Introduction
The following essay is on conceptualizing a business idea, which is the K-Mart departmental store. The essay provides details on the mission, the values, and the vision of the business. It also examines the products and services offered by the business and the differentiating value of the store compared to its competitor.
The business
The business is a K-Mart departmental store that offers different types of goods and services, such as clothing, groceries, electronics, and stationeries. This will be one of the most prominent departmental stores in the United States of America.
The vision and mission
The vision of the business is to be the greatest producer of online shopping experience where customers shop what they need from the store, and the company delivers the goods to their homes. This experience is what the company hopes to achieve. The mission of the company is to provide high-quality goods and services at affordable prices. The aim is to provide low priced goods while not compromising quality by buying in bulk and then selling because of the economies of scale. Modern customers are usually busy and do not have to shop physically from one store to another, comparing goods and services (Porter, 2008). With the introduction of the new technologies, many people are working from their homes or offices for long hours, and at the end of the day, they are tired and do not have time to go shopping (Barth, 2000). K-Mart departmental store will use the new technologies to reach out to people by providing an online portal where they can shop the goods online, and the company will deliver the goods within the shortest time possible.
The guiding principles
The business will consider these values during its operations. The first guiding principle is that of customer coming first. The customer will have the priority when it comes to offering services and goods. As a principle, there will be good customer care services to respond to the customer’s concerns and complaints. Serving the customers to their satisfaction will be the store’s delight. The other guiding principle is that of the need to conserve the environment and save time. The company’s service delivery is motivated by this principle. Rather than customers spending long hours queuing in the store and using energy and fuel to travel to the store to shop, they can make online orders and wait for quick delivery as per the stipulated time within the place that the customer wants the service. The company will engage in corporate social initiatives that will conserve the environment.
How the mission and the vision will guide the strategic plan
The mission and vision will have an impact on the company’s strategic plan. The online shopping experience that the company hopes to bring to its customers must be backed by good enterprise resource plans. The technology must ensure that the information systems of the store are working effectively such that orders received are processed quickly. The information systems should consider the distance of the delivery and the location of the customer quickly (Barth, 2000).
The company’s strategic plan indicates how to deliver goods to the customers as quickly as possible. The decision on whether to deliver goods to the individual customer within a certain location or to deliver goods collectively according to the location will be very significant. However, to be more efficient, the company will use the strategy of delivering goods to individual customers. The mode of transport that will deliver goods as fast as possible and conserve energy is the motorcycles. K-Mart Departmental Store will have to purchase motorbikes to transport goods to the customers. The business must know its target location where it will operate. This is because; it is difficult and capital intensive for a new company to distribute goods in the whole country or state. The company will focus on Massachusetts alone in order to be effective in the delivery of goods and services. As a company aiming to conserve the environment, it will be the leader in energy conservation using solar energy as well as renewable energy to conserve the environment. The company will not use non-renewable energy in its stores. The company will sponsor renewable energy projects that conserve the environment (Barth, 2000).
The Competitive Advantage
K-Mart departmental store will have the advantage that will differentiate it from the other companies. The first one is that it will deliver the goods ordered by the customers in the comfort of their homes as soon as possible. It will be characterized by the low cost of operations as attendants who will be working will transport the goods to the customers. The company’s initiatives as a resource conserver will position it in the mind of everyone who is concerned with the preservation of the environment and energy. The company will, therefore, save not only the customer’s money but also time such that they can perform other activities. K-Mart departmental store will make the shopping experience convenient for the customers.
References
Barth, G. (2000). The department store in city people: The rise of modern city culture in twenty first-century America. New York: Oxford University Press.
Porter, B. (2008). Counter culture: Saleswomen, managers and customers in American department stores. Urbana: University of Illinois Press.