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INFOSYS.110 BUSINESS SYSTEMS: DELIVERABLE 2: BUSINESS SECTION2014

Name Amberley TancockNetID atan723Group Number: 223Website Link: http://infosys110group223.blogspot.co.nz

Tutorial DetailsTutor: Day: Time:Johnnie Shubert Wednesday 11am

Time Spent on Assignment: 26 hours Word Count: 1627

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ALIGHTINTRODUCTION

We have found that people of all ages have a problem with waking up in the morning. In

setting an alarm to wake them up, they are being woken up abruptly and damage to their

health and vitality can occur, as well as decreased effiency in their daily lives. We have

designed a product called Alight which addresses the issues of the regular alarm clock. We

believe that our product will impact on the user in a way that will allow them to contribute

more to our society.

3. BUSINESS SECTION

3.1 Vision

To wake people up in a friendly manner, to promote their health and wellbeing, increase

their efficiency and productivity, and leave them feeling happy and refreshed.

3.2 Industry Analysis: Alarm Clock Industry

Industry: Alarm Clock Industry. Alight is a specialised alarm clock and so falls into the alarm

clock industry.

Force: High/Low: Justification:

Buyer power: High Buyers have many choices of whom to buy from.

Searching “alarm clocks nz” in Google (n.d) gives

hundreds of pages of different alarm clock

companies that are available for buyers to choose

from. Entering the Mighty Ape (n.d.) website,

there are over 20 pages of alarm clocks to choose

from – these are an example of the huge range of

choices of different alarm clocks and companies

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and so therefore the huge buyer power.

Supplier power: Low Some of the parts required to make an alarm

clock include circuit boards, wires and batteries

(Savage Circuits, 2005) which are standard parts

used to make many different electrical items. As

there are many different suppliers of these items,

it is easy to change suppliers and so their power is

low.

Threat of new entrants: High Threat of new entrants is high because it does not

require a huge amount of capital to get into the

industry (low entry barriers).

Threat of substitutes: High Threat of substitutes is high because there are

many alternatives such as waking up via a

smartphone, or a similar technology such as an

ipod or computer which contain an alarm clock

setting, waking up in a natural manner (not using

an alarm clock) or being woken up by another

person (parents).

Rivalry among existing

competitors:

High Rivary is high between existing competitors

because there are many competitors and so a

fierce competition exists in order to attract

customers.

Overall attractiveness of the industry: As most of the forces are high, it is not a particularly

attractive industry to be in. We will need to focus our product on a particular part of the

market and differentiate it to others which are already on the market, in order to do well in

the industry.

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3.3 Customers and Their Needs

Our potential customers are those people who need to get up to go to any activity, such as

work, school, appointments, or anyplace. The customers will also likely own their home or

have permission to install our alarm system into their home, as the system does need to be

incorporated into their house by connecting to the facilities. Our system would be ideal to

be placed into new homes being built or homes being redesigned, so homeowners in this

situation would be a large part of the customer base.

The customer’s needs are that the product should be reliable in waking them up and a long

lasting solution. The customer needs a product to help them wake up the first time around

because hitting snooze on the alarm clock and drifting back off to sleep starts the sleepcycle

all over again and this has a negative impact on their health and wellbeing (Lifehacker,

2013). The customer also needs the product to address the underlying causes of why it is

that people find it hard to wake up in the morning. From our research, this stems from the

circadian rhythms of the body, the lack of light, temperature of the room and the hasty

nature of the alarm clock (National Sleep Foundation, 2013).

3.4 The Product and Service

Our product, Alight, is an integrated system that synchronises the lighting, sound and room

temperature, to create a positive experience in waking up. The product consists of a wall

panel, from where to set the alarm and other settings, and is wired to the existing lighting

and air conditioning. It also has a speaker to transmit the sound.

Regular alarm clocks only produce the sound aspect and so are not addressing the

underlying causes of why people find it hard to wake up in the morning. But with our system

we have incorporated lighting, to gradually activate, and temperature, triggered to an

optimal level to promote alertness. Exposure to morning light has been shown to promote

wakefulness (National Sleep Foundation, 2013) and has an effect on the bodies circadian

rhythms, making it easier to wake up (About.com, 2014). These elements of our alarm

system, address the customer’s needs in a way which other alarm clock products do not.

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Our alarm system also satisfies the customer’s needs by being reliable and lasting. It will

even add value to the customer’s home – when selling their home the system would remain

in place and the new owners would be buying the alarm system with the house.

3.5 Suppliers and Partners

We will need a supplier of circuit boards, which will be supplied for the manufacturing of

our wall panel. Another supplier will be a wiring company to supply us with electrical wires,

to be used in connecting our system to the lights and air conditioning.

We will partner and collaborate with a company that has expertise in the area of designing

and manufacturing the wall panel. We will also partner with an electrician service. This will

be a partner and not a supplier, as we will need full time electricians to install the product in

the customer’s houses.

3.6 Strategy: Focused High Cost

Our product will have a narrower market rather than a broad market, due to the fact that it

will need to be installed into the customer’s houses. It will therefore not be ideal for

everyone and that will narrow down our market.

It will be a high cost product compared to other alarm clocks on the market and so will fall

into the high cost section.

The overall strategy is therefore Focused High Cost.

3.7 Value Chain Activity: Service after the sale

The most important value chain activity for this business is service after the sale.

This is because the system is installed into the houses of the customers and they will have to

be reassured that they will be supported after the sale in case there are any problems with

the system. This links back to the customer needs of a reliable and long lasting system and

by supporting the customer after the sale we can ensure that the system continues to work

correctly and, if not, we will be responsible for fixing any problems. This value chain activity

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adds value to our business as by ensuring the reliability and maintainability of our product

we are creating a competitive advantage over the regular alarm clock products.

3.8 Business Processes

3.8.1. INSTALLATION PROCESS - The alarm system needs to be installed in the customer’s

houses. As this installation process occurs after the sale of the product, it therefore comes

under service after the sale in the value chain activities. This process is important as it is a

key aspect of our product to have the alarm system properly installed into the customer’s

houses.

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3.8.2. CUSTOMER SERVICE PROCESS – The customer service process is important because

when the customer buys the alarm system they will want a guarantee that if the system was

not working correctly, that they will be supported by our business and that any issues are

appropriately dealt with and fixed.

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3.9 Functionalities

3.9.1. INSTALLATION PROCESS

Install the alarm system Test the alarm system

3.9.2. CUSTOMER SERVICE PROCESS

Receive and store customer complaints/feedback Respond to customer complaints/feedback

3.10 Systems

3.10.1. MESSAGED-BASED WORKFLOW SYSTEM – The messaged-based workflow system

supports the functionalities of the installation process, as the system sends the work

assignments through email to the system installer (electrician), who then goes to the

installation site to install the alarm system. Without the message-based workflow system no

installation process would be able to occur.

3.10.2. CUSTOMER MANAGEMENT SYSTEM – The customer management system captures all

the information involved in dealings with the customer. It supports the functionalities of the

customer service process as it will contain customer contact information, any previous

issues/feedback they have given and all the necessary information to do with that customer.

3.10.3. COMPLAINTS ANALYSIS SYSTEM – The complaints analysis system will be used to

analyse customer complaints. For example, there may be a common problem within the

complaints received that urgently needs addressing to fix the issue and so this system will

analyse any patterns that exist between complaints. It can support the functionality of

responding to customer complaints as a common response to a problem can be formulated

from the analysis.

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3.11. Summary Table: Value Chain to Systems

Value Chain Activity

Processes Functionalities Specific Information System(s)

Broad Information System(s)

Service

after the

sale

1. Installation Process

1. Install the alarm system.

2. Test the alarm system.

Message-based workflow system

Testing Analysis System

Collaboration System

Decision Support System

2. Customer

Service

Process

1. Receive and store customer complaints/feedback.

2. Respond to customer complaints /feedback.

Complaints Analysis System

Customer Management System

Customer Relationship Management System

Customer Relationship Management System

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CONCLUSION

In conclusion, Alight is a unique product, created to overcome the issues of waking up in the

morning. Our business plans involve a number of different information systems and

collaborations with other businesses, which add value to our business and will help us to

achieve success in the market.

REFERENCES

1. About.com. (2014). The 10 Best Ways to Wake Up. Retrieved from http://sleepdisorders.about.com/od/howcanisleepbetter/ss/The-10-Best-Ways-To-Wake-Up_4.htm

2. Google. (n.d.). Alarm Clock NZ. Retrieved from https://www.google.co.nz/#q=alarm+clock+nz

3. Lifehacker. (2013). Science explains why you should stop hitting the snooze button. Retrieved from http://lifehacker.com/5991618/science-explains-why-you-should-stop-hitting-the-snooze-button

4. Mighty Ape. (n.d.). Alarm Clocks. Retrieved from http://www.mightyape.co.nz/Home-Living/Decor-Accessories/Clocks/Alarm-Clocks/All

5. National Sleep Foundation. (2013). Sleep Drive and Your Body Clock. Retrieved from http://sleepfoundation.org/sleep-topics/sleep-drive-and-your-body-clock/page/0%2C1/

6. Savage Circuits. (2005). Digital Alarm Clock. Retrieved from http://www.savagecircuits.com/content.php?70-Digital-Alarm-Clock

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