Amazon.com
Amazon.com is one of the most successful companies in the current online business market. The company attained its breakeven point with the development of a large number of internet users in the 1990s. The introduction of information technology as a viable avenue to harbor knowledge and entertainment products was the main idea used to develop Amazon.com into a globally recognized company.
In the initial period of the company’s operations in the online platform, it failed to develop a large market share. This failing trend ended when the company engaged in an IPO in 1997, which provided the company with enough capital to develop a superstore in the online market. The company’s marketing strategy succeeded through the tremendous growth in the number of internet users and readers across the world. The development of IT came as a business booster for the company, and by 1998, Amazon.com had begun forming partnerships with various companies offering online commodities. The development in IT influenced the company to assume diversification in its processes to harness a larger market share.
The development in IT lured Amazon.com to invest in qualified experts in handling their systems in the late 1990s. The experts included a professional executive from Microsoft. The company invested heavily in talent to attain fast growth in its business processes. There were numerous challenges facing online companies in the late 1990s, and Amazon.com was among the many companies that were still struggling to make profits.
The biggest threat to the online enterprise was the traditional retailers, and Amazon.com needed to develop strategic partnerships with companies like Toys “R” Us. The partnership influenced the development of higher returns for the company because more customers began frequenting its online infrastructure. Since attaining its breakeven point, Amazon.com has attained tremendous success through the development of strategic partnerships with various online companies to diversify its business. The lesson learned from Amazon.com is that strategic partnerships for online businesses may spell out success for struggling companies.
Boeing
Boeing entered into the commercial aircraft business in 1954. After acquiring newly focused leadership in 1996, Boeing embarked on a competitive spree embedded on price competition with other players in the market. In the early 2000s, Boeing and Airbus were involved in close competition for market share across the globe. While Boeing had previously dominated the global aerospace business for many years, Airbus was taking over with more deliveries and financial returns.
The global market during this period was spoilt for choice because there was minimal diversification of products between the two companies; hence, neither of the companies had an advantage over its counterpart. Boeing needed to differentiate its products from Airbus to generate new customers. “E-enabling” Boeing’s product was the only way to beat its competition in the business. Boeing had to turn to information technology to develop airplanes that could be easily integrated with airline’s information systems.
Through networking the airplanes would help airlines to develop new services and facilitate the development of the fastest ways of providing solutions to their clients. “e-enabled” airplanes would translate to efficiency in service delivery for customers; hence, airlines would prefer Boeing’s products to its closest competitors. The company assembled a team to work on the project in February 2004. Boeing formed strategic partnerships with international air traffic control organization to market its “e-enabled” aircrafts. By 2005, the company had launched a network to control air traffic, and this gave it an edge over its competitors.
The e-environment introduced to airlines by Boeing is still one of its greatest competitive advantages in the current market. The lesson learned from Boeing is that influencing innovation through IT is a viable competitive strategy for businesses.
Canyon Ranch
Canyon Ranch has developed diverse business processes over the years, with a goal to enhance the wellness of their clients, entertainment, and influencing high profitability. Canyon Ranch is a service business, and its nature has influenced the management to refrain from using technology to provide services. The spa business is one of the areas where the company has avoided the use of information technology because of the threat of dehumanizing the services.
The organization has traditionally used word-of –mouth as its main marketing strategy. The company maintained a static website until 2004 when the management identified the use of IT as a viable marketing strategy. While the company has had an IT department since the 1990s, the department’s core business was to maintain the systems used in the company to enable smooth delivery of services to clients. The different entities owned by the company traditionally preferred using a decentralized IT function. The diversification model was the most feasible for the company because it deals with different business processes in different departments.
In 1999, the company upgraded its information system to monitor the transactions in its various departments. The company has also developed a system that evaluates its customers’ preferences to offer better services and maintain its highly competitive position in the market. Over the years, the company has developed from using limited IT systems to the current state where all services are monitored through computerized systems, making it easier for clients to get their services with minimal usage of paperwork. The lesson learned from Canyon Ranch is that companies can use IT without dehumanizing their business processes.
Royal DSM N.V
When DSM N.V. Company developed its “vision 2005: Focus and Value” project in 2000, the biggest challenge was the development of an upgrade Information and communication technology system that would satisfy the requirements of the diverse entities. The company needed an upgraded system that would easily integrate the processes of newly acquired business entities for management efficiency purposes.
DSM identified the use of information and communication technology as a viable competitive strategy in the 1990s as it prepared to achieve higher returns in the 21st century. Some of the IT related efforts that the company employed were the development of ICT, research on alternative sources of energy and biotechnology. The company has focused on unification as its core business model to standardize its products in the global market, and the use of technology is held paramount to achieving the same.
The actualization of “Vision 2005: Focus and Value” happened through a three-phase ICT upgrading project. The first phase included the standardization of ICT in the company through the installation of new technological devices and software in its entities. The second phase involved the development of a business-oriented company with a centralized ICT system. The last phase involved the development of ICT governance protocols that would influence service delivery while eliminating the company’s past focus on solving problems.
The new ICT system has promoted transparency in the company’s business processes, and it has also made it easier for the company to integrate its new acquisitions into the ICT system. The use of technology in business management at DSM has propelled the company into tremendous success in its international business activities. The lesson learned from DSM is that using centralized ICT systems in a model of unification is the most viable strategy for effective management of numerous business entities under one company.