Our Customers View Prehistoric Computers example essay topic

The purpose of this paper is to develop an e-Operations plan for Prehistoric Computers. As we have mentioned on previous papers, technology, when used effectively, can provide any given organization the necessary tools to succeed in today's competitive business world. In this paper we will going to be focusing on two specific technologies that I'm certain will help Prehistoric Computers achieve its primary goal: increase its sales by 200%. The two technologies are: Customer Relationship Management (CRM) Supply Chain Management (SCM) There are many vendors that provide these kinds of solutions, but our objective in this paper isn't to select a specific one, rather to explain how these technologies can help Prehistoric Computers became a leader in the e-market of selling refurbished laptop computers. As the new e-Operations Manager, I'm convinced of the benefits these technologies will bring to our company.

Customer Relationship Management (CRM) Customers are the basis of any organization, and Prehistoric Computers is no exception to that rule. So as management, should be able to answer questions such as the followings, how can we improve customer satisfaction? What are customers looking for? Who are Prehistoric Computer's customers? How does our customers view Prehistoric Computers? These are just a sample of questions that a technology such as CRM can help us answer.

It can not only answer these questions, but can answer them in an intelligent and practical way. Knowing the preferences of our customers will position Prehistoric Computers above the competition. But we have to be very clear that this doesn't mean that the technology will provide Prehistoric Computers a magic formula to boost its sales. There is going to be a lot of work no matter which CRM software vendor we choose. For example, we need to have very clear which kind of information we need and for what purpose. Too little information can cause to have an incomplete view and too much information can be a waste of time and money.

So in order to achieve our goals, a balance of information is a must. The following table shows a list of some common CRM software vendors. My suggestion is to contact each one of them, and after explaining our business goals, make a request for proposal and choose the one that best fulfills Prehistoric Computer's goals. Peoplesoft - web Oracle - web SAP - web Microsoft - web Siebel - web There are other alternatives in the EC world that are available in order to provide customers with a superior customer service experience.

We should continue to provide our 1-800 number as well as support via email, but also look at instant customer service via our website. This can be accomplish using technology such as the one provided by Live Person (web). Using this technology, our customers will be able to talk live to one of our customer service representatives. I think this is a great idea our customers will love to have. Supply Chain Management (SCM) There are other technologies that can help Prehistoric Computers achieve its goals. We have seen how CRM can make a big difference in customer service and satisfaction.

SCM is another available technology which can help us improve our relationship with our customers. Why? When we talked about SCM we refer to "the art and science that goes into improving the way your company finds the raw components it needs to make a product or service, manufactures that product or service and delivers it to customers" (Koch, 2002). So it is easy to see that if we are able to deliver our products in a more efficient manner, we will end up with more happy customers. Part of the SCM strategy should be to develop a B 2 B interaction with our current suppliers. The main goal will be to create an "on demand" inventory request based on our customer's needs.

Once a customer place an order, SCM will send the request to the suppliers needed in order to complete the customer's order. This strategy will help us have a better management of our inventory, as only the needed parts will be ordered; inventory space will also be improved by this strategy. The "on demand" inventory is just a part of SCM. There are other components in SCM which can be very helpfull. For example, SCM can help Prehistoric Computers with the logistics of delivering the final product to our customers. Here we include some elements such as the coordination of receiving customer's orders and selecting the carrier which will get the final product to the customer's hands.

Also, and a very important element to be taken into consideration, is the management of returned items; SCM can also help us on this item. Although we strive to providing the highest quality in our products, there will be some inevitable times when a product is delivered that doesn't work a cording to expectations. How are we going to handle those returns? This is the kind of question that SCM will help us answer. The following table summarizes some SCM software vendors along with their websites for a ditional information. As is the case with CRM, we should carefully study the offerings of these companies and make a request for proposal to the ones we understand best fits our needs.

I 2 Technologies - web Syn Quest, Inc. - web Web Plan - web Opium - web Ariba Inc. - web Vertical Net, Inc. - web.