Case Fastfit Q7-11
Description of FastFit’s Operations
FastFit Sporting Goods is a successful New England regional supplier of sporting goods to the high end consumer market. They sell an exclusive selection of equipment and apparel to men and women who exercise and pursue outdoor activities on a regular basis. They operate five (5) upscale retail stores in the New England market that offer a high level of customer attention, with a headquarters (HQ) is in Burlington, Massachusetts, and a single warehouse, distribution, and eCommerce fulfillment center in Haverhill, Massachusetts. Most of their products are purchased from two suppliers, Winter Gear Distributers outside of Providence, Rhode Island, and Boston Fitness Supplies in Marlboro, Massachusetts. FastFit has expanded successfully in the New England area over the past five years. However to expand nationally as a major retailer, they need to improve the scalability of their operations (stores and warehouses). A key part of their strategy is to leverage information systems to automate and improve operations, to strengthen management controls, and to enable significant growth while maintaining the “high touch” customer experience. A diagram of their complete non-Web based operations follows. See figure 1.
Web/E-Commerce Questions (assume customers order on the Web)
7. a) Assuming that Fastfit goes ahead with its plans to have an e-commerce site, identify two physical locations, from where customers can enter their orders to the ecommerce site and b) For each of the locations that you mentioned, identify the technologies (cover the areas of software, hardware and networks) that a customer would need (at the location) to accomplish this activity? (use a table);
Locations for e-commerce Server: customer can enter their orders at home, school:
Technologies for Home location:
|Category | Technology Component
FastFit Sporting Goods is a successful New England regional supplier of sporting goods to the high end consumer market. They sell an exclusive selection of equipment and apparel to men and women who exercise and pursue outdoor activities on a regular basis. They operate five (5) upscale retail stores in the New England market that offer a high level of customer attention, with a headquarters (HQ) is in Burlington, Massachusetts, and a single warehouse, distribution, and eCommerce fulfillment center in Haverhill, Massachusetts. Most of their products are purchased from two suppliers, Winter Gear Distributers outside of Providence, Rhode Island, and Boston Fitness Supplies in Marlboro, Massachusetts. FastFit has expanded successfully in the New England area over the past five years. However to expand nationally as a major retailer, they need to improve the scalability of their operations (stores and warehouses). A key part of their strategy is to leverage information systems to automate and improve operations, to strengthen management controls, and to enable significant growth while maintaining the “high touch” customer experience. A diagram of their complete non-Web based operations follows. See figure 1.
Web/E-Commerce Questions (assume customers order on the Web)
7. a) Assuming that Fastfit goes ahead with its plans to have an e-commerce site, identify two physical locations, from where customers can enter their orders to the ecommerce site and b) For each of the locations that you mentioned, identify the technologies (cover the areas of software, hardware and networks) that a customer would need (at the location) to accomplish this activity? (use a table);
Locations for e-commerce Server: customer can enter their orders at home, school:
Technologies for Home location:
|Category | Technology Component