galliers and Leidner, 2014). After developing the plan, the top management should offer their approval on the plan to implement it over the operations of the company. At the time of developing the IS plan, the executive should consider the expenses and also the resources that are necessary for implementing the activities of the organization. At the time of alignment of the business strategy, there are many difficulties faced by the company like lack of internal communication sources and also relations between top managers.  These factors give direct impact at the time of implementing the information system strategy in the company (Bell, 2013).

Conclusion

The problems are related to the human capital in a firm that covers a challenge at the tie of developing the information system strategy. The company has to take into consideration proper workforce so that the technology can be operated in an effective manner.  The companies face problem at the time of recruiting the new employees who have the knowledge of information technology to conduct the business operations.  It is evaluated that older employees are preferred so that the activities can be conducted smoothly (Peppard and Ward, 2016). The professional of IT requires analyzing the demands and requirements effectively.  The organization also faces various technical challenges at the time of implementing information system strategy related to software and hardware infrastructure.  The company also faces many challenges related to telecommunication because it is evaluated that employees find difficulty to communicate with the new channels.  So, proper communication channels should be established for conducting the activities smoothly (Bharadwaj et al., 2013).

In recent scenario, the role of information system has grown and there are many companies who consider it so that the firms can effectively conduct the activities.  By using IS infrastructure there are many operators who get irritated and it results in failure of the information system.  The resistance of the users at the time of implementing of IS infrastructure also obstructs the acceptability of the system.  The individuals can get frustrated by the system.  When the individual gets frustrated then it is evaluated that efficiency is reduced. So, proper management and information system should be offered, so that they can give their best towards the activities conducted by the employees of the organization (Bell et al., 2013).

Woolworths considered the SAP technology into the system so that the platforms can be replaced. The competitors of the company also targeted effectively so that the SAP technology can be sued and can also attain the competitive advantage.  The implementation of IT in the delivery system of the company can give an outcome in becoming one of the largest failures. The services related to online also went down and has given negative impact on the overall activities of the organization. The implementation of the self-serve checkout also failed just because the consumers considered it slow (Bodnar and Hopwood, 2014).

Woolworths can take into consideration many strategies so that the business strategy can be aligned with information system strategy. The company should also invest in creating the infrastructure so that the relationships can be maintained between the top management and the employees of the organization. Infrastructure should consist of the process that helps to allow instant communication between staff and management which shows the importance of information system strategy in evaluating the challenges related to communication.  Proper implementation of the information system can resolve the problems related to the weak management and communication (Laudon, 2013).

Poor coordination is also one of the biggest challenges faced by Woolworths.  The productivity and participation of the employees can be increased by proper distribution of the responsibilities. Woolworths can consider the information system strategy so that the designs of the infrastructure can assist in the interaction between the employees and employment.  It is analyzed that proper relation between the IT specialists and workers can remove the hurdles from the IS strategy of the company. The management can consider the proper use of social events so that communication can be made effectively. IS strategy helps to motive the workers so that cooperation can be maintained (Pearlson et al., 2016).  

One of the biggest problems in the success of IIS strategy is lack of commitment by the senior management towards the implementation. To consider the issue the management should be given the responsibility of proper implementing business strategy so that support can be provided to the employees.  It is the responsibility of the employees to implement the business strategy and also to give assistance to employees so that the employees can conduct the activities in a proper way.  It is important to have proper coordination between the employees so that the goals and objectives can be accomplished of the organization.  IT specialist of the organization manages all the operations so that the activities can be conducted smoothly (Cassidy, 2016).

Conclusion 

By analyzing the report it is concluded that information system strategy plays a great role in attaining a competitive advantage by managing the activities of the organization.  It is a process that aligns business strategy along with the information system strategy of the company. Woolworths has taken into consideration various IS strategies so that the performance level and also competitive advantage can be increased over its competitors.  The company faces many challenges at the time of implementing the IS strategy like lack of participation, the resistance of workers. The company should give focus on the challenges by implementing various strategies policies related to the enhancement in the involvement of the customers.

The organization can consider the challenges by implementing various strategies establishing proper relationships. The company should implement information system strategy so that the performance can be improved and also the growth can be attained in an effective manner.  If proper strategies are taken into consideration by the company, then it is easy to accomplish the goals and objectives. 

References 

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Crozier, R., 2013. Woolies to move 26,000 staff onto Google Apps. [Online] Itnews. Available at: https://www.itnews.com.au/news/woolies-to-move-26000-staff-onto-google-apps-339962 [Accessed on 28/12/2017]

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