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INFOSYS.110 BUSINESS SYSTEMS:

DELIVERABLE 2: BUSINESS SECTION
2014

Name George Anson
NetID Gans708
Group Number: 057
Website Link: http://infosys1102014fcgroup57.blogspot.co.nz/p/d1.html
Tutorial Details
Tutor: Day: Time:
Kayur Ramson Monday 2pm
Time Spent on
Assignment:
10 hours Word Count: 1402

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HELP FOR THE HOMELESS
INTRODUCTION
The problem that we are addressing is that there is not enough support for the homeless
population in many cities. Globally there are millions of people that do not live in homes for
various reasons including poverty, natural disaster, civil unrest and lack of infrastructure.
We have devised am IT based solution, which we hope will make a great impact on the
situations of the homeless around the world.

Our business solution involves a food voucher system that customers can opt into at
supermarkets. At the end of their shop, customers can add at least one dollar to their
overall price and receive a receipt with a code on it. That code would then enter them into a
monthly prize draw via SMS submission, and the donation would go directly to helping the
situations of homeless people in the local community and abroad by providing them with
vouchers for food from supermarkets.
3. BUSINESS SECTION
3.1 Vision
Providing an easy and efficient solution to the homeless problem locally and abroad.
3.2 Industry Analysis: Charity Indusrty
Industry:
Force: High/Low: Justification:
Buyer power: High There are many donation organisations that
individuals can choose from to donate to, and
switching to another charity is simple (PM
Carson, 2010)
Supplier power: High The supplier is a critical part of this business
model, and the supplier group does not rely

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heavily on the charity industry for revenue
(Porter, 2008)
Threat of new entrants: High For setting up a new charity there are very few
barriers to entry and so industry profitibility
(donations) is moderated (Porter, 2008)
Threat of substitutes: High There are many other donation organisations,
and these may cause a threat as substitutes
because switching to a substitute has no cost to
buyers (PM Carson, 2010)
Rivalry among existing
competitors:
High
Rapid expansion of the nonprofit sector has
greatly outpaced growth of
the donor base, and this has forced many
players to compete aggressively for funding and
volunteers (Ritchie & weinberg, 2000)
Overall attractiveness of the industry: There are many threats within this industry, the
buyer and supplier power are high and the threat of substitutes and new entrants is very
high also. I would say that this indusrty is not overly attractive.
3.3 Customers and Thei r Needs
The customers of this organisation are shoppers at supermarkets. Research has been done
which shows that those who give to charity experience a similar brain activity to that of
revieving reward and pleasure (Anik, Lalin, Lara, Aknin, Norton, Dunn, 2009) Individuals
have a need to feel happy and this need can be fulfilled by giving to charity.
3.4 The Product and Service
The product that this organisation supplies is an IT based solution to the issue explained
above. Humans have a need to give to others in order to feel happy. This product is an IT
system put in place at the Point Of Sale at supermarkets, offering customers the choice of

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adding a donation on to the cost of their purchase which will be directly used to help feed
the homeless population of the nation. Not only will customers receive the good feeling
from giving to others less fortunate, but they will also go into a prize draw for a hamper of
supermarket goods.
3.5 Suppliers and Partners
One supplier for this business would be the supermarket chains, as they provide the
location for donations to be taken and the computer systems for the transaction to be
completed through.Another supplier would be the SMS/telecommunications company, as
they provide the service of contacting our organisation whenever another donation has
been submitted through SMS.
One of the partners of this organisation would be local charity worker organisations, for
example Auckland City Mission in Auckland, as these organisations could work together to
make distribution of the food vouchers far more efficient. Other partners could be
businesses which accept the food vouchers, so that the process of getting physical food to
the homeless becomes more efficient (e.g. more than one store can exchange vouchers for
food).
3.6 Strategy: Cost Leadership
The comptetive scope for this product is a very broad market, it can be implemented in
many many supermarkets or even other stores, and these stores are available to everyone.
The cost strategy is low cost, the donation recommended is a small amount, a small
percentage of the overall shopping cost.
The overall strategy is therefore Cost Leadership
3.7 Value Chain Activity: Market and sell the product or service
Because the organisation is completely based around donations, the key value chain activity
for this organisation is the process of marketing and selling the product. The transaction
process needs to be streamlined and efficient, and this relates back to the vision of the
organisation; Providing an easy and efficient solution to the homeless problem locally and
abroad.

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3.8 Business Processes
3.8.1. TRANSACTI ON PROCESS
One of the most important processes involved in providing the product to customers is the
physical sale. There needs to be confirmation of the customers order, credit checks,
processing of customer details and invoicing. All of these steps need to happen in real-time
in front of the customer so the process must be fast, flawless and simple to provide an
efficient transaction.






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3.8.1. CUSTOMER SUPPORT PROCESS
A key business process that relates to the Marketing and Selling sector of the value chain is the Customer
Support Process. This involves receiving the customers donation, receiving the SMS that they send and
registering the code number that they sent. This business process is automated and needs to be extremely
efficient to ensure customer satisfaction and effectiveness of the organisations goals.






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3.9 FUNCTIONALITIES
3.9.1.
Perform Credit Check
Approve/Process Transaction
3.9.2.
Receive SMS with customer code
Respond with confirmation SMS

3.10 Systems
3.10. 1 CUSTOMER SUPPORT SYSTEM
A customer support system will enable the organisation to receive and process contact from customers (via
SMS) and will respond to the customer quickly giving them information about their donation. Having this
system in place will ensure that customers are satisfied with their donation and that data is processed
efficiently and effectively.
3.10. 2 SALES PROCESS MANAGEMENT SYSTEM
A sales process management system will enable the organisation to automate aspects of its transactions to
increase efficiency of its key business processes. Sales process management can automate functionalities such
as credit checks with banks and approval/decline of transactions at the point of sale.
3.10. 3. ACCOUNTING SUPPORT SYSTEM
An accounting support system can automate and streamline functionalities such as sending payment for
purchases and processing any invoices, and keeping note of inflows and outflows of all funds. This automation
will make the business processes more efficient.

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3.11. Summary Table: Value Chain to Systems

Value Chain
Activity
Processes Functionalities Specific Information
System(s)
Broad Information
System(s)

Market and
Sell the
Product
1. Transaction
Process
1. Perform Credit Check

2. Approve/Process Transaction

Sales Process Management
System,
Accounting Support System
Transaction Processng
System
2. Customer
Support
Process
3. Receive SMS with customer code

4. Respond with confirmation SMS


Customer Support System
Collaboration Systems

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CONCLUSION
This organisations product is an IT solution to a pressing global issue homelessness and
hunger. We aim to implement IT systems into supermarkets and other stores to provide a
convenient and effective method of retrieving donations from the public. The vision is to
provide an easy and efficient solution to the homeless problem locally and abroad, and the
only wasy to ensure efficiency and effectiveness in the modern age of technology is to
implement appropriate information systems to streamline and support the key business
processes. With the new efficiencies of information systems our product could be the
market leader for non-profit organisations to use.
REFERENCES

1. PM Carson Consulting, 2010,
http://www.realtimeadvisors.com/uploads/6/5/1/0/6510177/5_forces_in_npo.pdf

2. Porter, Michael E. "The Five Competitive Forces That Shape Strategy." Special Issue
on HBS Centennial. Harvard Business Review 86, no. 1 (January 2008): 7893.

3. Ritchie, R.J.B. and C.B. Weinberg (2000), Competition in the Non-profit
Sector. University of British Columbia / University of Washington Marketing
Research Consortium, Vancouver, BC, April.

4. Anik, Lalin, Lara B. Aknin, Michael I. Norton, and Elizabeth W. Dunn. "Feeling Good
about Giving: The Benefits (and Costs) of Self-Interested Charitable Behaviour."
Harvard Business School Working Paper, No. 10-012, August 2009.