Provide any other relevant analyses or points that may arise, such as (for example, but not necessarily only) whether similar IT approaches may work in other less or more sophisticated businesses.

CT MOTORCYCLE DEALERS: HELPING MIKE SELL MORE BIKES MORE

Subject:

Business
Background
ACT Motorcycle Dealers (AMD) is a well-established but very traditional small to
medium business enterprise (SME). They have been selling (and servicing)
motorcycles, quadbikes and riding equipment for over 30 years in the Canberra and
Queanbeyan district. Their Business Information Systems (BIS) are fairly simple and
could possibly do with an overhaul to help Mike sell more bikes!!!!!
The scenario: You are a consultant for ANUCONs, an IT consulting organisation that
has been appointed by Mike Stoner to provide advice and guidance on the potential
revamp of IT systems at AMD.
Mike started business by selling mainly Kawasaki motorcycles, and later picked up the
local Honda motorcycles franchise. In 2007, Lack-of-Action Motorcycles sold their
Canberra dealership (including the Yamaha and Suzuki franchises) to Mike, and he now
consequently has all the Japanese motorcycle manufacturers’ products under his
company banner.
In 2011, he also acquired the agency rights for Ducati, Husaberg, BRP Can-Am
Spyders and KTM motorcycles in Canberra. Operating in a regional area, AMD sells
lots of dirt bikes, farm quad bikes and even some golf carts. Mike also sells finance and
insurance packages for all his vehicles, and has close relationships with financial
institutions like QBE and Swann Insurance groups.
AMD is also a stockist and sales agent for a number of apparel and accessories
companies including DriRider, Alpinestars, DragginJeans, Dainese, Shoei, AGV, and
Fox. Interestingly to date, AMD has elected not to sell apparel and accessories’ using
the online channel, but this is now becoming an attractive option given some of the
competition for sales.
One of the growth areas for Mike and his team has been the service centre and spare
parts business. The AMD service centre does a range of work including spare parts
orders and sales, full service and rebuilds, dynamometer tuning, race bike preparation,
road worthy inspections, and warranty work. Having several companies (including four
giant Japanese and two high profile European motorcycle manufacturers) supplying you
all different types of products can be difficult, and possibly there is some scope for
business systems integration.
Annual Revenue for the business is approximately $25 million, with a staff expenses bill
of around $3 million. AMD has over 15,000 customersin the region. Any new IT system
initiatives must have the potential to increase revenue to the value of at least $250,000
per year.
Six Areas to look at in the assessment
Some areas where you might focus some attention andresources:
1. IT Strategy and Planning.While Mike started small, his business is now very
big and continues to grow. Some planning for the future might be considered
useful. The idea might be to see what business areas have value that is yet to be
unlocked using technology;
2. Data Management and Enterprise Systems.With such a large and growing
business, Mike and his team are now handling a large volume of materials and
materials data (eg, spare parts, pricing, labour rates, sales). This means that the
supply chain and associated data needs to be managed in some coordinated
way (eg, spares management software) and systems need to talk to each other
(eg, AMD systems need to communicate and exchange data with Honda’s
systems; Inventory Bullwhip maybe a problem). Some ideas and solutions to
assist Mike with this part of his business might behelpful;
3. E-Business and E-Commerce.In order to expand his business Mike has been
considering getting into the online motorcycle accessories market for some time.
Examples of what he is up against are offered at the websites below. Some
analysis and recommendations as to how Mike might set this up would be
considered a useful first step in the right direction;
4. Mobile, Wireless and Social Media Systems.Mike has always been intrigued
by the use of mobile and wireless systems for the exchange of information with
customers and suppliers. Unfortunately, being ‘old school’, means he has not
had a lot of experience with these types of technologies. The use of social media
is also something that must be considered as many of Mike’s customers are
heavy Facebook and Twitter users. Some options for how these technologies
and systems might be integrated into his business might be useful;
5. Customer Management.AMD is lucky in that it has a great name in the local
area and has a very loyal group of customers. Many customers return year after
year to either buy new products or have their current ones serviced and
maintained. However, Customer relationship management (CRM) has not been a
strong point for Mike and his team. There is an estimate that a good CRM
system may increase AMD net revenues by $279,000 per year. Some advice on
the way forward for a CRM system may help to get this aspect of the business
right;
6. Business Security and Continuity. Some of the other things that have
escaped Mike’s attention is the need for securing all his business information,
and the potential problems that might occur if his facilities were to suffer a
catastrophe like the Canberra bushfires. He desperately needs to understand
what might happen if his business or systems suffered a major failure. As an
estimate, he may lose around $250,000 in revenue gains per year for three years
as he seeks to recover from a major event. Some timely advice may just jolt him
into taking some long needed action.
Online motorcycle accessories market players:
http://www.bikebiz.com.au/
http://www.mcas.com.au
Your Task
You will develop a document for Mike and his team of employees on the possible
benefits and disadvantages or difficulties for managing the transformation of his
business information systems, noting that small to medium size enterprise resources
are often limited. At a minimum, you must deliver the following:
1. An IS/IT strategic plan for AMD (Area 1);
2. Selecting any two of the five non-strategy areasfrom above (Areas 2-6), provide
a detailed analysis and discussion of what each operational managerial or
system element (eg, e-procurement system) would entail (remembering that your
audience is a small business owner and his employees who are not necessarily
familiar with what IT is about). The analysis and discussion of each system
element should include: (i) the problems and issues being addressed, (ii)
management and organizational issues and challenges that would need to be
addressed, (iii) the risks and rewards of undertaking the work, (iv) the scope of
the systems and technologies to be implemented, and (v) the systems
development and change management approaches to be adopted. Note: You
must also include a discussion on how the three elements you did not select will
be factored into the overall IT plan going forward.
3. Outline your precise recommendations, including how to proceed for delivery of
the new system elements; and
4. Provide any other relevant analyses or points that may arise, such as (for
example, but not necessarily only) whether similar IT approaches may work in
other less or more sophisticated businesses.
Assessment Structure

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