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|TOP Bookstore on the Rise |
|Technology in the Bookstore |
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Table of Contents

Proposal

I. Subject of the Project

II. Business Problem Statement

III. General benefits to the organization

IV. High level Approaches

V. Audience

Milestone 1

I. Company Background

II. Discussion of Business issues

III. Benefits of Solving the problem

IV. Businses/technical Approach

V. High Level Solution

Milestone 2

I. Technology or business practices used to augment the solution

II. Value of the Approach

III. Business process changes

Milestone

I. Technology or business practices used to augment the solution (plus)

II. Conclusions and overall recommendations

III. High-level implementation plan

IV. Summary of project

PROPOSAL 1. Subject of Course Project The subject of my Course Project is TOP Bookstore using technology to increase competitiveness and profitability. It lacks in dealing with the competition because the word is not out about the bookstore and they do nothing to put themselves out and let others know they are there. I, for one, did not know about the bookstore until I was informed about the open position. Another problem with TOP bookstore is that they lack in the profitability department. Being that not many people come in and buy, not much money is made.

2. Business problem statement The problem with TOP bookstore is that it lacks technology. In today’s society, technology has taken over and if you aren’t a part of it then you will be left behind. Lauren Hunter stated that, “Churches are often fearful that technology needed will be too expensive, too difficult to learn, or too complex to maintain.” (Hunter, 2012) However, this isn’t the case, especially if you have a younger tech savvy person as myself working on the inside. The plan is to find a way to implement technology to increase business for the bookstore.

3. General benefits it will provide the organization The company will benefit from adding technology in many different ways. First off, it would benefit financially because the use of technology would bring in more and different customers and they would buy products. Second, it would benefit the company in a competitive way. It would have a competitive advantage over other surrounding bookstores. Another benefit for the company would be preparation for the future. Adding in technology would benefit the business in the long run. It would bring in customers and makes things run more smoothly within the business. It would also help the employees to communicate more effectively among themselves and among the customers.

4. High level approach(es) One approach for involving technology with a bookstore is creating a website (Hollingdrake, 2012). It is one of the easiest ways to bring in customers from all over. People surf the net all of the time and having a website can give them insight on what to expect when they call or come in to the store. The website should include but should not be limited to: name, address, number, directions, pictures, and even some products that are being sold in the store. A second approach for involving technology would be opening an online store or catalog. This approach allows the customers to order online or come in and discuss a product they saw online. It also allows easy access for the customers who don’t have time to come in or those who want to just see if the store carries a certain product.

5. Audience The target audience for this project is the employers, the store, and the customers. Everyone can benefit from it. It helps the employers build their paycheck since they are paid off of commission, it helps the store because it could possibly build customer loyalty and increase word of mouth, and it helps the customers with fulfilling their needs and wants.

MILESTONE 1 The business problem is lack of competitiveness and profitability due to the lack of technology implemented within the business. Investigating and finding a way to add technology into the business to increase competitiveness among other bookstores and profitability is what needs to be done.

1. Company Background The organization that my project will be on is TOP Christian Bookstore. It is just like a traditional bookstore and sells all types of book. The only difference is that it only sells Christian books only. It also sells bibles, bible covers, bookmarks, cards, certificates, key chains, bags, car stickers, jewelry, journals, and cups and mugs. We, the employees, are continuously ordering things to add into the store. At the bookstore, if we don’t have something then we try our best to find it and order for our customer. If we cannot order it then we suggest somewhere else that it can be found. Its name comes from the church that started it, (T)emple (O)f (P)raise. It is operated in conjunction with the church and has been operating since 2008. It closed down for a few months for some renovations. It recently opened back up and I was hired as a sales associate. It only employs two people, including myself. The manager is an older lady and the person before me was an older gentlemen so they really didn’t reach out to the younger generations as well as needed. Before they closed down they only employed members of their church but when they decided to reopen, they thought of bringing others in because it would bring more and new customers in. TOP Christian bookstore is located on South Main Street in Hinesville, Georgia.

2. Discussion of Business Issues TOP bookstore gets pretty good business. They are just like a typical bookstore. However, it lacks technology that brings in new and different customers and even younger customers. In today’s society, technology is taking over everything and if you aren’t up to par with it then you may get left behind. Lack of or being behind on technology and e-commerce could be a possible downfall to any business. Bookstores can be hit hard by this shown as number five on the 8 reasons borders went bye-bye list (Writer).

3. Benefits of solving the problem Benefits of the solving the problem include possibly adding a competitive advantage over nearby bookstores, increasing the market size, increasing profitability, and innovation in the bookstore. It would also allow more marketing and advertising for the business. It would add that competitive advantage because most traditional small business bookstores aren’t really thinking about adding more technology into their business plans. The market size would be increased because it would bring in more people, young and old, especially young. Technology draws younger people in. Once the people are drawn in, they are likely to buy something which would increase the profitability. Adding technology all together as a whole would bring innovation in the bookstore because you are adding a whole new idea to the bookstore.

4. Business/Technical Approach A possible business or technical approach for TOP bookstore would be to implement e-commerce in a way. If the bookstore added in at least one computer where the customers could look up and order the books, cd, or anything else they may need online, how would it affect competitiveness and profitability? I think that it would help the organization. Even just having e-commerce implemented to where customers could browse the website and look for products they want and be able to buy them online would help out a lot. It would make a big difference and would probably bring more customers to the store.

5. High Level Solution This milestone does not exactly discuss the high level solution or how it will be done. It only throws out suggestions as to what could be done in order to fix the problem at hand. For example, the business and technical approach section includes examples of ways that technology could be added into the bookstore to make it better. No solution has been accounted for as of right now but as I continue to research more about implementing technology into the bookstore in a way that would benefit it, it will be made known and how it will be implemented will also be told.

MILESTONE 2 1. Technology or business practices used to augment the solution The technology practice that would be used to increase the solution of adding technology into the bookstore would be adding a computer for customer use. For example, if a customer cannot find what they need in store they can use the computer to look up the items they are searching for and order them. Adding to adding the computer, adding a e-commerce website where the bookstore could sell its products online would increase to the solution.

2. Value of this approach First, E-commerce is referred to the buying and selling of products and services by businesses and consumers over the internet (What is Ecommerce?, 2008). Advantages of including e-commerce into the bookstore and its website include: reducing and lowering costs, economy, better customer service, quick comparison shopping, and information sharing, convenience, and control (Sawhney). It also gives a competitive advantage over other bookstores in the area and surrounding areas, it would possibly increase sales, and gives availability of products at all times. E-commerce helps reduce costs of the bookstore because things are done over the internet and it leaves less room for paperwork, errors, and/or mix-ups that cost the bookstore a pretty penny. It makes a difference with the economy, described from a website document, because it doesn’t require physical space, insurance, nor infrastructure investment (Sawhney). It, e-commerce, gives better customer service because it is very quick, allows the customer to make a custom search for exactly what they need, and it saves the customer gas and time. In regards to quick comparison shopping, the customers are allowed to search for what they want and not only that but they are able to compare products and services that are similar. It allows them to compare prices, other products, quality, etc. There isn’t much of a limit on what they can compare when it comes down to e-commerce. Overall it gives off a positive advantage because not many other bookstores that are surrounding it use e-commerce. It puts TOP Christian Bookstore ahead of the game. It would increase the sales because it would broaden the target market and it would allow the customers to shop when they want, on their own time, and give them the opportunity to find exactly what they want and need.

3. Business Process Changes These changes and installations would be decided upon by management first and foremost. Once agreed upon then the first step would be buying a computer that would be used in store solely for e-commerce purposes. After the computer is bought and set up in the bookstore then finding a way to implement the e-commerce would be the next step but it could also come before even buying the computer. It all depends on what management agrees on doing. It may be better to plan it all out then take action. If that is the case then deciding what type of computer to get, what software to use to implement the e-commerce, and where and how everything would be set up would be the next process. Once everything else is set in place then getting the word out about the new e-commerce website would be next. There is no point in having something for the customers if you don’t even let the customers know that the opportunity has presented itself for them.

MILESTONE 3 1. Technology or business practices used to augment the solution In addition to the technology and business practices listed in milestone 2, there are more ways to add technology into the bookstore. One way is to make use of social media sites, such as Facebook, Twitter, betc (Hollingdrake, 2012). The bookstore can use these sites to promote specials, sales, and other deals. It would give the customers a feeling of closeness and a better connection. For an example, if the bookstore was doing some kind of deal, they could put out a certain code on the social networking sites and if the customer came in and gave that code then they would get a certain percentage off of their total purchase price.

2. Conclusions and overall recommendations In conclusion, the best way to solve this lack of technology problem and allow it to maximize benefits would be to properly implement the technology and businesses practices that were listed above. The first way would be to design and create a website for the bookstore. Next would be to decide whether to implement e-commerce into the website or not. If so then it would be needed to find someone or some help to get that done and get it done properly. The next solution would be to add a computer into the store, only if e-commerce was added to the website. The next step could be to make use of social networking sites such as facebook and twitter. If all of these suggestions were taken into consideration and implemented properly then the bookstore would have increased profits, wider target market, and much more advertisement.

3. High-level implementation plan Every plan has to start somewhere. The first step would be presenting the problem to upper level management and owner’s of the bookstore. Once the problem is made noticeable and the discussion of how to make a change within the business is laid out on the table then there will need to be a discussion of what the company will get out of these changes. Another thing that would need to be discussed beforehand would be what actual changes could take place. Brainstorming would be the best way to do so but since I have completed this project, I have already made notice of the problem, benefits, changes, and other things that would be needed to implement this plan. After that then the decision would need to be made on which changes, technology or business practices would be used to augment the solution. Whether it be one or it be all solutions a decision will need to be made. If more than one solution is chosen then management would need to decide which direction they would need to move in first. Cost plays a factor in making these decisions. Once that has been decided then a plan would need to be made on how to start. For example, if making a website was first then a plan would be needed to keep order. First, who would make the website, how much it would cost, how it would be laid out, whether it would use e-commerce, etc. The list can on and on. Then putting the plan to action would be next. Each decision would have to be thought out properly and started and finished in a timely manner.

4. Summary of project The purpose of this project was to help my organization solve a problem that could benefit them in the future. My organization is TOP Christian bookstore and the problem is lack of technology. Once technology is implemented it will help the organization with its profits, advertisement, and target market. A few ways of adding technology into the bookstore include adding a computer, adding a website, implementing e-commerce into the website, and even making use of social networking sites.

Works Cited

Hollingdrake, B. K. (2012, January 20). BookShop Blog. Retrieved 2012, from The Book Shop Blog: http://bookshopblog.com/2012/01/20/how-technology-can-help-your-bookstore-grow/

Hunter, L. (2012). Religous Product. Retrieved 2012, from Religous Product News: http://www.religiousproductnews.com/articles/2007-August/Feature-Articles/Automate-Your-Church-Bookstore-with-Hot-Technology.htm

Sawhney, M. (n.d.). Advantages and Disadvantages of E-commerce. Retrieved 04 01, 2012, from Manjeetss: http://www.manjeetss.com/articles/advantagesdisadvantagesecommerce.html What is Ecommerce? (2008, May 24). Retrieved April 01, 2012, from Dynamic Web Solutions: http://www.dynamicwebs.com.au/tutorials/e-commerce.htm

Writer, A. S. (n.d.). The 8 Reasons Borders Went Bye-Bye. Retrieved 2012, from Business Insurance Quotes Web Site: http://www.businessinsurance.org/the-8-reasons-borders-went-bye-bye/