Rhonda owns three scrapbooking stores located in Melbourne known as Rhonda’s Scrapping Emporium. It is a “small family business” in the form of a brick-and-mortar organisation (Information Systems for Business 2017) that sells all scrap booking related materials. The stores are situated in suburbs that are well known with a small loyal customer base with limited passing trade. Competition in the form of eCommerce businesses has arisen with much cheaper prices, creating an issue for Rhonda to compete. Whilst Rhonda will not be able to lower her prices to compete with these online stores, it is proposed that she incorporate some form of eCommerce component into her business to help reach new customers (Information Systems for Business 2017).
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Business processes include three elements, these being; inputs, resources and outputs (Rainer 2015). A lot of new processes may need to be implemented by Rhonda to ensure the inclusion of eCommerce into her business is a successful endeavour. However, the implantation of electronic commerce is “tending to automate rather than redesign existing business procedures” (Barnes, Hinton & Mieczkowska 2004, p. 208). Procedures that will either need to be changed or created include; the processing of online payments, managing packing and distribution of products, processing physical inventory of items, handling shipping of products, sending electronic mail to customers, receiving customer feedback and questions, and the business’ return policy (Rainer 2015). It will be important that Rhonda keeps track of her inventory, whether this be through an automated system or manually, so as to keep her website updated on current stock levels. The packing and shipping of these items will create a new process for her business, and Rhonda will need to be able to package and ship her items in a timely manner to ensure customers are happy with their shopping experience. Rhonda will also need to set up an online payments policy, and decide how she will receive money from orders online, whether this be through electronic credit cards or through another method of online banking (Rainer 2015). It is likely that Rhonda’s Scrapping Emporium will receive feedback and reviews, as well as questions from customers online, and Rhonda will need to create a procedure to respond to these questions and to alleviate any complaints that may occur. Lastly, for Rhonda to advertise online, she could email her customers through a mailing list of both new and already loyal customers. She may also implement discounts and loyalty savings for certain customers, and
Business processes include three elements, these being; inputs, resources and outputs (Rainer 2015). A lot of new processes may need to be implemented by Rhonda to ensure the inclusion of eCommerce into her business is a successful endeavour. However, the implantation of electronic commerce is “tending to automate rather than redesign existing business procedures” (Barnes, Hinton & Mieczkowska 2004, p. 208). Procedures that will either need to be changed or created include; the processing of online payments, managing packing and distribution of products, processing physical inventory of items, handling shipping of products, sending electronic mail to customers, receiving customer feedback and questions, and the business’ return policy (Rainer 2015). It will be important that Rhonda keeps track of her inventory, whether this be through an automated system or manually, so as to keep her website updated on current stock levels. The packing and shipping of these items will create a new process for her business, and Rhonda will need to be able to package and ship her items in a timely manner to ensure customers are happy with their shopping experience. Rhonda will also need to set up an online payments policy, and decide how she will receive money from orders online, whether this be through electronic credit cards or through another method of online banking (Rainer 2015). It is likely that Rhonda’s Scrapping Emporium will receive feedback and reviews, as well as questions from customers online, and Rhonda will need to create a procedure to respond to these questions and to alleviate any complaints that may occur. Lastly, for Rhonda to advertise online, she could email her customers through a mailing list of both new and already loyal customers. She may also implement discounts and loyalty savings for certain customers, and