Blue C Sushi

Introduction

In competitive industries , businesses try to develop unique selling propositions by differentiating their products and services Differentiation is one of the strategies that the management in a business organization has at its disposal to develop and maintain a competitive edge . The other two strategies that the management can also implement in to make their business organizations better than competitors are related to developing cost leadership positions and focusing on the developing niche positions in markets (cited in Baschab 2005 . Blue C Sushi is implementing all three strategies . It is

following the differentiation strategy in terms of implementing the Japanese concept of kaiten sushi , it is developing a cost leadership position by means of optimizing inventory management and it is developing a niche market by adopting a unique method of delivering its products and services to the customers . In all three strategies , the enabling component is the information system . The information system is built around a technological solution which enables the company to collect strategic information in a timely manner

Analysis of management information systems at Blue C Sushi

The Blue C Sushi management outsourced the development and the deployment of the information system to third parties which in this case were Kikata and Intermec . This was because the core competencies particularly for Kikata involved evaluating different technological solutions from the perspective of the cost benefit analysis as it applied to the strategic goals and objectives of a business organization . The management at Blue C Sushi was in the best position to define what was going to be the strategic objective of the technological solution to be implemented . However it did not have the required knowledge in the field of information technology to decide which solution would be the best in terms of its costs and benefits to the business potential of Blue C Sushi . This is an illustration of the trend which has created a widespread need for outsourcing . Outsourcing is the process by which a company hires another company to perform a particular function (cited in Pearlson Saunders , 2007 . Blue C Sushi hired Kiakata and Intermec to develop the information system which would enable the restaurant to improve quality control and customer relationship management and also to have access to critical intelligence . All three objectives at Blue C Sushi are being met by the implementation of a management information system which revolves around the RFID technology

The case presents a perfect scenario of business process reengineering undertaken for enhanced business potential . Business process reengineering is the process of optimizing and streamlining the internal operations of a company for enhanced efficiency and effectiveness in resource allocation (cited in McNurlin Sprague , 2007 . An example of this process is the structural transformation that Blue C Sushi 's internal processes went through as a result of implementing the RFID technology . As a result of the implementation of this technology , the Blue C Sushi staff had remote access to critical information that enabled it to improve both downstream and upstream operations . The downstream operations include inventory management . Information collected via the RFID technology facilitated inventory management by means of tracking and immediately delivering to chefs sitting at workstations information related to which products and services were still available and which were running short . The chefs could arrange division of labor accordingly . This is an example of business process reengineering which has been implemented by means of information technology with strategic alignment maintained . Frequently when it comes to managing change through the adoption of information technology , the end result does not enhance the efficiency and the effectiveness of internal processes as expected because the management did not look into the strategic alignment process

According to the strategic alignment process , an organization has to ensure that four modules of its organizational structure are in alignment . These four modules are : business strategy , organizational issues , information systems issues and information technology strategies (cited in McNurlin Sprague , 2007 . Before going ahead with the deployment of a technological solution that will automate internal functions , the management has to make sure that each of the four modules has to be able to support the other . As it applies to Blue C Sushi , the management has to make sure that its information technology strategy of implementing the RFID technology can enhance the business strategies of optimizing inventory management and customer service and that the organizational issues in terms of employee expertise and experience are there to ensure effective and efficient operation of the new technology In implementing the RFID technology , the management has to address information systems issues as well and these issues include having the sort of management information system which can support the data generated by the new technology . By ensuring that all four modules are in balance , the strategic alignment process ensures that the end state of business process reengineering is one that enhances the strategic focus of the company . The strategic focus at Blue C Sushi comprises of three elements : quality control , customer service and a strong platform for adding features . All three elements have been enhanced by means of the RFID technology and this has been made possible by the strategic alignment process facilitated by outsourcing to Kikata and Intermec

As a result of the new technology , the Blue C Sushi staff will be able to monitor buying habits of customers and they will also be able to track status of inventory in real time . Both capabilities will enable the Blue C Sushi management to enhance the quality of customer relationship management by improving the quality of its products and services . The transactional features of the new information system improve the billing system while the analytical features of the new system improve Blue C Sushi 's business potential by capturing mission critical data related to purchasing habits and current status of inventory . Blue C Sushi is therefore implementing a management information system which enhances its competitive edge in terms of better quality control , improved customer relationship management and greater access to critical market intelligence

Conclusion

Information technology can be one of the most powerful enabling components of an organizational culture . This is illustrated by business process reengineering as it occurred at Blue C Sushi . Both the internal stakeholders and the external stakeholders benefited from adopting the new technological solution because it made life easier not only for the employees but it also made life more interesting for the customers . That is why this case study is a perfect example of synergy that can be achieved from embedding technology into the internal processes of an organization

References

Baschab , John , et al (2005 . The Executive Guide to Information Technology . McGraw

Hill /Irwin

McNurlin , Barbara C , and Ralph H . Sprague (2007 . Information Systems Management in

Practice . McGraw Hill /Irwin

Pearlson , Keri E , and Carol S . Saunders (2007 . Managing Using Information Systems

South western college pub

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