Managing Information Technology Plan

Paper Summary:

In this article, the writer analyzes the e-business strategies of Sears, both from a business-to-consumer (B2C) and a business-to-business (B2B) strategy standpoint. In analyzing the progression of Sears' e-commerce strategies, the following structure is used. In the first section of this paper the challenges, issues, and obstacles are outlined and discussed, followed by a discussion of the goals and objectives of Sears' move to go online. Then the strategies of Sears' online initiatives are analyzed in the context of their situation as defined in the case study. An assessment of their strategies is defined including what Sears did well, did poorly, and what they failed to do. In addition, this report provides recommendations on what Sears needs to do from both a B2C and B2B strategy standpoint, specifically focusing on what needs to be done and why the specific strategies need to be implemented.

Outline:
Executive Summary
Analyzing Sears' Challenges, Issues and Obstacles
Sears' Strategic Goals and Objectives
Strategies Sears' Initially Pursued
Assessing Sears' Online Strategy
Recommendations

From the Paper:

"Sears next set the strategic goal of promoting its online channel. Having acquired 50% of Prodigy in partnership with IBM, partnerships and alliances with MSN and other portals including Yahoo and Google, and spent $100M to promote the site and its ability to deliver parts directly from warehouses closest to the customers' order point. Again the ability to integrate the company's core strengths at fulfillment, supply chain planning and execution with a strong front-office product strategy was starting to move sears.com into one of the most popular sites on the Internet."
"The company's next objectives with regard to e-commerce became increasingly sophisticated, looking for further integrate legacy applications and systems directly to the front-office systems that were generating much interest. These strategic technology partnerships included one with Viant Corporation for implementing product line extensions and getting guidance on overall product strategy."

Sample of Sources Used:

• Askegar and Columbus (2002) - Channel Management Best Practices: It's All About Orders. AMR Research Report. Monday September 9, 2002. Retrieved from the Internet on January 23, 2007 from location: http://lwcresearch.com/filesfordownloads/SqueezetheRevenueOutofSPRs.pdf
• Columbus (2002) - The Sell-Side E-Commerce Market: It's All About Integration. AMR Research Report. Monday April 1, 2002. Retrieved from the Internet on January 23, 2007 from location: http://lwcresearch.com/filesfordownloads/SellSideECommerceMarketIsAllAboutIntegration.pdf
• Columbus (2003) - Re-evaluate How Your Measure Your Channels' Performance. AMR Research. Boston, MA December 2, 2003. Retrieved from the Internet on January 23, 2007 from location:http://www.lwcresearch.com/filesfordownloads/ReevaluateHowYouMeasureYourChannelDec2003.pdf

More papers on Managing Information Technology Plan:

• Research Paper # 95331 : "Information Technology & Human Resource Planning"
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• Research Proposal # 29207 : "Object Orientated Global Information Technology Management."

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