Faculty of Technology, Engineering and the Environment MSc in Project Management Business and Information Strategy Case Study Analysis: Implication of mass customization on business information systems Declaration of originality STATEMENT ON PLAGIARISM Name Course MSc in Project Management Unit Title of Coursework: Case Study Analysis: Implication of mass customization on business information systems I, the undersigned, confirm that I have read and understood the statement about plagiarism which is outlined in the students handbook and module guide. I testify that the work that I have submitted accompanying this sheet is wholly my own, and that any quotations or section of text taken from the published or unpublished work of any other person is duly and fully acknowledged therein. Signed Date submitted Table of Contents 1.0 Case Summary: Implication of mass customization on business information systems 4 1.1 Introduction 5 2.0 Critically appraise (analyses) current practices: Impacts of information system 6 2.1 Manufacturing and logistics issues 6 2.2 Information transferring issues 7 2.3 Human related issues 7 3.0 Analysis of current case scenario 8 3.1 Strategic Planning & analysis of footwear industry 8 3.2 SWOT Analysis of the case project ‘EwoMacs’ 8 4.0 Detailed analysis of Strategic Planning: Alternative strategies to meet the operational and strategic requirements on the case 11 4.1 Where does EwoMacs compete? 12 4.2 What unique value does EwoMacs bring? 12 4.3 Utilization of Resources and Capabilities of EwoMacs 13 4.4 How does EwoMacs sustain its value? 16 5.0 Recommendation of New and innovation integrated to be implemented: Assess the type of structure and culture that supports system on EwoMacs 17 5.1 Implementation of ERP 17 5.2 Organizational Structure 17 5.3 Organizational Culture 18 5.4 Integrated model system 18 6.0 Conclusion 21 7.0 References 22 Appendix 25   1.0 Case Summary: Implication of mass customization on business information systems Massive improvement in technology related to internet communications is developing traditional business models into a new business model with innovative information technology. This report will emphasize on business information system linked to mass customization. Mass customization in footwear industry is lack of modernizing production process and effective logistic function. The problem has become more complex as individual order received has a unique specification on each shoe, at a low price. When the product becomes more complex and the variants number increased, the volume of information also increased. It could results gaps between involved systems such as loss of time and information, loss of quality and prolonged time-to-market. Other major problems in mass customization are insufficient coordination between players, exploited autonomy of each player and failure in information transmission. The business Information system has a major influence on mass customization system. Hence, an integrated information system is needed to implement in this given scenario to meet the development in structure and culture of the business.   1.1 Introduction An information system is a set of interconnected elements that collect, process, store and distribute information to assist decision-making in an organization. Information systems are also useful in analyzing data, examining operational problems and elaborating complex structure of the business processes. Some companies are built completely around information systems. For example, eBay, Amazon, etc (Zwass 2016). Information systems must be applied in every business processes and functional areas such as Finance & Accounting, Sales & Marketing, Human Resources and Manufacturing & production. Mass customization is an updated modernized business strategy use in many enterprises to satisfy a specific customer need. Mass customization is a manufacturing method which integrates the flexibility and personalization with an affordable and reasonable price (The economic 2009). The give case study analyses the impact of mass customization on the future business information system. The paper presents an innovative multi-agent approach with the use of BIS to enhance the mass customization. However, the researcher intends to provide alternative strategies using information systems to overcome the manufacturing and logistics issues addressed in the given case scenario. The case also provides a case study of EwoMacs, a joint research project and the project consortium contains five companies. But, EwoMacs will be assumed as a company in this report. This paper will begin by evaluating the impacts of the information system, follow by detailed analysis of strategic planning and offer alternative strategies, and end with developing the integrated model system.   2.0 Critically appraise (analyses) current practices: Impacts of information system Every company must possess good business strategies to reach short and long term objectives and goals. If a company is lack of an accurate plan to run the business, the company is essentially flying blind (CEO Advisor 2011). In the case scenario mass customization system of EwoMacs is facing problems: Key Problems (1) Lack of updated manufacturing systems and logistics processes, (2) Failure in information transmission (3) Insufficient collaboration among employees As a result of these problems, the production led time is also increased. It seems that the companies have not developed an appropriate strategy to handle these problems. 2.1 Manufacturing and logistics issues The issue with out-dated production system can be rectified by modernizing the system with the help of IS. The system is not updated due to lack of sufficient technology supply. This will add negative effects on the manufacturing procedure; acquiring poor quality products. Besides, an effective supply chain management system should be used by the company to overcome the logistics process issues. The world largest automaker, TOYOTA, has advanced its information systems in the second half of the 1980s (TOYOTA 2012). These innovative systems offered Computer-aided design (CAD) and Computer-aided manufacturing (CAM), and had given TOYOTA large competitive advantages in the early 1990s (Maskery 1994). Footwear industry and automobile industry are similar in manufacturing nature. Hence, it is certain that implementing information system in footwear industry can enhance the accuracy of the manufacturing operations and quality of the product. 2.2 Information transferring issues The problems occurring in information transfer processes can cause manufacturing delay and incorrect assembly of products. Furthermore, insufficient details provided to a specific product can produce a defective product. Consequently, the company could lose customer loyalty. Failure in data transfer process may also arise from Downtime, a period of time when the system is not operating as a result of malfunction. This could happen if a firm does not have an adequate IT system (both software and hardware). These will have impacts on customer relationship because the products cannot be delivered to the customer at the right time. This will also have negative effects on firm’s reputation. 2.3 Human related issues An information system (IS) can manage the firm’s operations. Additionally, it can also be used to control the inter-organizational supply chain (Zwass 2016). For instance, a company can use IS to monitor their human resources issues. So that IS can be used to provide the problems related to human factors and issues in the organization. Insufficient collaboration between players and exploited autonomy of each player in EwoMacs can lead to organizational conflict. When an employee is not pleased in the workplace because of the conflict, he might lose his enthusiasm in work and probably stop doing his best. It will have negative impacts on productivity. According to Awais et al (2012), companies started to notice that the value of information systems is substantial in the business field over the past few decades. No one can deny that investing greatly in an information system can increase business performance. Hence, information systems have a great deal of impact on the business performance.   3.0 Analysis of current case scenario 3.1 Strategic Planning & analysis of footwear industry Strategic planning is a business process manages by an organization to achieve intended goals and results. A strategic plan is used to focus on priorities, control resources, and capabilities, and make sure that entire organization is moving towards to achieve a single goal (Strategy Management Group 2016). Increasing demand for new designs shoes and sophisticated footwear products lead to an instant growth in the global footwear industry. Sportswear products are also increased in demand since the many sports activities become popular in more that decades ago. Along with the rapid emerging of fashion industry, casual and modern design footwear products have also raised in demand nowadays (TMR 2016). The footwear market is very challenging and each individual brand needs to develop its own strategic plan to compete other. Therefore, SWOT analysis will presented in the next section to identify the internal environments of the case based on the project (EwoMacs) and external environments of the footwear market. 3.2 SWOT Analysis of the case project ‘EwoMacs’ Strength (Internal) The companies in the project (EwoMacs) are using a modern manufacturing technique, mass customization. Additionally, the case study provides multi-agent systems. These systems consist of intelligent agents. The agents are goal-oriented and capable of developing suitable reactions on any situation. DAISIY (Deliberative Agents for Intelligent Simulation Systems) approach is also introduced to support mass customization. The system provides analysis, design, and simulation and implementation methodology.   Weakness (Internal) The companies have outdated automatic equipment in manufacturing processes and it is also lack of modern logistics processes. Information flows through mass customization value chain is also insufficient and inaccurate. Besides, it is observed that there is a need for lack of smooth communication between mass customization players. Opportunities (External) Footwear industry has many opportunities in the global market. A footwear company can expand its market either as a fashion brand or athletic brand. Global marketing events such as the Olympics and World Cup (soccer) can be utilized to support the brand so the business will also be known internationally (ConceptDraw 2016). Threats (External) The market for footwear products is very competitive and the industry has already reached a level of maturity. The technology and style have reached a leveling-off point. Hence, footwear companies are needed to differentiate their lines by creative innovative products. This will have a huge effect on companies which are not invested well in information systems. As mention above in weakness, the quality of the product cannot reach to a standard. The company could receive negative customer feedbacks and lose customer loyalty. Figure 1 Dimensions of information system (Laudon 2016) All of the dimensions of the information systems have their own issues (see Figure 1). After analyzing various aspects and issues of the case, it is found that EwoMacs does not have a proper strategic plan. Nowadays, different companies have different strategic plans to gain competitive advantage over the competitors. Every company needs an effective strategic plan to be successful in business. Therefore, a good strategic plan must be implemented for the survival of the company, furthermore, to have a successful business in the future. Developing alternative strategies for the EwoMacs will be presented in the next section.   4.0 Detailed analysis of Strategic Planning: Alternative strategies to meet the operational and strategic requirements on the case Nowadays, companies are progressively becoming more connected with other corporations. Plus, they also have increased the connections between internal systems. Therefore, each firm should build a proper structure of plan to link with others. Running a business without an integrated system or strategy would be like a ship without a rubber (Entrepreneur 2006). When a customer order complex detailed products with a large amount of quantity, a typical company without an integrated system could not handle that order. Besides, the impact of this particular event might escalate negative effects on the reputation of the firm, especially if the firm is a large corporation. In such case, the possibility to solve these issues would be high when enterprises systems are implemented. Table 1. Proposed strategy for EwoMacs Case Project - EwoMacs Proposed Strategy Where Does EwoMacs compete? - Global Athletic Footwear Market - Mid-priced Market What unique value does EwoMacs bring? - Individualized configuring in athletic footwear and LED Light-up Sneakers - Innovative designs & affordable prices What resources and capabilities does EwoMacs utilize? - Integrated Information System - Modernized production equipment - Information Technology (IT) Infrastructure - Human Resources (training and expertise of employee) - Supply Chain Management - Just-in-time strategy How does EwoMacs sustain its value? - Focus on Customer Relationship management (CRM) - Continuous Quality Improvement 4.1 Where does EwoMacs compete? Global athletic footwear market is overwhelmingly growing and expected to grow more in next few years. As health consciousness is increased and various sports activities become more popular, demand for athletic footwear products is increased. Thus ‘EwoMacs’ should compete in global athletic footwear market. Mid-priced market - Fashionable and light weight athletic shoes with affordable price will be introduced to the market to fulfill the customer needs. Although many footwear companies provide mass customization, customized products are more expensive than regular products. ‘EwoMacs’ will use market penetration strategy to compete in Mid-priced market. 4.2 What unique value does EwoMacs bring? Individualized configuring in athletic footwear and LED –With high technology and information systems, EwoMac will offer unique service; customers can choose not only colors and styles but also shoelace and weight of athletic footwear. Moreover, with the advanced technology support,’ EwoMacs’ will be able to produce shoes with innovative design and technology such as LED Shoes, at reasonable prices. The LED light bulbs will be put inside the shoes and these LED are embedded with electronic sensors which can detect any vibration. Thus, the shoes will only light up while walking or running. Personalized options for these shoes will be provided so that customers can choose the light colors and mix-match them as they like. However, providing each individual customer requirement is not that easy.   4.3 Utilization of Resources and Capabilities of EwoMacs The researcher has revealed the issues facing the company according to the given case scenario. These issues cannot be handled manually in each department and if the company does not develop new systems. Therefore, the enterprise resource planning (ERP) system will be introduced to provide effective solutions for the case. Figure 2. Enterprise System (Dawn 2015) Integrated Information System (ERP) -According to Figure 2, an enterprise system will collect data from each department into a central database, and allow these data to be shared with other departments and business processes throughout the whole system. There are various enterprise software vendors: SAP, IBM, Oracle, and Microsoft. Among them, SAP ERP would be a desired approach for the case project (EwoMacs). SAP ERP support manufacturing processes including inventory and warehouse management, production planning, quality management, and plant and equipment maintenance. SAP ERP also reduces manufacturing costs and ensures high product quality (Toolbox 2016). Therefore, SAP ERP is needed for optimizing the manufacturing processes. Modernized production equipment – In the case project (EwoMacs), it seems that the companies addressed in the project have an outdated production system. The equipment, tools, and devices used in the manufacturing process must be upgraded or replace with modernized systems first. EwoMacs also needs to emphasize on investing new machines in manufacturing plants, and technicians to apply the devices effectively. Information Technology (IT) Infrastructure - EwoMac must consider in investing IT (information technology) infrastructure to create innovative design and services. The company has to provide appropriate computer hardware platforms, operating systems platforms, internet platforms, and Data Management and Storage for the organization. Human Resources (training and expertise of employee) - The current case project (EwoMacs) also addressed human related problems. Therefore, Human Resource Information System (HRIS) is needed to implement in order to provide solutions and development of the employees. HRIS is one of the EPR modules which can ensure the smooth management of HR (human resource) department in a company. HRIS offers an efficient management system in monitoring recruiting, training, retirement, payroll and diversity management (hrpayrollsystems 2016).Proper training will be supported to each employee in every department. Then, employees will be able to control and monitor the advance technology. HRIS can foster open communication which means it can help employees to have meaningful discussions. For example, HRIS provides messaging options. This can make easier for employees to talk each other and it gives a chance to calm down before discussing the problem. It also simplifies for managers to diffuse situations as there is no emotion in electronic communications. Thus, HRIS could enhance coordination between employees. Besides, HRIS can record incident information. When a conflict was caused by the behavior of a staff, HRIS will record it as information about his or her performance. The superior management team can assess this information and it will be supportive when there are changes in employee positions, as the new managers can easily identify the ‘problem employees’ (HRISPayrollSoftware 2016). Global Electronic manufacturer, ‘LG’ used Integrated ERP system to overcome human related problems. Once the implementation process was completed, the employee morale, productivity and engagement were increased (Seth 2014). Supply Chain Management - The supply chain in a firm is an interconnected network of suppliers, manufacturers, distributors, retailers and customers. As the complexity of the mass customization value chain is very high, it would be difficult to handle the whole logistic processes. But logistics is just a small part of the supply chain (Surbhi 2015). Therefore, implementing an enterprise system in supply chain management could be a proper solution to overcome logistics issues. SAP ERP will enhance the distribution strategy and increase transparency of the the project (EwoMacs). SAP ERP can be used to connect all players in the logistic network, track shipments, and ordering process, and maximize the throughput of goods. Therefore, SAP ERP must be implemented to improve the logistics processes. The number one brand of global soft drink market, Coca-Cola Enterprise (CCE), once required a modern supply chain and wanted to integrate retail and manufacturing operations. Then, CCE adapted the Genesys program with the help of CSC. The program is an integrated SAP ERP and the company replaced its legacy system with SAP ERP. The program support CCE in shortening manufacturing cycle time and improving the productivity (CSC 2012). Just-In-Time Strategy - With a perfect information flow, a highly efficient strategy called Just-in-time strategy can be implemented. By this strategy, the supplies will arrive in exact time when they are needed and the products will be shipped to the customer at the right time. JIT is also an effective strategy in reduction inventory and cost (Murray 2016). 4.4 How does EwoMacs sustain its value? Focus on Customer Relationship Management - An effective customer relationship management system (CRM) should also be implemented in EwoMacs to gain competitive strength. CRM systems help the firm to capture customer data, analyze the data and distribute it throughout the whole enterprise. Therefore, the systems automate and integrate customer services, marketing, sales, and an enterprise-wide view of the customer. There are many useful CRM software packages like partner relationship management (PRM), employee relationship management (ERM), Sales Force Automation (SFA) and customer service modules. Even SAP ERP support CRM These applications and software should be implemented to get customer intimacy in future as these systems can cover both operational CRM and Analytical CRM. Continuous Quality Improvement – Continuous quality improvement techniques include total quality management (TQM), lean management and six sigma. EwoMacs can use these methods in production procedures, services, and operation process to achieve high quality. Therefore, adaptation of these techniques will be an excellent way to sustain its value.   5.0 Recommendation of New and innovation integrated to be implemented: Assess the type of structure and culture that supports system on EwoMacs 5.1 Implementation of ERP For the current case scenario, this report offers three generic strategies, Low-cost leadership, product differentiation and focus on market niche. These strategies will help the case project ‘EwoMacs’ to achieve operational excellence and customer intimacy. When the EwoMacs effectively use the Information systems and implement EPR software, manufacturing and logistics cost will be reduced and quality of the products will be increased. Then, the product can be sold at a low price. Consequently, SAP ERP will add efficiencies in mass customization, which is a modern production method, by creating innovative design and products. Phased rollout strategy will be used in implementing the SAP ERP system. The old system of EwoMacs will be switched into new system in steps over an extended period of time. So that employees can change onto integrated SAP ERP system in a series of phases. 5.2 Organizational Structure There are two types of organizational structure; traditional hierarchy and flattened hierarchy (Satyendra 2013). Traditional hierarchy contains more levels of management than flattened hierarchy. Information systems can help to reduce the number of levels in an organization to obtain flattened hierarchy. By doing this, management efficiency in each level can be increased and low-level employees can receive accurate information from the high-level managers directly. Additionally, eliminating middle management levels can also reduce management cost (Laudon 2016). ’EwoMacs’ should adapt this flattened hierarchy structure with the help of Information system to maximize the efficiency of the information flows.   Three structural changes; automation, rationalization and business process redesign, will be applied in EwoMacs. Automation enables employees to perform their task more effectively. It can upgrade all the manual process in automatic so that it reduces manpower and labor force of EwoMacs. Rationalization provides continuous quality improvement techniques, example TQM, Six sigma. Business process redesign will be applied to analyze, simplify and redesign the business processes in EwoMacs. 5.3 Organizational Culture Developing new information systems and replacing with old ones involves more than a technical rearrangement of machines (Laudon 2016). It involves human factors. Organizational structure, nature of IT, tasks, responsibilities, and procedures are changed according to the new information systems. Depending on the culture of the organizations, some organization might resist changing due to the unfamiliarity. ‘EwoMacs’ should aware of these situations. The companies must persuade and motivate their employees to adapt the changes willingly. Besides, in order to teach employees how to use the system,‘EwoMacs’ should offer effective training programs for them. 5.4 Integrated model system EwoMac require consistency in its system to maintain its position. Thus, enterprise software must be applied to achieve compromised information and process integration. Changing the system includes changes in tasks, organization, work flow processes and management (Laudon 2016).Redesigning the new systems also means redesigning the organization. Therefore, EwoMacs should consider the effect of the new system on the organization and the business processes as a whole. The support of organizational structure and culture are the crucial factors for a firm to innovate and implement the new information system. It is easy to achieve a successful business if a firm can manage its structure and culture and effectively. Besides, bringing the structure and culture together with new set of information systems can offer an integrated model system for EwoMacs. Moreover, ‘EwoMac’ needs to understand the dimensions of information systems; management, organization and technology. These dimensions will help the business to utilize the new information systems effectively. They can offer solutions to problems and challenges in the business environment (see Figure 3). Figure 3. Integrated model system of EwoMacs (Laudon 2016) Alternate strategies are offered to EwoMacs to enhance its business operations. But, building new systems can change the work flow. The introduction of the new information systems and work flow processes are shown in figure 4. This framework will be utilized by EwoMacs to improve the whole business processes. Figure 4 Integrated System views of EwoMacs (GabexR 2007)   6.0 Conclusion Information systems are important and vital in day-to-day business as these systems provide alternate business strategies for the firms to keep their performance on the required level and achieve success. Therefore, to survive in the market, EwoMacs should also hold the changes and improve its business processes with effective strategic plans. With the aid of integrated information systems proposed in this report, EwoMacs can overcome the issues encountering in its business operations and achieve success in the future.   7.0 References Awais, M., Irfan, M., Bidal, M., Samin, T. (2012) ‘Helpful Business Value of Advance Bal Information System’. IJCSI International Journal of Computer Science [online] (9),415-422. available from http://ijcsi.org/papers/IJCSI-9-1-2-415-422.pdf. 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