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-713115-475313Milestone 2: Vision 0Milestone 2: Vision center2199640Marci Copeland, Project & Document ManagerChristina Driver, Business AnalystAlexandra Zelmat, Systems Analyst00Marci Copeland, Project & Document ManagerChristina Driver, Business AnalystAlexandra Zelmat, Systems Analyst-887095-8572500025717504848225November 6December 11October 2, 2014MIS 4163-601Milestone 200November 6December 11October 2, 2014MIS 4163-601Milestone 2-723900828675Contract and Proposal00Contract and ProposalTable of Contents TOC \o "1-3" \h \z \u Updates to Milestone 2 Vision Document PAGEREF _Toc402985751 \h 2Executive Summary PAGEREF _Toc402985752 \h 3History and Business Description PAGEREF _Toc402985753 \h 4Mission Statement PAGEREF _Toc402985754 \h 4Current Business Environment PAGEREF _Toc402985755 \h 5Current Business Issues PAGEREF _Toc402985756 \h 6Tracking Sales PAGEREF _Toc402985757 \h 6“Love it or Hate it” PAGEREF _Toc402985758 \h 6Shipments PAGEREF _Toc402985759 \h 7Inventory PAGEREF _Toc402985760 \h 7Marketing PAGEREF _Toc402985761 \h 7Questions for Kaley Jase Boutique PAGEREF _Toc402985762 \h 7Tracking Sales PAGEREF _Toc402985763 \h 7Shipments PAGEREF _Toc402985764 \h 8Inventory PAGEREF _Toc402985765 \h 8Marketing/Promotion PAGEREF _Toc402985766 \h 8Customer Relations PAGEREF _Toc402985767 \h 8Shoppes at Kaley Jase Boutique PAGEREF _Toc402985768 \h 8System Objective and Features PAGEREF _Toc402985769 \h 9Functional Requirements: PAGEREF _Toc402985770 \h 9Nonfunctional Requirements: PAGEREF _Toc402985771 \h 10Constraints PAGEREF _Toc402985772 \h 11Business Benefits PAGEREF _Toc402985773 \h 11Tracking Sales PAGEREF _Toc402985774 \h 11“Love it or Hate it” PAGEREF _Toc402985775 \h 12Shipments PAGEREF _Toc402985776 \h 12Inventory PAGEREF _Toc402985777 \h 12Marketing PAGEREF _Toc402985778 \h 12Stakeholders PAGEREF _Toc402985779 \h 13Equipment Requirements PAGEREF _Toc402985780 \h 13Updates to Milestone 2 Vision DocumentThere were a number of revisions made to this document to further prepare for Milestone 3: Analysis. Some were minor corrections of grammatical and document formatting errors. The majority of the work was on clarifying the business problems and needs and the proposed solutions. Under the History and Business Description section, we described the tool that Kaley Jase uses for customer feedback: the ‘love it or hate it’ customer response on social media. A section was added to clarify the use of the terms ‘vendor’ and ‘supplier’, which are not interchangeable in the context of this business. The Current Business Environment section was updated to describe the current use of Shopify for webstore and in-store purchases and to describe the process of customer purchase via Facebook. Additionally, it was noted that while vendor inventory is not currently tracked by Kaley Jase Boutique, that functionality will be needed in the new system. Further details were added to explain the interaction between Kaley Jase and the vendors in the Shoppes at Kaley Jase. All sales run through the Kaley Jase POS system and there are major weaknesses in this business process. We expanded on the Current Business issues section to better detail the problems that the business is facing. These include a lack of management of shipping and tracking information and that inventory management is a major missing feature. The System Objective and Features changes added and clarified requirements of the system. Inventory, supplier, and vendor requirements were refined to highlight the business value added. While Facebook and Shopify are used to communicate with the online presence, all information will be maintained and managed in the new system. Further details were also added to specify the requirements for customer promotion management. Constraints were modified to clarify the need for ease of use, expandability and to express that the current software systems do not have the functionality to meet the business needs. Lastly, adjustments were made to the Business Benefits section to better explain the benefits of the inventory tracking system. In particular, all inventory and sales will be tracked through the system. The supplier or vendor information will also be stored in order to distinguish between the two sets of inventory. Executive SummaryThe information contained in this vision and plan for Kaley Jase Boutique LLC, will include background information on the business, including the current business practices. Also, it will show many of the current problems as well as the solutions for the problems and constraints that are facing Kaley Jase. These solutions would help the company to potentially increase profits, become more efficient in many aspects of the business, and provide more analysis to make future business decisions and help the business to grow. The proposed solution would be a comprehensive information system that would integrate all sales, inventory, customer, and supplier information. Additionally, the combined system will allow for use in marketing to bring in more customers, while maintaining your current customer base. Included in this plan are the functional, non-functional requirements, and equipment requirements that would be required of this system for Kaley Jase. The solutions that have been provided will bring value to the business and meet all stakeholder and user’s needs. History and Business DescriptionKaley Jase Boutique LLC is a small boutique specializing in boutique items without the high boutique prices. Lorie Beth Thomas started Kaley Jase Boutique LLC in 2013 as an online business selling ladies clothing, scarves, jewelry, shoes, and bags on Facebook and at open-house events held in the owner’s home. Kaley Jase expanded from being an online-only business to a brick and mortar storefront located in downtown Windsor, North Carolina that opened on April 12, 2014.Due to the success of the business as a whole, the decision was made to increase the space by expanding into the adjoining building and bringing in small vendors. The new and improved Shoppes at Kaley Jase will open in October 2014. The additional vendors will bring in a variety of different merchandise to provide a wide selection of items to shop from in one store.? Along with ladies clothing and accessories, kid items, home décor, body products, and monogramming will be available. ??Currently Kaley Jase only has one employee as well as the owner to operate the store and handle the online business sales.? ??Kaley Jase utilizes a unique tool in determining the products that will be sold in store and online. This unique tool is customer feedback of potential items that may be purchased by the owner to sell in the boutique. The owner posts pictures of these potential items on Facebook and Instagram in an album titled, "love-it or hate-it", and requests feedback to determine if the items will be stocked at Kaley Jase. Once the pictures are posted, individuals can comment or click the like button if they love an item and would potentially purchase the item from Kaley Jase, or they hate it and wouldn't purchase the item. This allows customer input into many of the products that will be carried in the store as well as making customers aware of what the purchase price of the item would be if carried. This allows Kaley Jase to carry the items found in many small boutiques that customers want and will purchase while keeping the cost down and the customers happy.For the purposes of this business analysis,?it is important to define the terms 'supplier' and 'vendor'. ?For Kayley Jase Boutique, a supplier refers to those companies that Kaley Jase purchases items from for resale. ?The term vendor refers to the independent sellers who occupy space in the Shoppes at Kaley Jase. ?These vendors have their own inventory, which will be referred to here as vendor inventory.?Mission StatementThe mission of Kaley Jase Boutique is to provide boutique style clothing and monogrammed gifts at affordable prices. Kaley Jase values customer opinions by stocking items they want using customer feedback, providing customers with a unique personal shopping experience.?Current Business EnvironmentKaley Jase currently utilizes one employee and the owner to work in-store as well as processing all online sales. These sales come from Facebook and the Kaley Jase online store at . Duties of both the employee and owner include posting information on Instagram and Facebook, such as posting pictures of potential items the boutique would carry in the Love it/Hate it album in order to receive customer feedback to determine if they will proceed with ordering the items to stock inventory. Inventory purchases for Kaley Jase are made solely by Lorie Beth Thomas at trade shows and directly from vendors for items to be carried in-store and on-line. Purchasing decisions are based on decisions made by Lorie Beth and information obtained from the Love it/Hate it feedback provided by customers.Kaley Jase currently utilizes Shopify, a webstore and POS system for processing all transactions that occur in the store and online. Manual entries are enter for purchases made on Facebook. Pictures are posted on Facebook of items for sale. The picture's caption includes the item description, price, color, and size. Customers that want to purchase the item must comment on the picture of the item they wish to purchase and include the size, color, name, and email address. This information is taken from the comment to process the sale by manually reducing inventory and providing an invoice through PayPal. Sales generated in-store and through the Kaley Jase website are automatically transferred from Shopify into QuickBooks every day. Invoicing is done by receipt with in-store purchases and an automatic invoice is generated for all Kaley Jase website purchases. Shopify allows Kaley Jase staff to pull up customer information and see what the customer has purchased. Kaley Jase does not presently track jewelry inventory in any system.Currently, all purchases made through Facebook are by customers commenting on the picture of an item they would like to purchase, with the customer including whether an item needs to be shipped or will be picked up in the store. Manual entries are made to reduce inventory, report sales processed from Facebook, and prepare a manual Pay-Pal invoice that is emailed to the customer. Once payment is received, the item is shipped to the customer. Customer feedback, for items Kaley Jase may carry in its inventory, is done through online picture albums within Facebook and Instagram. Pictures of items are provided for customers to like or comment on whether they love or hate the item in order to determine if the item will be carried by Kaley Jase.The Shoppes at Kaley Jase will open in October 2014, with Kaley Jase processing sales for the vendors housed in the Shoppes at Kaley Jase. Although Kaley Jase will be processing these sales, inventory is not tracked by Kaley Jase for these sales, and each vendor is responsible for tracking their own inventory. Kaley Jase does not purchase inventory from any of the vendors and inventory is not currently included in the POS system. When creating transactions with purchases of Kaley Jase items the Stock Keeping Unit (SKU) number can be entered and the item will come up and be added to the receipt. When Kaley Jase is processing transactions with purchases of other vendor items, a custom sale is created and a description is typed in to record the vendor item that is being purchased, the vendor that owns the item, and the item description. Since the sales are processed as a custom sale, no effect to inventory can occur and will only show sales, therefore not providing a complete picture for profit and loss, shrinkage, as well as other management reports for the vendors housed in the Shoppes at Kaley Jase. Current Business IssuesTracking SalesKaley Jase Boutique originally started as a business that was run through Facebook and a website was made shortly after that. Before the brick and mortar store was created, everything was done through these online modes. Business is now conducted online through Facebook and the website and also through the physical store. This has caused issues with keeping track of sales because the in-store purchases and the website purchases are tracked through Shopify. Lorie Beth uses an application that imports these purchases from Shopify to QuickBooks every morning at 9 am. Purchases through Facebook and any other offline, out-of-store purchases that are paid through PayPal have to be manually entered into QuickBooks. The lack of consistency can cause discrepancies with the sales and profits and inventory quantity control.“Love it or Hate it”Lorie Beth uses Facebook to allow customers to give insight on what new products they would like to see and purchase by either choosing to “love it” or “hate it”. Currently, this is not tracked well and is only offered through Facebook. Each comment or vote has to be manually read and counted. There would be a greater response if the “love it” or “hate it” system could be used on the website and all of the votes on Facebook could be combined with the website votes in one place. This would allow for a broader customer base to vote and more accurate results to ensure that Kaley Jase Boutique is offering the latest and greatest products.ShipmentsOnline orders are currently shipped through UPS, USPS and FedEx. There is a need for better management of these deliveries. Online buyers expect shipment tracking information. Kaley Jase does not notify buyers of the shipping status and tracking information on shipments. There needs to be confirmation of items that are shipped and when they are received along with the ability to track shipments to ensure timely delivery and receipt. InventoryCurrently, Kaley Jase Boutique sells its own products as well as other vendor products. Kaley Jase does not have a comprehensive system for their own inventory and they do not keep track of vendor inventory. Each vendor keeps their own inventory. This can cause major issues that could increase costs and reduce profits. Once vendor inventory enters the possession of Kaley Jase Boutique, they should have a running and up to date inventory of their vendors’ items. They also need an inventory system that keeps track of their own inventory quantity for all items. Costs can be greatly increased, reducing profitability, if inventory goes missing or is incorrectly tracked. ?MarketingThe only marketing that Kaley Jase Boutique utilizes is its presence on social media sites like Facebook and Instagram. There are several outlets that would be beneficial in increasing customer visibility without greatly increasing costs. Bringing back past customers, retaining current customers, and drawing in new customers are important aspects of this business. Without the customers, there would be no business. Marketing is an important aspect in all businesses and Kaley Jase Boutique is lacking in this area.Overall, the business is working and it is creating a profit, but there are vast amounts of potential for this boutique. By fixing the aforementioned problems, profits could greatly increase.Questions for Kaley Jase BoutiqueTracking SalesHow are website/Facebook sales tracked?How long are past sales kept and recorded?Is there a current report being utilized to track sales?ShipmentsHow are products delivered and tracked that are not purchased in-store?Is there a current report being utilized to track customer shipments?InventoryWho orders inventory?How often should the inventory system update?Should the inventory system have an alert when items get low?How are different vendors tracked as well as their inventories?Is there a current report being utilized to track inventory?Marketing/PromotionHow are the new products marketed?How many customers have to “love” an item in order for Kaley Jase Boutique to stock it?Is there a current application in use that customers can use on their smartphones for rewards, coupons, deals and?other promotions?Are loyalty rewards offered to customers?Customer RelationsIs there a current customer database?How does Kaley Jase reach its past and present customers?How are future customers being reached out to?Is customers’ private information kept in a safe place? Where?Shoppes at Kaley Jase BoutiqueWho will work the Shoppes at Kaley Jase Boutique that opens in October?Is it just one additional store being added?What types of products will be sold at the Shoppes at Kaley Jase Boutique?System Objective and FeaturesOur goal is to develop a custom and comprehensive information system that allows for Kaley Jase to centralize customer and sales information in order to be more efficient and maximize sales opportunities. ?The main objectives are to maintain customer account tracking, track all inventory and sales for all items including the Shoppes of Kaley Jase vendors. Additional objectives are to provide reporting, manage product delivery, centralize invoicing, and create marketing projects such as store special events, coupon/reward offers and expand the love it/hate unique tool for customer choices of items to be purchased by Kaley Jase. ?The system requirements are detailed as follows. ?Functional Requirements:?The system will include complete management of sales, customer, and inventory information from all business plete customer information for tracking and promotional useComplete sales information management and reportingSales by channel Sales by customerSales by itemShipping and tracking of customer ordersComplete inventory informationItem details, including price, quantity, supplier and descriptionsTracking of all inventory for vendorsThe system will automatically track customer input.Track and compile customer feedback (like it or hate it responses)Track and compile customer 'wish list' dataTrack and compile customer promotion usageThe system will track all supplier and vendor information.Item information for each supplier or vendorSupplier contact and order informationVendor contact informationProvide easy link between inventory and supplier information for re-orderThe system will push new and updated inventory information to the webstore.Inventory information is entered solely in the custom systemSend inventory updates to webstore automaticallyProduct informationInventory quantity and price The system will utilize customer information in order to promote the business to customersThe new system will create coupon, email, loyalty reward, and wish list functions based on parameters such as dates, purchase history or occasion.Coupon promotionsCreate customer lists based on promotion parameters for merging to mail publications for US Postal Service delivery to customersEmail promotionsCreate Customer lists based on promotion parameters to create email promotion mass-mailing. Loyalty promotionsRewards for purchase levelRewards for referralsWish list management for customersAllow customers to enter a wish listRecord wish list information to utilize for promotionsThe system must allow for full reporting: ?Customer dataSales dataInventory dataCost, revenue, profitNonfunctional Requirements:The system must run on current technology.iPadWindows 7 & 8Microsoft OfficeQuickBooksThe system must allow for multiple users.?The system must allow for security features and tracking.?Time and user stamps for transaction entryModule-based access that allows employees to access only authorized information and changesAutomated backup system to provide data protectionCustomer data secured?The system will be cloud-based to allow for syncing of data across platforms and to allow access from multiple locations.The system must allow for growth.?Additional employeesAdditional vendorsGrowth in customer baseExpanded inventoryConstraintsKaley Jase is in an expansion phase, and would like to keep any investment in new technology or systems to a minimum. ?Significant time and cost has already been sunk into the existing software systems and these systems do allow for expansion of the webstore business. ?However, Shopify does not allow for the tracking of inventory across the multiple business segments. Nor does it provide the customer feedback tracking that is desired. The new system will require adding software to the current software utilized by Kaley Jase to meet the demands of new vendors, new reporting, new data warehousing, new locations, and new online outlets. Lastly, the system should be user friendly and efficient. With the owner as the main employee and only one or two part-time employees, the user-interface should be clear, concise and easy to learn.Business BenefitsKaley Jase Boutique will receive several benefits from this new, proposed system. The potential for increased profit, decreased cost and maximized customer experience will stem from the following benefited business sections of Kaley Jase.Tracking SalesThe current system is divided between various software platforms that do not link with each other. The new system will increase consistency in tracking sales information between the different modes of purchase, such as Facebook, website and storefront, will better enhance the company’s ability to track all sales accurately. If sales can be tracked accurately, Kaley Jase will be able to assess its business environment to ensure that sales are where they need to be to create the desired target profit. “Love it or Hate it”The current assessment of the “love it or hate it” tool through Facebook and Instagram is that it is difficult to use and inefficient. The votes for each item have to be manually counted and analyzed. This can be tedious and time consuming. There is no availability for customers visiting the website to vote. This should be present for those that do not use Facebook or Instagram. The new system will create a way that all votes made on Facebook and Instagram can be combined with the votes on the website so that Kaley Jase can make informed decisions on what products to stock next according to customer wants. This will increase customer relations, will put the customer first, and voice their wants. Making customers feel important will keep them coming back and lead to referrals of their friends and other acquaintances. In the long run, increased customers leads to increased profits.ShipmentsOnline purchases that are made through portals such as Facebook, Instagram and the website must be shipped to the customer. The shipments through FedEx, UPS and USPS will have better tracking in the proposed system as well as important information such as the exact time and date the item is shipped and the exact time and date that the customer receives their order. This will ensure customer satisfaction and decrease on lost profits from lack of tracking and lost shipments.InventoryThe new system will track Kaley Jase inventory through the use of SKU numbers and will also track possession of vendor inventory through the same method. The system will indicate whether the item is Kaley Jase inventory or vendor inventory. It will also include supplier information so that the best purchases can be made by the owner when ordering new supplier inventory. Proper tracking of inventory will increase company, supplier, and vendor relations and increase profitability through decreased costs that are accrued by lost/damaged inventory. MarketingPromotions and marketing have not played a large part in Kaley Jase profits. Reaching out to past, present and future customers through incentives, coupons and other promotions will help increase these profits. The proposed system will enable this through its customer data management module and will allow for the creation of the customer wish list ensuring that Kaley Jase stocks the most popular items. StakeholdersThe owner is the main user, but part-time help and Shoppes vendors will also need to be able to access and use the system with minimal training. ?Other stakeholders include anyone that will be affected by this proposed system change, such as past, current and future customers that will all receive promotional incentives as well as benefit from lowered costs, new products, customer wish list, and better shipment tracking. Vendors are also stakeholders because the new inventory tracking system will ensure that their personal products being sold by Kaley Jase will be properly tracked and accounted for. Equipment RequirementsThe business already has the Shopify webstore and POS system, various social media accounts - including Facebook, and QuickBooks. ?Additional requirements include Microsoft Excel and Microsoft Access, a cloud-hosting system for data storage, additional internet bandwidth, and additional computers for employees to access data. ................
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