Final Written Deliverable

8/13/2019 Final Written Deliverable

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McNamara, Locke, Hunt

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Backwoods

Consulting Report:N o v e m b e r 1 2 , 2 0 1 3

Ian Hunt

Perry Locke

Will McNamara


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Table of Contents

Exectutive Summary ..................................................................................................................... 4Background ......................................................................................................................................................... 4

Recommendations ............................................................................................................................................ 4Locally ................................................................................................................................................................... 5Key Performance Indicators ........................................................................................................................................ 5

Key Competitors ............................................................................................................................................................. 6Trends ................................................................................................................................................................................. 6

Stage in Industry Life Cycle ........................................................................................................................................ 7

Globally ................................................................................................................................................................. 8

Key Performance indicators........................................................................................................................................ 8Key Competitors ............................................................................................................................................................. 8

Major Markets .................................................................................................................................................................. 8

Trends ................................................................................................................................................................................. 8

Porters Five Forces Analysis...................................................................................................... 9

Buyer Power.......................................................................................................................................................................... 9Supplier Power...................................................................................................................................................................... 9Threat of Substitute Products or Services.................................................................................................................... 9

Threat of New Entrants .................................................................................................................................................... 10Rivalry Among Existing Competitors ......................................................................................................................... 10

Background ................................................................................................................................. 10Product/Service Description ........................................................................................................................................... 10Mission Statement .............................................................................................................................................................. 11

Locations in the United States........................................................................................................................................ 11

Current Strategy- Focused Differentiation .............................................................................. 11

Process model .............................................................................................................................. 11

Backwoods Equipment Company Database ............................................................................. 13E-R Diagram ........................................................................................................................................................................ 13

Usage ...................................................................................................................................................................................... 13

Appropriateness of BI Systems .................................................................................................. 14

Enterprise Systems...................................................................................................................... 15CRM VS ERP...................................................................................................................................................................... 15

Vendors ................................................................................................................................................................................. 16

Social Media ................................................................................................................................ 18

Mobile App Design ...................................................................................................................... 19Usage Appropriateness ..................................................................................................................................................... 19Most Effective Design ...................................................................................................................................................... 20

International Expansion ............................................................................................................. 22Challenges ............................................................................................................................................................................ 22IS/IT Implementation Recommendations ................................................................................................................... 22

Individual Implementation Review ........................................................................................... 23William McNamara .......................................................................................................................................................... 23


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Ian Hunt ................................................................................................................................................................................ 23

Perry Locke ......................................................................................................................................................................... 23

Bibliography ................................................................................................................................ 25


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Executive Summary

The following is a report created by Jones Consulting to evaluate and make recommendations to

Backwoods Equipment Company.

Background

Backwoods Equipment Company is family run company based in Austin. Founded in 1973Backwoods has expanded to 7 stores and looks to continue its growth. At the moment thecompany is focused in southern parts of the US. Backwoods is currently located in a total offour states and will continue to grow. To attempt to make this continued expansion run assmoothly as possible, Jones Consulting has provided a few recommendations that should allowfor Backwoods to grow without much of a problem.

Because Backwoods is a smaller company it can not take as great of a risk when implementingnew technologies. Unlike a larger corporation, Backwoods cannot sacrifice profits at one of itsbranches to test new software. This provides problems for Backwoods when they are trying todecide what technologies could benefit their company.

Recommendations

Jones Consulting recomends that Backwoods utilizes social media to draw in more customers.Social media is becoming a large presence in the marketing arena and needs to be considered forBackwoods to gain the attention of their younger customers. In addition to social media

Backwoods should also create a mobile application that customers can use for mobile shopping,store information, wishlists, and much more. Jones Consulting also recommends theimplementation of a CRM system. This will allow for Backwoods to focus on the customer anddeliver better customer experiences. Backwoods should also look to implement a databasesystem that would centralize all of their data and make it easily accessable for all of theiremployees. Below Jones Consulting has provided a brief list of recommendations forBackwoods to improve:

1) Focus on social media for marketing (Especially: Facebook & Twitter)2) Create a mobile app that can draw in customers and allow for mobile shopping3) Use CRM probviders to implement a system that works well for Backwoods

(SugarCRM)4) Improve the current process model and implement within the company5) Create a database system that allows for easy access of data throughout the company

Below is an analysis of the current hiking and outdoor industy from both a local and globalperspective.


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Industry

Locally

Key Performance Indicators

The H iki ng & Outdoor Equipment Store industryhas several external drivers, the mostinfluential one being per capita disposable income. The second external driver is the percentageof the population that participates in sports. The amount of people who participate in sports hasseen a gradual increase over the past few years due to the increase in alternative exercisemethods. The final external driver for the hiking & outdoor equipment store industry is the totalrecreation expenditure. This driver tracks the total amount of U.S. dollars spent on recreationalservices per year.

As table 1 illustrates below, the hiking and equipment store industry has seen an overall steadygrowth since 2002. With the exception of a minor loss in 2009 the industry has shown positive

growth over the 11-year period.

Revenue

Growth (Table 1):

Year Revenue $Million

Growth%

2002 3,351.9 0.0

2003 3,382.0 0.9

2004 3,487.4 3.1

2005 3,620.1 3.8

2006 3,868.4 6.9

2007 3,973.8 2.7

2008 4,283.4 6.6

2009 4,195.4 -1.0

2010 4,283.4 2.1

2011 4,494.7 4.9

2012 4579.5 1.9

2013 4,707.1 2.8

Table 1


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Key Competitors

Backwoods Equipment Company faces several large competitors inside of the US. Backwoods

Equipment Company is a retailer of hiking and outdoor equipment. The main competitors forBackwoods are REI, VF Corporation, and Patagonia. These three companies make up a total of69.5% of the total hiking and equipment store industry.

The graphs above show the financial performances of Backwoods Equipment Companys topcompetitors. Each of the three companies has seen significant growth over the past five years,ranging from 8.1% to 17.3%.

Trends

The hiking and outdoor industryrelies heavily on per capitadisposable income and thepercentage of people involved insports. The current trend fordisposable income is on the rise.After taking a large hit during the2008 recession, disposable income

Figure 1 Figure 2

Figure 4


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has steadily increased. This trend is supposed to continue in the next couple of years until itbegins its downward trend again. Participation in sports however is showing a steady increaseand will continue to do so in the future, hitting 19.25% of the population in 2018. In addition tothe amount of people who participate in sports, the industry relies on the total amount of U.S.dollars spent on recreational services. Spending on recreational services was severely affected

by the 2008 recession, reporting a 4% decline in billions spent. However, in the more recentyears, the industry has started to report steady growth again. As per capita income increases sowill spending in recreational services.

Stage in Industry Life Cycle

The hiking and outdoor sport industry is currently in the mature stage. As outdoor sportsparticipation increases, so does the amount of competitors that are trying to benefit. This has ledto an increase of industry operators selling in house brands only. In addition, with the increasing

success of their websites, a lot of companies have been able to close underperforming storeswithout losing significant market share. Even though outside competition is strong, companiesare using certain promotions and on site events to attract customers. With certain companiesimplementing very successful marketing strategies, other companies are projected to leave themarket, freeing up profits for the remaining retailers. Because of this fact profits are projected tocontinue in the upcoming years.

Figure 5


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Globally

Key Performance indicators

Since the vast majority of the worlds population viewrecreational services as leisure activities,the health of the economy directly affects the performance of the hiking and outdoor equipmentstore industry. The amount of disposable income in a family has a direct correlation to how wellthe hiking and outdoor store market perform on a global scale as well. The larger the income forthe families, the more money can be spent at the stores. Family income is not the only majorglobal performance indicator, however, the amount of money spent on recreational services alsoplays a big role. This driver directly correlates to the income per capita. The better the economy,the more people will be willing to spend on these types of activities. Another key indicator is theoverall interest in sporting activities. All of the external drivers and performance indicators forthe hiking and outdoor store industry rely on the health of the economy.

Key Competitors

On a global scale none of the major industry leaders have a very large presence abroad. All ofthe companies are owned inside the U.S. and focus most of their business internally. A fewcompanies such as LL bean and VF Corporation have tried to expand abroad. Timberland, adivision of VF Corporation, has expanded into the UK and has seen some success. The companymost openly seeking over sees markets, however, is LL Bean. LL Bean has begun a rapidexpansion into the Chinese markets over the past five years. As a whole, however, the industrysglobalization is low and is projected to stay at this level.

Major Markets

North America is the largest Market in the hiking and outdoor goods industry followed byEurope. Within these markets consumers that earn from $40,000-$69,000 a year are the mostlikely to participate in outdoor activities. This consumer branch consists of about 1/3 of theentire market share. The next highest market share is held by consumers that earn greater than$70,000. High-income earners are less likely to be outdoorsman, however, the ones that arespend a significant amount of money on their outdoor equipment.

Trends

The global hiking and outdoors supply market is facing a low growth rate. Over the next fiveyears this trend is projected to continue. In the future, globalization looks to be goals of only thelarger corporations, such as VF Corporation and LL Bean. As these companies explore the


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international markets, other companies will learn from them. If they are successful and breakthrough, other companies might follow. Currently, it is unclear how the expansion will affectthese companies in the long run. One thing that is clear is that the trend for the short term is tokeep company interests inside the U.S.

Porters Five Forces Analysis

The Porters Five Forces analysis is a method for businesses to analyze certain areas of a market.This is useful because it can be used to predict how easy or hard it will be to try and enter a newmarket. The five criteria that the analysis is based of are buyer power, supplier power, threat ofsubstitute products or services, threat of new entrants, and rivalry among existing competitors.The following is a Porters five forces analysis for Backwoods Equipment Company.

Buyer Power

Buyer power is moderate because there are so many consumers in the hiking and outdoorsupplies industry that the power of one individual doesnt affect the entire industry. However,buyer power is not low because one of the key drivers in the sporting goods industry is theconsumers income. If income goes down, people will be less likely to buy the products.

Supplier PowerSupplier power is low because there are many suppliers within this industry. This means thatthere are low switching costs between suppliers because suppliers sell a lot of the same productsto various hiking and outdoors stores.

Threat of Substitute Products or Services

The threat for substitute products or services is high. This industry has many competitors due toits large market. In addition to other outdoor and hiking specific stores other retail stores are

beginning to sell similar products. This includes stores such as Wal-Mart and Target. Largerretail stores are increasing the range of their products to include hiking and outdoors sections intheir stores, which create a threat to the sporting goods industry.


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Threat of New Entrants

The threat of new entrants is also high. According to IBIS World, the hiking and outdoorsupplies industry is in the mature stage. With an increase in spending on recreational activitiessome retailers are trying to take advantage by widening their product range. This has led to an

increase in competition.

Rivalry Among Existing Competitors

Rivalry Among Existing Competitors is high because there are many retailers within the hikingand outdoor supplies industry and therefore one retailer can easily substitute another.

Background

Product/Service Description

Backwoods Equipment

Company, originally foundedin 1973, is an Austin basedoutdoor gear and apparelstore. Family run, Backwoods

focuses on customer serviceand building relationships thatwill last. This is achievedthrough excellent customerrelations, quality products, andknowledgeable employees.The main role of the salesteam is to prepare Backwoodscustomers with all they will need for any outdoor adventure. Such adventures can range fromcamping to hiking to even fly-fishing. With a wide range of products Backwoods can service alladventure junkies needing to prepare themselves for an outdoor adventure. In addition to its

store Backwoods also offers an outdoor adventure program. This program involves Backwoodsemployees guiding customers through different excursions using Backwoods supplies. All of thecompanys products and trips can be found in one of their 8 stores or on the Backwoods website.


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Mission Statement

To inspire people to seek active, adventurous lives.

Locations in the United States

Backwoods Equipment Company has a total of eight locations across the US. These locationsinclude the following: Austin, Texas; Norman, Oklahoma; Fort Worth, Texas; Omaha, Nebraska;Overland Park, Kansas; Oklahoma City, Oklahoma; and Wichita, Kansas.

Current Strategy- Focused DifferentiationBackwoods focuses on differentiation in their products. They provide quality products at ahigher price than their competitors. In addition to better products Backwoods also focuses oncustomer service. Backwoods caters to the customer and makes sure they are fully prepared fortheir outdoor adventure. Since Backwoods products are higher quality, and therefore moreexpensive, Backwoods customer basis is a very concentrated group of financially set people whoenjoy the outdoors.

Process modelThis is a process model depicting how online Business transactions are made throughBackwoods' online store. This process begins with the customer placing their orderwithbackwoods.com.Backwoods then checks the users credit and confirms that they can affordthe purchase. If the customer's credit does not meet the standards the company requires then theorder is canceled. However, if the customer's credit is acceptable, then the order is processed andthe product availability is verified. If the product is on backorder then the customer is notifiedand can either choose to continue waiting for the backordered product or to cancel their order. Ifthe item is in stock, the customer's card will be charged for the designated amount. From there,the order is forwarded to the warehouse where a shipping order is requested. The order will then

be confirmed for packaging, addressed for shipment, and sent to the customer.
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Backwoods Equipment Company Database

E-R Diagram

Usage

The database for Backwoods Equipment Company could be used for several departments

throughout the company. Because the database tracks multiple entities using the entity-relationship (E-R) data model it can provide the different departments with valuable information.One department in particular is the purchasing department. The Purchasing Departmentcan usethe information created by the database to figure out which products are being bought mostfrequently. This will allow them to determine what products to purchase more of as well aswhich products need to be discontinued. A second department that would benefit from thisdatabase is Customer Service. Because the database tracks customer information such aspurchase history, credit card numbers, emails, and addresses they can send promotions, sales, andother deals to the most loyal customers as incentives to continue purchasing Backwoodsproducts. These tracking features are also useful for the Marketing Departmentas well. Sincethey can determine who buys their products, the marketing department can determine where the

most profitable area for advertisement would be. In addition, they can send out emails and otherpromotional deals to all of the customers who have purchased anything on the Backwoodswebsite. The Accounting and Finance Department can use the database to analyze whatproducts are in high demand and determine if a price raise would be worth implementing. If theydetermine the price raise would be beneficial the department can then seek out the permissionfrom theExecutive Department and raise the price of the product.


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Appropriateness of BI Systems

Business information systems are a way that companies can organize their information. Thereare several different types of software and each do a different thing. A company needs todetermine what they want out of a BI system and match it with the ones available on the market.The following are a few areas where Backwoods could benefit from implementing a BI system,which ones we recommend, some challenges that might occur, and how to solve them.

A way Backwoods could use BI systems is by keeping track of when it is that customers seem toorder the most products or equipment. Through this, Backwoods could determine during whichseasons they need to order more products from their vendors. For example, if it were determinedthat the most popular buying season was winter, Backwoods could order more products that arecentered on keeping customers warm.

Another way in which BI systems could be implemented at Backwoods, is by determining whichcustomers are the most loyal. Those that continuously purchase large quantities of products orequipment could be offered special rewards and discounts. In order to determine this, BI systemscould be used to find the connection between Customer ID, Quantity, and Shipping ID.

Backwoods could use BI systems based on Date Ordered and Date Received in order to predictwhich Product IDs are arriving to their clients in an untimely manner. If there appears to be asimilarity in which Product IDs are arriving in an untimely manner, Backwoods could furtherlook into which vendors are supplying these products. Determining these relationships wouldprovide Backwoods with the clarity of why it is that some of their products are arriving late. Forexample, they may find that these products are arriving late because theyve been backordered.Backwoods would then need to order larger quantities from their vendors in order to meet theircustomer demand on this product.

Backwoods could use the BI system as a way to reach out to customers with special offers ontheir birthdays. Backwoods could use a parameter query to house data on customers birthdays,which would help keep track of which customers have birthdays on any given day. This processcan be accomplished by typing current date into the Access database. Access would then returnany and all customer names and emails with corresponding birthdays on the specified day.Backwoods would then use the information to send out promotional birthday offers to all thecustomers.


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Enterprise Systems

CRM VS ERPIt is extremely important for any company who is either looking to expand or exterminate certaincosts to explore their options in enterprise systems. Communication is a key factor to running asuccessful business. If each department is not communicating properly then it will be impossiblefor a company to reach its full potential. Enterprise systems are designed to solve this problem.These systems are designed to create links between each department using data. This allows forcompanies to stay more organized, cut costs easier, and handle larger amounts of customers.There are two main types of enterprise systems: ERP and CRM. Each system offers differentbenefits. The ERP system offers the ability to connect for departments than the CRM, howeveris more expensive. Although Backwoods would benefit from either system it is important tofigure out which system would yield the best reward for the company.

The first type of enterprise system is the ERP system. The ERP system would put all ofbackwoods operations into one platform. Because this ERP system has more branches than theCRM system it allows for the specialization of information by department within the backwoodsstore. In addition to the functionality of a CRM system, the ERP system also includesAccounting, Manufacturing, and Human Resource sectors, which allows for the company tostore all of its data in a centralized database. This database is then used to forecast sales, createmanufacturing plans and schedules, and to make sure the company meets those schedules.Backwoods could benefit from implementing an ERP system because it would centralize all oftheir information into one database. The downside to choosing an ERP system is that it is verylarge and takes more time to create. In addition to taking long to set up, it also takes more time to

operate, is more expensive and has a greater learning curve for new employees.

The CRM System is the second type of enterprise system. The CRM system is more specific tocustomer relations within a company and is designed to manage all interactions with thecustomers. Since the CRM system is less broad than the ERP system, it is simpler to operate andmanage. Backwoods could benefit from the implementation of a CRM system because it wouldallow for the company to track and manage all interactions with their customers and makedecisions based off of this information. The downside to choosing a CRM system is that it islimited to just customer relations and does not centralize the company.

Backwoods is part of the sporting goods industry and is primarily engaged in the business ofretail but places a heavy emphasis on customer relationships. Having a simpler CRM systemthat consists of 4 primary components would be beneficial to the company because it wouldprovide more relevant and detailed information on its customers. In addition to having anemphasis on customer relations, Backwoods is a smaller company consisting of only 7 stores. Acompany of this size does not require a larger ERP system. Although Backwoods does generatea lot of data throughout its normal operations, the majority of the information that is gathered is


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about the customer. Because the CRM model is smaller, easier to implement, and has a largeremphasis on customer relations it is the better of the two systems.

Vendors

There are a wide variety of different types of CRM systems available on the market. Eachsystem varies on its capabilities and what it specializes in. Although each systems main focus iscustomer relations, some systems perform differently. It is important for Backwoods to have asystem that is both focused on customer relations and easy to implement. Two systems that fallinto these criteria are AmDocs and Epiphany.

The first CRM system is Microsofts dynamics CRM. TheCRM system comes complete with both on premise and cloud

based servers, which allows for sales teams to stay connectedwherever they are. In addition, the program runs on all iPod,iPad, Android, tablet, and just about any other mobile device.This will allow for Backwoods to improve their mobiletechnology within the company. Since customers are sofocused with their mobile experience, it is important to have asystem that will properly manage all of this data. In addition tomanaging the mobile world, Microsofts system also improvescustomer relations by providing employees with a vast array of all the companysknowledge inone database. This allows for employees to deal with customer concerns much easier and willbuild relationships. Microsofts Dynamics CRM system also provides important customer

analysis tools that allow for the company to create relevant marketing strategies. Onedisadvantage of the Microsoft system is that it would be expensive to implement throughout allof Backwoods stores. In addition, for the amount of money that the company is paying, there isnot a large amount of storage being offered.

The second CRM system is called SugarCRM.SugarCRM is similar to Microsofts dynamics CRMsystem in its functionality. It is designed to track salesand manage data about the customer. It prioritizes thecompanys most important deals and focuses on repeat

customers. The SugarCRM system also incorporatessocial media to create smarter data on what matters toyour customers. In addition to social media, thesystem also supports the iPad, iPod, Android, andother tablets. This allows for a consistent stream ofdata from your work computer to your phone. Having a wide range of collaboration integrationsSugarCRM allows for easy integration with Google apps and Box.com. This creates an easytransfer of information that the company might already have stored in Google drives.


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SugarCRM also includes state of the art marketing programs that help track customerinformation and recommend certain strategies. One disadvantage of the SugarCRM system,however, is that its base model does not come with everything that Microsofts dynamics CRMhas. SugarCRMs prices range from $35.00-$150.00, with the systems including more tools asthe price rises.

The CRM system that Backwoods would benefit from the most would be the SugarCRM.SugarCRM provides similar tools as Microsofts dynamics CRM, but at a lower cost.Backwoods would have a selection of four different levels of the SugarCRM: sugar professional,sugar corporate, sugar enterprise, and sugar ultimate. The version that Backwoods would benefitthe most is the sugar enterprise system. For an annual price of $60.00 per user, the sugarenterprise system offers an array of CRM tools that will allow for Backwoods to cut costs,improve marketing, and build stronger customer relations. Also, since the sugar enterprisesystem can hold a large amount of data, it allows for the possibility of expansion withoutspending money to upgrade the system. Overall, the sugar enterprise system would be the most

beneficial for Backwoods and would provide them with a easy way to build customer relations,cut costs, automate certain aspects of the company, and improve on marketing. Although thereare several advantages to implementing this system Backwoods could encounter a few issuesduring the process.

The first issue for implementing the sugar enterprise system would be the strategy Backwoodsuses to do so. Backwoods would have to look at the four different types of installations andchoose which one works best for them. Each of the four strategies offers different advantagesand disadvantages that would need to be weighed. Because Backwoods is a smaller company,both plunge and parallel installations would be extremely risky and would provide little reward.

Phase installation would also be a poor choice because the system cannot work properly if partsare missing. Backwoods would benefit the most from the pilot strategy. This would allowBackwoods to test out the program at an individual store and review the results.

The second issue that would face Backwoods is which store to implement the pilot strategy in. Alarger store would inquire more risk but would simplify later installations, while a smaller storewould provide less risk but could complicate later installations. A store with a large customerbase would most likely be a poor choice, simply because if something were to go wrong more ofBackwoods customers would be affected. Because of this reason, Backwoods would mostlikely choose to use the pilot strategy in one of their smaller stores because it would allow for

less of a risk. In addition to implementing the system, Backwoods should provide the store thatthey choose with extra management or employees to allow the transition to be made as smoothlyas possible.

The third problem that Backwoods would encounter is the training of the current employees.The employees, being used to the old system, would need to learn how to operate the sugarenterprise system and be able to teach it to new hires. Backwoods would most likely train its


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branches as a whole and make sure that there was a competent manager at each store who fullyunderstands the new system and can provide support for issues.

The fourth issue that Backwoods might encounter is the transferring of data from the old system

to the new system. Not only could this result in a loss of data, but transferring the informationcould take up a large amount of the companys time. Backwoods would have to make sure thatthe people transferring the data were proficiently trained in the software and familiar with thelayout and organization of the old database. In addition, Backwoods would benefit from makinga schedule about when and how long the pilot strategy would take to become fully operational.

Social MediaIf a company is looking to succeed in todays market, it is essential that they incorporate social

media. There are several different venues in which companies can take advantage of socialmedia. Here are a few that Backwoods could benefit from either implementing or improving:

Facebook is a hub of interaction and connections. Backwoods does a fairly goodjob utilizing its Facebook page. It uses tactics that its competitors, mainly REI, useas well. Backwoods and REI use Facebook in a variety of ways. The main purposefor the page is to create an entertaining environment for customers to browse

promotions, new videos, product updates, and other information regarding the company.Overall, BackwoodsFacebook page has been set up well, and with close monitoring can

continue to be an important marketing tool for the company.

Twitter is a social media website where people go to find the most up to dateinformation at lightning speeds. If used correctly, twitter can be an arena whereBackwoods can capture the attention of different customers, especially youngerones. Backwoods competition, REI, does a good job using twitter to its fulladvantage. REI uses promotional deals, funny pictures, and other interesting posts

to attract its followers. Although Backwoods tries to implement the same kind of strategy withits twitter, it has yet to master the mobile tool. Backwoods main struggle is linking its photos toFacebook. While on twitter, it is annoying for the user to have to click a link that brings them

from twitter to Facebook to see a photo. Backwoods needs to upload their photos directlythrough twitter so that this problem does not occur. It will also make their interface on theirtwitter page look less awkward and more user friendly.


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YouTube can often be a tough arena for companies to implement marketingstrategies. Backwoods is no exception. It appears that Backwoods has abandonedtheir YouTube channel all together. Backwoods began uploading videos roughlyone year ago and has only uploaded 7 videos in total. With only 6 subscribers,

Backwoods videos are not reaching many people. Backwoods either needs to abandon the

YouTube channel like is appears they have already done, or rework their marketing strategy.YouTube is a place where the more outrageous, weird, or unexpected a video is, the more viewsit will get. If Backwoods were to restart its YouTube efforts, it would need to create viral videosthat first focus on entertainment and then promotion. This way people will enjoy the videos andresearch the company further to see what Backwoods is actually about.

Instagram is a social media platform that is used for sharing pictures. Backwoodscompetitor REI does a nice job using Instagram to both share breathtaking photosand occasionally implement promotional deals. At the moment Backwoods doesnot have an Instagram, however, they could benefit greatly from having one. Being

an outdoor equipment company Backwoods has a great opportunity to showcase their products inactual scenarios on Instagram. One service that Backwoods offers is a trip program whereBackwoods takes customers on outdoor adventures. Instagram would be an excellent way forBackwoods to document these trips. It would also allow them to raise awareness for both theirtrip program and their products that they use on the trips.

Blogs are a way for companies to keep customers updated on new deals,promotions, and other things about the company. Backwoods competitor, REI,uses its blog to allow customers to share adventure stores, REI staff discussions,

and other adventure based discussions. Backwoods could implement a blog easilywithin the company. Backwoods has a travel program where Backwoods staff take customersout on adventures through the wild. To implement a blog, Backwoods could instruct itsemployees to blog about the trips while on them. This would allow for customers to get aglimpse about what the trips are like as well as participate in the discussions.

Mobile App Design

Usage AppropriatenessMobile apps are an elegant way for companies to expand their customer base. Backwoods

currently does not have a mobile app. It would be useful for Backwoods to have an app becauseclients could shop using the app rather than having to go to the mobile site. Applications canalso be useful internally in the company. Companies can use apps to keep track of inventorywithin the store. Inventory could be tracked by using a barcode to scan the products. Anotherway that Backwoods could use an app is to spread customer awareness through a video game.Backwoods could create an outdoorsy adventure style video game where the equipment andapparel are all Backwoods products. Finally, Backwoods could use a customer-based app formobile purchasing of products as well as store locators.


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Possible DesignsThe first application that Backwoods could use to benefit from is the customer-based app. Thiscould be used to allow customers to do mobile shopping, locate nearby stores, and many otheradditional features. Many large retailers have mobile apps, which make them a necessity for anycompany trying to expand in the retailer market.

The second application that Backwoods could implement is one within the company. Anapplication that tracked products and helped with sales would unify the organization. Bystreamlining purchases through a mobile app all of the data gathered would be similar and allowBackwoods to gather information about the customers. Apple is excellent with doing this. AtApple stores the buying process is identical. This allows for a uniform process at any Applestore as well as a consistent customer service.

The final type of application that Backwoods could use is a mobile game. Many companiescreate mobile games that both raise awareness for their products and entrain their customers.This would be relatively easy for Backwoods because they are an outdoor equipment company.

Backwoods could make a game that involves some sort of hunting, hiking, or other outdoorexperience that could showcase their products in a fun and entertaining environment.

Most Effective DesignThe most effective of the three choices, however, would have to be the customer application.The mobile app could use push notifications to send deals to customers and inform them of newproducts. The mobile app could also be used in the store to scan the barcode of an item to lookup the price and product specifications. Another possibility is creating a wish list capabilitywithin the app. This would allow clients to browse products on the app, then add them to a wishlist where they can later go back and browse the products theyre interested in to decide if theywould like to purchase them. Lastly, the apps store locating ability would allow clients to seestore services and rental availability before coming to the store.

A mobile app would benefit Backwoods because it would provide another way for them toobtain new customers as well as keep the old customers. The app allows for customers to shoponline as well as browse the products that they can find in store. Since the app includes a barcodescanner, it would be much easier for customers to find the prices and specifications of certainitems without having to go up to the register and find an employee to answer these questions. Inaddition, the locating ability of the app would attract new customers by making it easier to lookup the rental availability of Backwoods products. These specifications would not only increase

customer service, but also customer loyalty by providing a location where all Backwoodsinformation is centralized.


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APP Design:

About BackwoodsMap Locator

Home Page Gear Page Womens A arel


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International Expansion

We propose that Backwoods pursues its next expansion in the European country of Switzerland.Switzerland has gained international acclaim for the endless amounts of outdoor activities itharbors during both summer and winter months. People come from all over the world to notonly join the Swiss in popular activities like skiing, hiking, rafting, and camping, but also toparticipate in the more extreme sports such as wing suiting, spelunking, and ice climbing. Notonly does Switzerland offer a huge array of outdoor activities, but it also is home to arguably themost fit and outdoorsy people on the planet.

ChallengesSome of the challenges involved with expanding Backwoods so that they may tap into the Swissmarket include vendor challenges, language barriers, database management, and interfacereconstruction. Getting a Backwoods store up and running in Switzerland will most likelyrequire some alterations with a few of their suppliers in an attempt to avoid raising prices due tohigh shipping costs for goods originating in America. We think that Backwoods could run intoeven more vendor challenges because of the different style and brand preferences that thepotential Swiss customers will prefer, resulting in database changes. Another issue thatBackwoods will need to address if it is to enter into the Swiss market is the language barrier. Inorder to overcome this language barrier Backwoods will need to seek out and train Swiss-Englishbilingual management and change much of its merchandise labeling to Swiss. In addition tothese obstacles Backwoods must also decide if it is going to create a separate Swiss database oruse the current main database. If Backwoods chose to use the current database, there wouldneed to be multiple points of translation between the Swiss database and the English database toinsure that we avoid data discrepancies. That being said, in order to accommodate the culturaland lingual differences, it would be beneficial if a team of Swiss and American developers wereto develop and implement a separate interface for the Swiss store computers.

IS/IT Implementation RecommendationsIn order to assure a successful international installation we recommend that Backwoods first

work with a developing firm in Switzerland to try and replicate the current software and systemsthat are being used at Backwoods into an acceptable and manageable Swiss version. NextBackwoods should implement this system inside a store in the US to test and troubleshoot thesystem in an attempt to work out as many of the kinks as possible. Then Backwoods willestablish a strong management team that has multiple people who are fluent in both English andSwiss so that when the plans for this are executed there is a highly trained and experiencedmanagement team to support and supervise the implementation process. Lastly, we recommend


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that Backwoods implement a separate Swiss sub database to work in conjunction with the othertranslated systems.

Individual Implementation Review

William McNamara

Throughout the project I tried to keep myself involved in whatever task needed to be completed.As a team we made sure that we all worked on each part together before turning it in. If one ofus could not attend a meeting we would send it to them to look at before submitting it. I thinkthat overall I was an asset to my team. I provided useful insight at each meeting and understoodSharePoint rather well. One area where I could have done better was on access. Although I did

help make our database I was not as involved in the creation of the forms and reports. This,however, was due to me trying to format our final document correctly while the other groupmembers worked on the database. Throughout the project I helped create each deliverable andparticipated in the creation of each part. We did not individually complete parts of the projectbut rather did it as a group.

Ian Hunt

I, like the rest of my group was involved with every part of this project in at least some way.Our group of 3 worked well together because of our different ways of thinking, we were able tofeed off of each other and continue to move up the creative spiral with each others help. I thinkmy strongest areas of work were in the areas of the project that required creativity and lots ofbrainstorming. With the written deliverable I was able to look at the assignments of eachsubsection and develop a foundation of ideas for our assignment. Even though we all had a rolein the development of every part of the deliverable, I believe that the parts that benefitted mostfrom my help were the communication with backwoods, Industry global reaseach, expansionstrategy, process model, and social media scheming. I really thrived in these areas because theyrrequired critical thinking. Outside of the written deliverable I helped a lot with query, form, andreport development. I am more creative than analytical so this was right up my alley. My groupmembers were great with refining my mass amounts of rough ideas and info into a more useableprofessional medium.

Perry Locke

At the beginning of the semester we learned about our communication style and mine was relatorand analyzer. That being said, one thing that comes from this communication style is being aperfectionist. I believe that I implemented this quality into our project as we all worked together


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in a group. Rather than splitting our work into individual parts, we decided it would be muchmore beneficial to all work together. As we worked together on parts 1-10 of our WrittenDeliverables I gave input on how to make what we were writing sound professional and makesense. I also worked to make sure there was a consistent format and style of voice in our work.While I created various reports on Access, I was not the most technologically savvy person and

therefore some of the work I did was on the appearance aspect of the report and the organization.Our group did a really good job about working together, so essentially all of the work we did wasdone together. Even if there were times where we were not all working on the same thing, wewould at least be together and give each other feedback on the different aspect of the project thatwe were working on. I tried to make sure that we got everything done on an appropriate andtimely basis, and I think we all did really well at holding each other accountable for our work.Everyone had their own opinions, but I worked with my teammates to collaborate all of our ideasso that each person had a say and all of our opinions were collaborated into our work.


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BibliographyEurostar (n.d.). Switzerland. Retrieved October 27, 2013, from http://www.eurostar.com/uk-

en/destinations/switzerland#.UoB03fmshcZ

Amdocs. (2013). CUSTOMER MANAGEMENT. Retrieved October 15, 2013, from

http://www.amdocs.com/Products/Customer-Management/Pages/Customer-Management.aspx

CRM-Resources (2013). CRM-Software-Vendors. Retrieved October 6, 2013, from

http://www.crm-resources.net/CRM-Software-Vendors.php

Infor (2013). The power of Infor CRM. Retrieved October 15, 2013, from

http://www.infor.com/solutions/crm/?cid=AM-NA-SSG-CRM-0607-LP-GENERIC-CRM-WILP10

Hoovers. (2013). Backwoods Equipment Company Company Information. Retrieved September 2,

2013, from http://subscriber.hoovers.com/H/company360/overview.html?companyId=14165934

Joseph J. Adamski, K. T. (2010). Microsoft Office Access(1st ed.). New Perspectives.

Kroenke, D. M. (2013). Experiencing MIS(4th ed.). Pearson Education Inc.

Nicholas Davis, J. R. (2007, November 1). Dicks Sporting Goods, Equity Valuation and Analysis.

Retrieved September 3, 2013, from

http://mmoore.ba.ttu.edu/ValuationReports/Fall2007/Dick'sSportingGoods.pdf

Marcus & Millichap Real Estate Investment Services. (2012). Backwoods Equipment Company.

Retrieved September 2, 2013, from

http://www.levyretail.com/assets/brochures/Backwoods%20Equipment%20Co.pdf

Schmidt, D. (2013). IBISWorld Industry Report 45111. Retrieved September 3 2013, fromhttp://clients1.ibisworld.com/reports/us/industry/default.aspx?entid=1079

Two weeks ago, In preparation for my backpacking excursion, I made a trip over to REI, thelargest competitor in the hiking equipment retail industry. While I was there I witnessed some ofthe worst customer service I have ever experienced. The employees were unhelpful, andunknowledgeable about their store and products. Needless to say I left a very unhappy camper.

This is where backwoods comes in! this company values customer relations more than any othercompany in the hiking and outdoor equipment industry. We have recognized this and would liketo continue working with you to further this differentiating strength.

My name is Ian Hunt, I am here today with my two partners- Perry Locke, and Will McNamara.We are with Jones Consulting and would like to present to you, a few of the ideas we have forimproving the overall performance of this company.


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INDUSTRYWithout further a due, let us look at what is going on with the industry. Over the past ten years,the hiking and equipment retail industry has experienced a steady increase in revenue, with theexception of 2009. This growing industry is a result of the 3 key market drivers following thesame general trend. Per capita disposable income, recreational expenditure, and percent

population involved with outdoor activities have all experienced a general increase over the lastten years as well which explains the industryssteady increase in revenue.

Currently this industry is in the mature stage of itslife cycle. What does this mean forthis company you might be wondering this means that not only are there increasing levels ofcustomers tapping into this industry, but there are also more competitors entering into the marketas well. That being said, it is time for this company to take advantage of its differentiating

strengths by fine tuning them and expanding throughout the industry to start competing

with companies like REI, Patagonia, and VF corporation which these 3 companies alone

generate process 69.5 % of all revenue in this industry.

AT A GLANCE

Now that we have taken a look at what the hiking and equipment industry is doing nowadays, wewould like to introduce to you a few of the areas we have ideas in where we believe thiscompany has room for growth. We all know this company really values customer satisfaction,but with that comes customer interaction. This company has done very well in terms ofemployee recruitment; however we believe that You need to expand one step further toincorporate the virtual engagement of your customers.The first area, social media is a great way for a growing company to get some free marketing in,

however, this company has not recognized this and is not taking full advantage of this valuableresource. Developing a Mobile app will allow customers to have a more direct interaction withthe company through its website.

We believe that integrating both a CRM system we explain in more depth later in conjunctionwith the prototype database we have created will make the management and logistics side of thecompany run much smoother.In addition to these We will give you a brief overview of how we would improve the currentprocess model for online transactions and where we would suggest expanding to next.

Location location location.We have decided that your company would benefit most by expanding overseas to

Switzerland; this is a country with one of the most fit populations on the planet. That being said,it would make sense that Switzerland is the country with the highest percentage of its populationthat is involved with outdoor sports and activities on a regular basis.

Fit-pop high % people engaged in outdoor activities

Summer and winter

Zurich


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difficulties choice between systems.. we recommend separate Swiss database! So we can

avoid

Global ExpansionWed now like to propose that your company pursue expansion internationally in Switzerland. Switzerland has become well known for

its vast array of outdoor activities in both summer and winter months. Not only do the Swiss participate in a variety of outdoor activities,

such as skiing, rafting, and hiking, but Switzerland is home to some of the most fit and outdoorsy people in the world, which are the

perfect customers for your type of company.

While expanding internationally has huge benefits, it may also bring about a few challenges. The most significant adjustment, that we

have Jones Consulting would work on is either creating a completely new database for the Swiss system or incorporating the Swiss

system into your current database. If we were to incorporate the Swiss system into your current database we would add points of

translation in order to avoid data discrepancies between differing languages.

In order to create a smooth international installation, we recommend working with a firm in Switzerland to replicate the current

software systems that are currently being used at Backwoods. Before implementing this system abroad, we suggest that you first test the

replicated system inside a store in the US to make sure there are no bugs before implementing it abroad. Lastly, when expanding

overseas, we believe that your business will be the most successful if we can create a strong management team containing both

Americans and Swiss in order to support and supervise the implementation process.

Con-We feel that backwoods has reached the stage in its lifecycle whereit has the security and ability to startexperimenting and expanding. By choosing to work with jones consulting, we will be able to help you expand bothinternally and globally with our recommendations.

We know your company places much value on customer relationships, we believeWe believe that improving and expanding our influence in the social media realm will greatly

benefit this company not only by furthering the current customer relationships, by correctlymanaging these social media sites to engage more with customers, you will incidentally gainmore publicity.

Developing and implementing a mobile app is crucial to the future growth of this company, withthe backwoods app, our customers will be able to, view products, connect to our social mediasites and order products straight from their mobile devices.

Documents

Final Written Deliverable