Applications of Strategic IS

1
Applications of Strategic IS

• Value chain and Competitive Forces Models

2
The competitive environment of the firm

• Challenges from,
• new entrants into the market
• suppliers/vendors
• new substitute products and services
• traditional competitors
• Changing needs of customers.
• How can the enterprise respond?

3
Competitive IS

• Use IS to differentiate your product - uniquely
  different products and services which will
  differentiate you from the competition (e.g. seed
  company, jeans to order, etc.)
• Use IS to focus your product differentiation -
  niche marketing. Target a narrow segment, using
  IS, which is difficult to reach by the
  competition (e.g. upper-end markets, Backpackers,
  etc.)
• Use IS to lock in your customers - provide
  convenient goods services to make switching
  costly (e.g. Amer. Hospital Supply, accounting
  services, etc.)
• Use IS to become a low-cost supplier of goods and
  services - reduce prices of goods services
  below the competition (e.g. computer controlled
  manufacturing, temporary services, inventory
  management, etc.)

4
The value chain

• Represent the business as a sequence of basic and
  supporting activities
• Basic (primary) activities the sequence of
  generating the enterprises primary service or
  product, (selling hamburgers, providing internet
  access, etc.)
• Supporting (secondary) activities facilitating
  the delivery of the basic goods and services,
  (personnel, accounting, etc.).

5
MSCDs value chain

• Recruiting
• Registration
• Curriculum
• Instruction
• Graduation
• Employment career
• Post-graduation services
• Where do strategic systems belong here and what
  should they do?
• What kinds of systems do you recommend?

6
Return to UPS case

• Also apply the above discussion to UPS
• How successful were they?

7
End ISs implications to value chain and
competitive forces