A retail fast food chain is considering an expansion in new cities locally and internationally. Profitability has been on the increase and the board has taken the decision to invest in new business lines and products. The CEO in consultation with the CIO of the company has however proposed to the board to implement very small retail outlets and conduct business online using a dedicated and well-maintained e-commerce site. The argument put forward by the CEO is that they could more easily double their sales figures since customer profiling indicates that employees have less time to go out of office for lunch. As CIO of the company, you have been requested to present a plan to the board on the way forward:

(a) What are the keys elements that you would put forth in your plan.

(b) How would you optimize on the use of technology and human resource deployment to achieve higher customer satisfaction.

(c) What innovation would you bring to your e-commerce platform which would allow your company to obtain a competitive edge.