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Topic: Using IT for Strategic Purposes
Please give your views on this discussion
For this discussion I will be talking about Nordstrom’s Mobile POS System. Nordstrom mission has existed since 1901, and has been “committed to providing our customers with the best possible service—and to improving it every day.” (About Nordstrom, n.d.) Nordstrom has used information technology to create a mobile point of sale (POS) which allows Nordstrom employees to check out customers from anywhere in the store using a “modified iPod” (Clay, 20120) by scanning the purchase and allowing the customer to pay with a credit card right then and there. This was created as a sales tactic, to avoid people who are standing in long lines to re-think their decision to purchase the item and leave the store without purchasing it. (Clay,2012) This app not only allows employees to check out customers anywhere in the store, but also allows them to check the store’s inventory to check the availability of items a customer is interested in purchasing or exchanging. Not only does the point-of-sale make it easier than ever to purchase items, but the company has also seen an increase in sales since they started implementing it. (Clay, 2012) Nordstrom has partnered with Infor, a software company, for integration into the cloud. (Infor, 2017) Chief Information’s Officer, Dan Little states: “It’s crucial that we have the right technology in place today and in the future to improve our customer experience”. (Infor, 2017) It is Nordstrom’s goal to improve customer experience, and therefore have chosen to partner with Infor to make this goal achievable through cloud integration. (Infor, 2017) Nordstrom has continued to grow and adapt with ever evolving technology, and is continuing to improve their POS system “to be more accurate and consistent across multiple locations, attend to customers more quickly, and better manage and track information.” (Amato-Mccoy, 2017) Nordstrom has used information technology for strategic purposes to increase their overall revenue, and customer experience. It did so by developing a system that is capable of improving sales, revenue, reducing check-out lines, easier access to inventory, and improve overall customer experience.
Expert Answer
The above discussion is based on business process automation , Which states that, it is a strategy to automate business processes, so as to benefit the organisation in terms of cost, time and efforts. It is true that information technology has changed the way and style of business operations. The rapid growth of networks and data communication technology has truly made the world today a global village. Networks and infromation have given a big push to thr automation of business processes. Hence the process automation has become necessity for the business organisation to conduct ther business activities effeciently and in low cost manner.
Following are the benefits enjoyed by the organsation By business process automation.
- To remain competitive
- Reducing the impact of human error3
- Improving performance and process effectiveness
- Making the business more responsive
- Transforming data into information
- Making users more effecient and effective
- Fast services to customers
- Cost saving.
Hence in the given case, Nordstrom automates the chechout process of the customers using information technology , which helps Nordstrom to the customer satisfaction. increase in sales, revenue. This all will also lead to gain the competitive advantage over other entities working in the same industry.
It can be said that Nordstrom has used Customer Relationship management software. These are the specialised applications helps to manage the organisation’s relationship with its customers. These are specialised applications catering to the need of organisations largely in fast moving consumer goods categories.
