for gis

Strategic Positioning

Strategic Positioning

completing different tasks than competitors/same tasks in a different way

FreshDirect (Strategy)

More efficient, sold higher raw numbers of inventory, used AI for management, bought directly from suppliers > was overall more innovative and effective than rivals

Resource-based view of competitive advantage

for a firm to maintain a sustainable competitive advantage, it must have a bank of resources that is valuable, rare, difficult to imitate, and non substitutable.

Value Chain

set of activities in which products/services are created and delivered to customers

Imitation-based Value Chain

A way of business that is hard to imitate, with technology being in a key role in the chain

Components of The Value Chain

Inbound, outbound logistics, operations, marketing and sales, support

Secondary Components of the value chain

Firm infrastructure, human resources management, technology/research and development, procurement

Infrastructure

General management, planning, finance, and IS

HRM

Recruiting, hiring, training, and development

Technology

Research and development

imitation-resistant value chain

Extremely valuable, it provides a competitive advantage that cannot be replicated by rivals and can also strengthen other assets of a firm by association.

What is Analysis of of value chain essential towards?

its essential towards maintaining and improving the value chain and its deficiencies. Firms frequently buy software/tools for supply chain management, customer relationship management, and enterprise resource planning software.

When buying tools (software) what must firms be careful of?

firms must be careful not to make their unique value chain into a generic one.

Brand

A symbolic embodiment of the information surrounding a product/service

Scale advantages

the larger an economy, the more advantageous for businesses as revenues, etc. are much higher in gross amount; this implies that the organization is scalable and rises proportionally as economies get larger

Switching costs:

costs incurred by customers if they switch from 1 product/service to another

The higher the switching costs =

the less likely customers are to switch brands

Data is a high switching cost, how does this help firms?

firms can leverage information to dissuade switching

Differentiation

firms make their commodities (products/services) slightly different from competitors to stand out; data is used to differentiate often.

What is this an example of? : Amazon uses user data to have a custom shopping process, unique to the user

Differentiation

Distribution channels

path that products take to get to the consumer.

Affiliates

3rd parties that promote a product or service in exchange for a cut of the sales

Non-practicing entities (patent trolls)

3rd parties that buy up patents to force others into paying them, even though they do not bring any products to market themselves

What must firms also do along with timing and technology to achieve a sustainable competitive advantage?

they must also build their brand/scalability/high switching costs/network effects/etc

Porter's 5 forces:

Threat of new entrants into markets, power of the buyer, power of the supplier, threat of existing substitutes, rivalry among existing competitors

Network effects

a product/service gets more valuable as more people use it- main example is social media/Email. Network effects and switching costs go hand-in-hand; people do not want to stop using a service if they are now invested in it emotionally/financially/etc

Zara: Point-of-sale system

A system designed to capture purchase information from customers to sort through find best-selling products and trends

How much does Zara produce inhouse?

60% They cut out the middle man and supplier

What type of manufacturing does H&M use?

contract manufacturing - outsourcing product 3rd parties - which is slower and more prone to sweatshop labor/abuse

what does the RFID chip tell employees at zara?

All their clothing has an RFID chip that tells employees exactly where an item is to efficiently deliver clothes to customers.

Zara, Greige

Goods to be further customized on designer/manager collaboration

Usage of limited supply helps do what?

helps create demand for clothes and ensure they sell out and at full price

Omnichannel defintion , Zara

approach to retail that seamlessly integrates in-store and online shopping experiences, so firms must ensure that online features are as in-depth as they are in store

What did prada stores fail?

Prada had very high-tech stores that confused customers and was ultimately a negative return on investment

Zara design

Zara employs young designers who follow trends in fashion, rather than high fashion houses who create the trends for the future

Why is Zara's vertical integration?

this is when a firm owns several levels of their value chain.

Information system (IS)

An integrated solution that combines five components: hardware, software, data, procedures, and users

Operational effectiveness

performing the same tasks better than rivals perform them

Fast Follower Problem

competitors quickly follow a pioneer's steps and create a competing product that is cheaper and potentially superior to the original

Why did TiVo fail

components of their products were available to competitors easily, rivals could enter market in short time period with better products, existing cable was more profitable

Componenets of the value chain

Inbound, outbound logistics, operations, marketing and sales, support

Secondary Components of the value chain:

Firm infrastructure, human resources management, technology/research and development, procurement

Difference between information, data, and knowledge

Data in their simplest form consist of raw alphanumeric values. Information is created when data are processed, organized, or structured to provide context and meaning. Knowledge is what we know

data warehouse vs transactional database

Data warehousing is designed to a store and analyzing large volumes of data for analysis. A transactional database is for recording individual transactions accurately.

Examples of transactional databases

online transaction processing systems used in eCommerce, banking, etc

Examples of warehousing uses

used for business intelligence, reporting, and data mining applications.

entity

a thing or idea that exists in the real world and is represented in a database. Entities have descriptors and they are organized into tables.

field/attribute

a specific piece of information about an entity. It is like a column in a table that has a name and a type, and it stores data about that entity.

row/record

represents a single instance of an entity. It contains a set of values for each of the fields (or attributes) that define that entity.

Binary Data

Use this data type to store binary data, such as images, audio files, or videos.

Boolean Data

Use this data type to store true/false values, such as yes/no, on/off, or true/false.

Date and time Data

Use this data type to store date and time values, such as order dates, transaction times, and appointment schedules.

Numeric Data

Use this data type to store numeric values, such as prices, quantities, and percentages.

Text or varchar data

Use this data type to store character strings, such as names, addresses, and descriptions.

definition of relationships in a database

In a database, relationships refer to the way that entities are connected or related to each other. There are three main types of relationships

What are the three main types of relationships in a database

One-to-one (1:1) , One-to-many (1:N), Many-to-many (N:M)

Many-to-many (N:M) definition

In a many-to-many relationship, each instance of one entity can be related to many instances of another entity, and vice versa. For example, each student may be enrolled in many courses, and each course may have many students enrolled.

One-to-many (1:N) relationship

In a one-to-many relationship, each instance of one entity can be related to many instances of another entity, but each instance of the second entity can only be related to one instance of the first entity. For example, each customer may have many orders, but each order is associated with only one customer.

One-to-one (1:1) relationship

In a one-to-one relationship, each instance of one entity is related to exactly one instance of another entity, and vice versa. For example, each employee may have exactly one employee ID, and each employee ID may be associated with exactly one employee.

The "Relational Approach"

a way of organizing data in a database that emphasizes the relationships between tables.

Microsoft access

a software tool that uses this approach to help users create and manage databases. Access provides a visual interface and various features, such as forms, queries, and reports, to help users input, analyze, and report data.

Primary key

a unique identifier for each record in a database table. It ensures data integrity by preventing duplicate records

Data integrity

refers to the accuracy and consistency of data in a database,

Foreign keys

common fields that link one table to another in a database, establishing relationships between them.

Referential integrity

a set of rules that ensures the consistency and accuracy of data by requiring that foreign keys match primary keys. prevents data loss

Queries

a database is a request for data from one or more tables based on specified criteria. It is used to filter, sort, calculate, or join data to retrieve specific information.

Porters 5 forces: Change the basis of competition =

The basis of competition refers to the factors that determine how firms compete in an industry. These can include pricing, product quality, innovation, customer service, and brand reputation. Changing the basis of competition can be a strategy for firms to differentiate themselves and gain a competitive advantage.

Fresh Direct strategy

Target densely populated cities where efficiency and time are most important.

What does FreshDirect use to personalize the customer experience

Machine learning and customer profiling

Zara's enterprise resource planning (ERP system)

a software system that integrates all aspects of Zara's operations in real time, including manufacturing, inventory management, logistics, sales, and finance.

The system enables Zara to manage its supply chain and operations in real-time, with up-to-date information on inventory levels, production schedules, and sales data.

Fresh directs ERP System

Their ERP system to manage all aspects of its business, including sales, inventory management, purchasing, logistics, and customer service.

The system tracks inventory levels in real-time, optimizes purchasing and inventory management processes, and manages customer orders and deliveries

Fresh Direct's vertical integration strategy

controlling all aspects of its value chain, from sourcing to customer service.

Zaras vertical integration strategy

Zara's vertical integration strategy involves owning and controlling all aspects of its supply chain, from design and manufacturing to distribution and retail. This enables Zara to respond quickly to changing fashion trends and maintain control over quality and costs.