Supply Chain Diagnostics & Complexity

IT Boosts Efficiency in Fashion Retailer

-A Case Study in Hard Systems Approach Application

Contents

1. Summary……………………………………………………………………………..3

2. Introduction…………………………………………………………………………..3

3. New IT and E-business Solutions………...........…………………………………….3

4. Application in Hard System Approach………………………………………………4

Stage1. Current Situation Summary…………………………………………………...4

Stage2. Identification of Objectives……………………………………………..…….5

Stage3. Performance Measures………………………………………………………...5

Stage4. Generation of Routes to Objectives…………………………………………...7

Stage5. Routes Editing and Detailing.………………………………………………....7

Stage6. Evaluation of Routes…………………………………………………………..8

Stage7. Implementing the Change.……………………………………………………10

5. Hard System Approach Evaluation…………………………………………………..11

References…………………………………………………………………………

1. Summary

Nowadays more and more fashion retailers see the Internet and e-Business as a means of becoming more competitive, reducing costs and improving service to clients. As a system practitioner employed by a medium-sized fashion retail company, since the company has acknowledged the benefits of IT and E-business, this report aims to help the company analysis the current situation and future needs with the expectation of IT and E-business application by applying the Hard System Approach.

2. Introduction

Graph of the TNS Market Share for the top 4 UK Sup...

Graph of the TNS Market Share of UK Supermarket As...

English: Market share of domain name registrars

With the development of information technology, the report will firstly find out major potential IT and E-business systems by producing a Mind Map. Then according to the current performances, the assessment and suggestion to the company's need will be addressed in the second part of the report through the analysis of the application of the Hard System Approach. The last part of the report identifies the strength and weakness of the Hard System Approach revealed by the application to the case, and the suggestion of areas of further study which may be beneficial to the company.

3. Mind Map of New IT and E-business Solutions

A mind map is a diagram used to represent words, ideas, tasks or other items linked to and arranged radically around a central key word or idea. (Clelford, 2008)

Since the IT and E-businesses' rapid development, there are more and more new information technologies, E-business solutions,