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Competitors and Technology IT 210 Final Project (Milestone 1)Irish R BrewtonIT 210 Competitors and Technology Fashions Galore is not established in online business to large extend. It is actually a small brick and mortar business in the present time. For both men and women, designer clothing and accessories are made available by us. There are lot many items in our store and when customers visit this they are able to get a wide range of items. But in our website only few items are listed. Due to this our competitors are taking advantage as they have well developed website and online business due to which many our customers are diverting towards them. We are a big problem due to this. Fashions Galore has the goal to focus more on customers so that we see more growth in online business. Two TechnologiesIn our society these days there is much use of wireless, mobile commerce and mobile computing. These technologies have become very popular. Smart phones, laptops and tablets are wireless devices which are small and so they are carried with much ease. Due to these one can access shops and other things easily even while going on vacations, school or work. The existing customers are able to get new services from the businesses due to mobile commerce. Even the new customers are attracted to the businesses through the help of this. As compared to other forms of computing there are two different characteristics in mobile computing. These different characteristics are broad reach and mobility due to which people are able to do online shopping easily (Duh, Sunder & Jamal, 2002). The artificial intelligence is associated with many commercial applications and these are described by intelligent systems. A subfield of computer science is artificial intelligence in which thought processes of humans are studied. Then with the help of machines the effects of the thought processes are recreated. The machines used in these are computers. The experience, connectivity and security help a lot in learning in intelligent systems. Based on the current data they are able to adapt. Those devices that connect to networks along with the network as well are included in the Intelligent Systems.Business RequirementsObjectivesThere are some goals which the business owners want to be accomplished and this will be done in the project. The Fashions Galore will be able to make a large customer base and reach more customers by combining mobile computing, wireless and mobile commerce. With this the other fashion retailers will face tough competition from us. With the help of intelligent systems we will be able to store the information and preferences of the customers properly and securely. The inventory management will be helped by this as well. The aim in doing so is to reach more customers and provide competition to others by indulging in greater online presence. This will be done by us by the help of each of these technologies. With these the information of customers will be stored properly.Project DescriptionOur current systems include hardware and software and these needs to be updated to satisfy the objectives successfully. When new software is installed then the outdated hardware needs to be updated so that all the updates can be handled by the system. The new systems can be continued running effectively by including a person or a team. With the help of this the new systems will be used properly and this project will be given proper attention.To be more competitive is the desired results of this project. It is also required that our customer base grow more and information of customer is stored securely. There is constant change in the technology and one is not able to keep it up. But as a business owner much harm to your business occurs if you are not able to be updated with the changing technology. New technology should be used by the owner of Fashions Galore so that more customers are approached. This will help in continuous growth. Today online presence is an important thing for all businesses and if one is not having this then failure is possible. The owner should be competitive if the owner desires to sell clothes and accessories continuously and be successful. For this providing online option for people is the fastest way. Technology Requirements The Fashions Galore is facing the problem due to absence of use of new technology. But to be competitive it is required by it to use new technology and the important technological requirements for this are integrating online shopping, providing customers with order status checking and online payment processing, managing inventory and shipping, managing contacts of customers, managing brick and mortar processes, encouraging collaboration and providing reporting. The online shopping can have impact on the selling and customer base and so there is no interference of it in the operations of the store. In between the two there should be a happy medium and the Fashions Galore is required to do this as soon as possible (Duh, Sunder & Jamal, 2002).Competitors and TechnologyFashions Galore is facing tough competition from two main competitors and these are Kohl's and Macy's. The online presence of these two companies is well established and they make use of intelligent systems as well. One of the main department stores is Kohl's in which everything is available from clothing to appliances of kitchen. They have charge card as well which are included in their reward system. For every dollar that is spent the customer get lots of Kohl’s cash and this cash can then be used on your next purchases in the form of discount. Recently there has been change in their system. Now regular rewards system is being used so that while shopping there you have benefit from their charge card. Due to this more customers are attracted and this has added to their success. There is a website of Kohl's as well where the customers can order anything as per the requirement and availability and for that purchase still get Kohl's cash. This indicates that online presence of Kohl's is huge. For the comfort of customers, there is no need to enter the information again when you do shopping again. In the first purchase only you can create an account and this will be stored forever. Just like Kohl's there is another competitor of Fashions Galore and it is Macy's. There is much similarity between the two but the reward system of Kohl’s makes it superior. Macy's is also a department store in which many items are sold. The online presence of Macy's is also good in which from their website you can order anything. The items which you purchase from their website are then shipped to your home. When you do shopping for first time then it is beneficial to make an account so that during the next visit you don't have to enter all the information again. This helps in making the checkout time faster (Wallace, 2015).So for being a competitor it is essential to make use of wireless, mobile commerce and mobile computing. This has being proved by these companies. Keeping the information of customers securely is also very important and for this intelligent system is very important. The sales and profits can be impacted negatively if it is felt by the customers that anyone can access their personal information. Thus, all information of customers has to be kept secure. Wireless, Mobile Computing, and Mobile CommerceIn this industry a leading competitor is Kohl's. It is a department store in which lot many items are available ranging from clothing to kitchen appliances. The customers can be approached in many ways and big companies find this technology to be easy and simple to use. The customers are communicated easily with the help of social media and email and these are the most popular ways. While making purchases from Kohl's if you have signed for their mailing list then you become a loyal customer of it. And so frequently you may get emails regarding coupons and sales ads. This is the way of their communication with their customers. In this way customers are able to know about their sales and discounts (Lin, 2007). The customers are attracted to do more shopping on their website or from their store due to the coupons and this helps in increasing the profits.Intelligent SystemsIn its industry there is another leading competitor and it is Macy's. It is also a department store in which there is huge range of items for selling. These range from clothing to appliances of kitchen. With the help of intelligent systems the sales of company can be predicted and any kind of fraud and theft can be prevented. Even intelligent system helps the stores and warehouses with the inventory management. Thus, it is of great importance to any business. For the customers their bank information is very important and in any case it should not be stolen. This has to be taken care by all businesses. The businesses should also ensure that the identity of customer is not stolen. Macy's is known to keep the information safely as lot many inventory is provided by it. So customers have great trust in them and thus, they continue shopping at Macy's.Technology BenefitThe technology seems to be beneficial to Kohl's and Macy's as a wider variety of customers are reached by them due to this technology. This has helped them to become competitive and a large profit is also earned by them. It would be possible for Fashions Galore to be successful as well if it makes use of this new technology properly. It is essential for them to build trust in customers and have a huge customer base. The customers should be shown that they have great products. Now the time has come when it has to give tough competition to other bigger department stores. With this we can be able to grow more as a company (Siau, Ee-Peng, & Shen, 2001).ReferencesDuh, R. R., Sunder, S., & Jamal, K. (2002). Control and assurance in e-commerce: Privacy, integrity, and security at eBay. Taiwan Accounting Review, 3, 1-27.Lin, H. F. (2007). The impact of website quality dimensions on customer satisfaction in theB2C e-commerce context. Total Quality Management and Business Excellence, 18(4), 363-378.Siau, K., Ee-Peng, L., & Shen, Z. (2001). Mobile commerce: promises, challenges, and research agenda. Journal of Database management, 12(3), 4.Wallace, P. (2015). Introduction to Information Systems. Pearson Education, Inc.
Solution: MILESTONE 2