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INFOSYS.110 BUSINESS SYSTEMS:

DELIVERABLE 2: BUSINESS SECTION
2014

Name Elliot Scholz
NetID esch958
Group Number: 241
Website Link: http://uoagroup241.blogspot.co.nz/
Tutorial Details
Tutor: Day: Time:
Kirsten van Dorp Thursday 9am
Time Spent on
Assignment:
25 hours Word Count: 1635

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DRAIN BLOCKAGE PROTECTION SYSTEM
INTRODUCTION
The blockage of stormwater drains is a significant problem in modern society. When these
drains block they overflow, damaging roads and properties and costing governments
millions annually. Our business will provide a high tech solution to this problem, by placing a
sensor in each drain that will alert council employees so they can respond effectively and
prevent flooding from occurring.
3. BUSINESS SECTION
3.1 Vision
To provide governments and councils with the most efficient, effective system to deal with
drain blockages, saving costs to communities worldwide.
3.2 Industry Analysis
Industry: Flood Protection Industry. This industry includes all businesses who provide
solutions to protect communities from the danger of flooding.
Force: High/Low: Justification:
Buyer power: High While there are no other solutions such as this
in the market according to my research, I
believe buyer power to be high as councils are
our primary customer, giving them strong
bargaining power.
Supplier power: Low The New Zealand Plastics industry has over
400 plastic companies (Plastics New Zealand).
This means that there low supplier power as the
large amount of suppliers mean we can easily

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purchase from another supplier should prices
increase.
Threat of new entrants:

Medium/Low While at present there are few cost barriers to
entry in this market, I believe that once first
mover advantage is exploited, a cost barrier will
be created. As our service improves and is
developed, the cost of removing our system and
implementing another system will become
great enough to be a sufficient cost barrier to
decrease the threat of new entrants.
Threat of substitutes:

Low According to my research, there are no systems
that prevent floods in the way our business will.
Stuff.co.nz reported in May 2014 that
protecting vulnerable properties in Christchurch
in the short term could cost as much as $13.6
million. This shows that other options for
councils are extremely expensive, more so than
our product, meaning that these substitutes will
be unlikely to pose a threat.
Rivalry among existing
competitors:

Low As I have not found any system that provides
this solution, there is little rivalry in the
industry. Councils use their employees to work
the systems so there is not rivalry as we are not
replacing the councils workers but assisting
them.

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Overall attractiveness of the industry: Attractive industry. Due to the low supplier power,
rivalry and relatively low threat of substitutes and new entrants, I belive this industry to be
an attractive one.
3.3 Customers and Thei r Needs
Our primary customer would be local councils. They would be the local government body
who would decide whether to employ our system or not. As a council, they want to be able
to react to drain blockages as efficiently as possible as to avoid flooding. ICNZ staticstics
show that the annual cost of flooding is on average $17 million not including civil defense
costs (McSaveney 2012), a significant amount. It is estimated that 90% of damage to roads is
caused by water (Crossroads 1995) so this cost can easily be minimised. As well as this, they
will also want to improve the productivity of their workforce by reducing the idle time of
employees.
3.4 The Product and Service
Engineers state that Improving roadway drainage can make your roads last longer.
(Crossroads 2000), and this is what our business provides. Our product is a sensor that is
fitted in each drain that detects when it is submerged in water. This would indicate that the
water level is above the normal level and that something is wrong with the drain. This
communicates with a council server that sends an alert to council employees that there is
an issue, while assigning a priority level to the job. This means that employees can see what
jobs are critical, satisfying the needs of the customer as it decreases the response time of
employees to the blockage of drains, increasing productivity. This decreases the likelihood
of the drain overflowing and the cost to councils of the resulting water damage is
significantly reduced. As the alert is immediately sent to the council workers, it means that
there is a decrease in the decision latency between the alert being sent and the job being
assigned.
3.5 Suppliers and Partners
A critical supplier of our business would be the suppliers of the sensors. These are critical
suppliers for the business as they provide the sensors that enable the system to deliver

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what it is expected to. Another critical supplier would be the suppliers of the plastic casings
for the sensors that enable them to be attached to the drain.
The primary partner for the business would local councils. The councils are looked upon as
partners as well as customers as they will provide feedback to the organisation regarding
the effectiveness of the product and the software. They will provide suggestions for
improvements and this will be developed to improve the software further.
3.6 Strategy
The competitive scope of the business is narrow. This is because our product is not one that
is attractive to a wide variety of customers. Our customers would be councils and
governments and not a wider market.
Our business will offer the sensors that are placed in the drains at a relatively low price.
These sensors are not expensive as they will be relatively cheap to produce. The software
that the councils will pay to be able to access will also be provided at a relatively low cost to
customers. This means that the cost of both implementing and running the system is
relatively low to the customer.
Therefore, the overall strategy is Focused Low Cost.
3.7 Value Chain Activity
The most important value chain activity for this business is Technology Development
(R&D)
The improvement and development of this system will not only occur before the sale. Once
the system has been implemented, customers can provide feedback and improvements are
developed as a result of this. As the vision of the business is to provide the most efficient
system, this is a key value chain activity as it will add tremendous value to the customer if
the system is continually developed and improved to the customers needs and become
more effective.


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3.8 Business Processes
3.8.1. FLOOD DETECTION AND RESPONSE PROCESS This is the process that occurs
continuously as the sensor detects whether it is in water or not as a part of the operations
department. The following model outlines the process that follows when the sensor detects
that it is submerged and the response process as a result of this. It shows the message being
sent to the server from the sensor and then from the server to the employees mobile phone
and the response taking place.

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3.8.2. FEEDBACK, DEVELOPMENT AND I MPROVEMENT PROCESS This process outlines what
happens in the customer feedback process in the customer service department, from the
initial request for feedback to the development of improvements until the customer is
satisfied. This process explains the continual improvement of the service for customers and
how these improvements are developed.




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3.9 Functionalities
3.9.1. FLOOD DETECTION AND RESPONSE PROCESS
Sensor sends signal to the server that something may be wrong with the
drain.
Server sends a message to council employees with priority level attached to it
that a drain requires attention
3.9.2. FEEDBACK, DEVELOPMENT AND I MPROVEMENT PROCESS
Receives feedback and sorts it to prevent duplication and allow for easier
analysis.
Continually checks with customers regarding their satisfaction with the
system.
3.10 Systems

3.10. 1. PRIORI TY ASSESSMENT SYSTEM This is under the broad information system of
Workflow management. This is because the data of high risk areas that is provided by
councils is stored in a central location and depending on where the sensor is that detects an
issue, the server can then apply a priority level according to that shared information.
3.10. 2. CUSTOMER CONSULTATI ON SYSTEM This system comes under the broad information
system of Collaboration systems as developers collaborate with customers. As the
customers are looked upon as partners, this system is used to effectively share information
that is important to customers so we can update and deliver improvements to customers to
satisfy any improvements that they require, delivering on our vision of an effective system.
3.10. 3. CUSTOMER SERVICE SYSTEM Under the broad CRM system, this system
encompasses the functionality of the request for feedback from customers. This system
automatically generates a message to customers to ensure they are satisfied with the
product. If the customer has previously said they are satisfied, then this message may not
be displayed to customers for a longer period of time. The message will follow after an
update has been released to ensure that customers are receiving the effective system they
require.

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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)

Technology
Development
(R&D)
1. Flood
detection and
response
process
1. Sensor send signal to the server that
something may be wrong with the drain.

2. Server sends a message to council
employees with a priority level attached to
it that a drain requires attention.



Priority Assessment System






Workflow management
2. Feedback,
development
and
improvement
process
1. Receives feedback and sorts it to prevent
duplication and allow for easier analysis.

2. Continually checks with customers
regarding their satisfaction with the
system.
Customer Consultation
System


Customer Service System
Collaboration system
(unstructured)


Customer relationship
management

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CONCLUSION
Overall, this IT based service provides a solution for councils to protect roads and properties
from damaging flooding that would cost millions to repair. It is expected that over time, this
service and the systems it utilises will provide an effective response to the blockage of
drains, allowing for communities to save millions annually. IT plays a vital part in our
business, allowing the system to deliver on our vision of the most effective solution in the
market.

REFERENCES

1. Plastics New Zealand, (2011) NZ Production Statistics. Retrieved from
http://www.plastics.org.nz/factsandresources/statsandsurvey/NZproductionstatistic
s/

2. Cairns O, Conway G. (2014, May 12). Flooding Protection could cost $13.6m,
Stuff.co.nz. Retrieved from www.stuff.co.nz

3. McSaveney, E. Floods New Zealands number one harard, Te Ara the Encylopedia
of New Zealand, Retrieved from http://www.teara.govt.nz/en/floods/page-1

4. (Spring 1995), Bad drainage can kill your roads, Crossroads Newsletter, retrieved
from http://epdfiles.engr.wisc.edu/pdf_web_files/tic/Crossroads/xrds_1995_2.pdf
5. (Spring 2000), Good drainage lengthens road life, Crossroads Newsletter, retrieved
from http://epdfiles.engr.wisc.edu/pdf_web_files/tic/Crossroads/xrds_2000_2.pdf