Reference no: EM131260470 , Length:

Assignment Brief : Staples Case Study

Staples is a mobile phone and accessories retailer based in England, owned by Lewis. The business started with a single shop, which David has grown into a chain of eleven. The first four shops were opened from scratch but in January 2014 David bought 'PhoneBuzz,' a group of three outlets, which he intends to operate under the Staples brand. The recent acquisition is a significant expansion in the operation of the business, not least because two of the new outlets are in Norway. David is hoping that this will help him to gain a foothold in the European market. As a result of the expansion David has identified a need to open a new warehouse in the East of England, and he has decided that this would be an excellent opportunity to launch an eCommerce arm to the business, capitalising on the success of the Staples brand, but with a relatively small additional overhead.

Staples and PhoneBuzz have different IT systems, and in addition to integrating the two parts of the business there is the need to add 'b2c' eCommerce functionality. David would like this to be fully integrated with the retail stores, allowing customers to collect and return stock via the stores, as well as via courier.

The case study requires you to work with incomplete information, an important skill. You are free to make assumptions about aspects of David's situation or operation where these are relevant to your work - please ensure that any assumptions made are clearly stated in your report.

Part A: Analysis - Business Process Models and strategy analysis

In this section you should develop

1. A series of at least two Business Process Models, which capture the existing and yourproposed business processes for Staples. The models should follow the BPMN notation shown in the lecture slides. It is recommended that you use Microsoft Visio to create the models although you may if you prefer use Word, PowerPoint or appropriate alternatives.

2. Strategic analysis for Staples. You should use at least one recognised analysis technique such as SWOT, PESTLE etc

Part B: Open Source Software Comparison Table

In this section you should conduct research into a suitable software solution for Staples. You should decide on the set of characteristics which you will use to evaluate the software and your research should consider 4-5 alternatives in detail. This section should be presented as a table.

Part C: Report

In this section you should write a report which provides an overview of the current situation for Staples together with a roadmap outlining how the proposed changes to the business can be achieved to the benefit of the business. This should draw on your analysis in Part A, include your recommendation for software in Part B, andprovide recommendations for ensuring that the strategy is effectively implemented, including consideration of the challenges ahead.

Part D: Reflection on your contribution to the online discussion and wiki

In this section you should submit a 250 word reflective summary, accompanied by your own self-assessment of your contribution to the online elements throughout the module, using the table labelled Reflection Self Assessment Proforma in Appendix A (copy and paste it into your assignment document).

You should use appropriate theories, frameworks, models, that we have covered in the module, to inform and justify your recommendations.

No of Pages/Words : 2700-3000