The challanges of adopting a multi-channel retail approach Essay

The challanges of adopting a multi-channel retail approach - Essay Example It is evident that the digital era fuelled novel business opportunities and the continuous evolution of online business channels have made multi-channel retailing a reality, with the customer now placed at the forefront of retail strategy (Jain, 2008). In turn, this has reshaped business distribution and marketing models. To this end, it is submitted as a central proposition in this paper that consumers increasingly dictate retail strategy and therefore CRM is vital as part of an integrated retail strategy to ensure that an organization keeps pace with the multi-channel retail model. Moreover, the central consideration should be given to the movement away from the conventional economics based approach to consider the benefit of integrating effective CRM into retail strategy. For example, Weinberg at al’s 2007 report into changing consumer behaviour highlights that approximately 65-70% of consumers fall within the category of â€Å"multichannel shoppers† and they increas ingly have the highest purchasing power. (Weinberg et al, 2007). As a result, Weinberg et al posit that it is â€Å"critical that organisations effectively employ a multichannel marketing approach, as consumers in B2C contexts now expect it† (Weinberg et al, 2007, p.385). The impact of multi-channel retailing has continued to grow and Retail Solutions Online highlight that industry research indicates that approximately 40% of sales will be attributable to the multi-channel model by 2012 (2009). Additionally, the Retail Solutions’ Online research indicates that the proliferation of the multi-channel retail model will continue to grow and as a result, retail business have to embrace the model as part of integrated retail strategy to compete in the marketplace (2009). Moreover, Vollmer and Precourt argue that the underlying basis for marketing is rooted in economic principles of exchanging goods for value (2008). It is precisely this concept of â€Å"value† that ha s been at the heart of marketing strategy in persuading consumers to exchange value for goods in conventional business strategy. However, as the business models continue to evolve in line with changing consumer habits and retail channels, Vargo and Lusch point to the fact that economical basis for traditional marketing strategy has been forced to adapt to remain relevant (2004). Additionally, Vargo and Lusch further refer to the arguments of Achrol and Kotler that the: â€Å"very nature of network organisation†¦..and the potential impact on the organisation of consumption all suggest that a paradigm shift for marketing may not be far over the horizon†

Project Management Report Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words

Project Management Report - Essay Example In this regard employee training is an extremely imperative trend that has recently grasped a great deal of attention in the corporate world. Business leaders like Accenture Ltd. and Macquere Bank have specifically focused on educating their employees, in the meantime a number of firms that provide training facilities to businesses have also developed, thus creating an entirely new faction of organizational structure, that is, Human Resource Management. Technological Advancements and progress in Information Technology have made computer proficiency a requirement of the modern business. These developments simultaneously entail employees to be skilled in IT in order to effectively compete for career improvement. With the above objectives in sight a Postgraduate Professional MIS course was designed to train IT consultants the art of Systems Development and Mechanism so as to enhance the IS efficiency within the organization and to simultaneously reap advantages through research and development. The Project designed under the title of 'Organizational IT Change (OTC)', is an eighteen-month comprehensive training course. OTC has been specifically developed to address some extremely important aspects of current corporate requirements. It will comprise of coaching in the following modules OTC would involve a provision of compl... OTC would involve a provision of complete theoretical knowledge pooled with practical exposure and a close analysis of the recent patterns of IT development in the industry with a particular emphasis on research and consultancy. The project would aim not only at developing the technological skills of the individuals but simultaneously nourishing their communication and critical expertise so as to enable them to effectively apply the abstract knowledge to realistic circumstances. Classes for the course would be held within the organizational premises while the lecturers will be outsourced from some of the leading universities in the Computer Science Departments. Accenture Limited has also been contacted and we are expecting a regular supply of Guest Speakers who would frequently relate the growing trends and IT solutions to employees. Project Scope OTC was the result of a detailed analysis and was gauged on the basis of SMART objectives before outlining its final design. It was extremely vital to design a specific, tangible and measurable scope in order to clearly define the deliverables to the stakeholders and to facilitate a successful achievement of the objectives. OTC has been specially designed for skilled IT professionals who are at least acquainted with the fundamental IS knowledge and possess a bachelor's degree or under any circumstances a minimum diploma in Information Systems. For the function of testing the capacity of the employees has been fixed to twenty initially and these individuals will be entirely selected from the IT department. A basic 20 minute test would be conducted to serve as the source for selection. The purpose of OTC is to convey skills that enhance the system designing and development