Situation
A leading retailer needed to get online fast and successfully. They needed
a partner that would bring experience in online business unit integration.
They wanted a firm that had experience in developing online business
strategies in the retail space. This partner would need to be there pre-launch
to help mange development and prepare the business but more importantly
needed to be there post launch to help mange the change and make suggestions
to make the online business unit successful and profitable.
eRichards was there throughout the entire process and continues to support
the client today. The goal was simple, launch and operate a profitable
online store while maintaining brand and a high level of customer service.
Problem
The client had no online presence and was loosing potential revenues
by not having a way for their customer base to purchase from them online.
The client had little experience with launching an online business. They
needed help launching and then managing ongoing operation of the business.
In particular they wanted to be able toavoid pitfalls that other online
retailers had experienced.
Their largest concerns were maintaining brand consistency and the high
level of customer service they provide in their stores. Other concerns
were centered around reporting key performance indicators. They wanted
to have a reporting system that allowed the business to make informed
decisions. Finally they were concerned with new business processes that
would arise after launch. They wanted to avoid high business process
costs to keep the business profitable.
Objectives
The client requested help in three key areas: strategic business
direction, business process redesign, and technology integration. These
were the high level goals:
| • |
Integrate the online store
into corporate systems, call center systems, and logistic systems |
| • |
Develop an information
portal to report key performance indicators on a real time basis |
| • |
Develop a business process
and associated technology that would define and expedite the management
of online assets |
| • |
Design and implement a
new call center application that maintains the high level of customer
service and brand integration seen in stores |
| • |
Make recommendations that
would enhance and optimize the experience for online visitors |
| • |
Develop capacity estimations,
disaster recovery processes, and a plan for growth |
Approach
High level meetings with the client’s executives were held to define
the overall scope and goals. Following these meetings a project plan
was assembles that defined millstones and resources requirements. The
plan was accompanied by several functional specifications that defined
in more details specific initiatives in the project. These included:
site development, testing and implementation, datawarehouse development,
business process definitions and design, customer service application,
and communications and infrastructure.
Priorities were outlined and the following the discovery phase, the
project began. Weekly update meetings were held to keep the multiple
initiatives aligned. eRichards used the collective best practices and
proven methods gained from our previous successful implementations to
avoid many of the traditional pitfalls associated with large electronic
commerce integrations.
Results
Our client experienced an extremely successful entrance into the
online retailing arena. With the help of the best practices brought eRichards
their online business continues to succeed. In recent months eRichards
has made some suggestions for site enhancements that have increased revenue.
eRichards has also continued to help the client develop business processes
that leverage other corporate resources and save money.
Key
Factors of Success
| • |
Development of a project
plan with clear objectives along with functional specifications for
major project deliverables. Planning with a clear understanding of
the objectives guides the entire process. |
| • |
Utilize best practices
and experience from other, similar implementations. This helps to
avoid the mistakes made by other while mimicking their successes. |
| • |
Be aware that a new business
unit will require the definition of new business processes to keep
costs down and efficiency high. |
| • |
Be sure to equip your
decision makers with data and intuitive tools to access that data.
An educated decision make can make better decisions to drive the
business. |
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