York University - ADMS 2511

Question1)Today Montreal-based ALDO Group sells its shoes, leather goods, and accessories in 1,400 company-owned and franchised retail stores, half of which fall under the ALDO banner. The privately held company, founded in 1972 by CEO Aldo Bensadoun, operates in more than 45 countries across every continent.

In order to manage its inventory ALDO has a main distribution center (DC) in Montreal that encompasses up to one million square feet of space on two levels, and employs two shifts to supply 1,000 retail stores in North America. The recall center in Greensboro, North Carolina (U.S.) allows the company to handle returns from stores on the U.S. East Coast. A single shift at this 80,000-square-foot facility distributes two of the company's specialty lines—children's shoes and accessories. On the U.S. West Coast, inventory moves via store-to-store transfers. In addition, a 35,000-square-foot DC in the United Kingdom services 35 international stores, processing 2.5 million units each year.

A few years ago, ALDO hit a dead end with its inventory and distribution technology. The company's collection of different in-house systems could support a maximum of 600 stores—less than half of what ALDO envisioned. After devising expansion plans that required a new warehouse and distribution facility, ALDO decided the time was right to invest in scalable logistics systems. The company's IT shopping list included a set of sophisticated warehousing, distribution, and inventory management capabilities, along with increased visibility into its supply chain—from purchasing to shipping and returns.

One software product that the selection team chose was inventory management software from Atlanta-based CDC Software. The software provides the company's business intelligence system with operational and performance data, so ALDO executives receive the latest information to make their decisions. The software is also able to provide real-time reports that allow the retailer to manage by exception any variance from company-determined key performance indicators.

1. Define the term computer-based information system (CBIS) and discuss whether you would consider the new inventory management system a CBIS or not. Justify your answer.

2. Clearly, information technology and CBIS impact organizations in a variety of ways. Explain two ways in which the new inventory management system could impact ALDO’s employees?

3. Explain how the following business pressures could affect ALDO and its use of information technology. Link your answer to the facts in the case.

1. Global markets and strong competition.                                                

2. Compliance with government regulations and deregulations

4. Explain one strategy for competitive advantage that ALDO could pursue with the adoption of its new inventory management system as described in the case. Support your answer with facts from the case..

5. Could ALDO’s new inventory management system, as described in the case, be considered a strategic information system? Why or why not?

6. Define master data and provide an example of supplier master data related to ALDO’s new inventory management system.

7. 
   Using the example of ALDO’s new inventory management system, explain the characteristics of a relational database management system.                          

8. Explain the importance of a data dictionary in a database management system.                        

1. Provide an example explaining how a knowledge management system could be used at ALDO to assist

its marketing department.

10. Explain how ALDO could be using grid computing in support of its inventory management system.

11. Identify two types of computers, from two different levels of the computer hierarchy, that ALDO could use in support of its inventory management system and indicate how they would be used.

50. Identify and explain two software issues that ALDO had to consider when adopting its new inventory management system.

Question 2)Loblaw is the largest chain of grocery stores in Canada with hundreds of stores in all major cities in Canada. Recently Loblaw decided to enter the online market and start selling groceries online. The cyber-shopping will be modelled on a British system of having customers order their goods online and pick them up in stores, a model that has been named “click-and-collect” and which has been gaining popularity in the U.K. and France. Loblaw will run a test on “click-and-collect” grocery at three stores in the Greater Toronto Area in 2014.

Click-and-collect is considered a more profitable way for grocers to sell food online in comparison to delivering to the customer’s home. A McKinsey & Co analysis last year showed that the click-and-collect model offered up to a 20 per cent increase in margins over home delivery, though the average dollar amount per order tended to be smaller.

In France, one in five shoppers report having used click-and-collect services from grocery chains such as Carrefour, Casino and Leclerc. Leclerc, which has some 325 pickup locations in France, reported a 68% increase in click-and-collect sales in the past year. It estimated that three-quarters of that growth was business taken from rival retailers.

Loblaw’s entry into online grocery in Toronto would put it in competition with Grocery Gateway, a home- delivery service owned by the Longo’s chain. Other retailers are also ramping up their online initiatives in Canada. Last fall Amazon began selling dry groceries over the Internet here and Walmart has signaled its intent to boost its online grocery business as well.