The Home Depot Information Systems
Must read instructions and answer all questions.
Company Background and Information Systems
Home Depot
What is the name, nature of the business, and specific products or services of your chosen organization?
How are the products or services produced and distributed by the company?
Why are information systems essential in managing the organization’s business?
Describe the existing information systems supporting the major business functions of the organization (e.g., sales and marketing, manufacturing and production, accounting, human resources, etc.)
Information Technology Recommendation
What is your recommendation for the information technology systems you think should be in place and why? Your recommendation should include the following:
Information needs:
What types of decisions do users need to make by accessing the information systems?
What are the different levels of information groups?
Need for system automation
Benefits of the proposed system (savings, quality improvements, faster processing, etc.)
Types of database data elements (data, images, photographs, sound, video, etc.)
Networking and interactive processing
Centralization versus decentralization
End-user computing needs
Your recommendation to develop or acquire the system software
Potential Security Threats
Describe the various threats and security threats to the proposed information system. What security controls are required to address the threats?
Social, Political, and Diversity Impacts
Summarize the social and political issues raised by the proposed information system.
Discuss the impact of diversity to the development and management of the proposed information system.
Conclusion
References
The Final Project – IT System Recommendation
Must be eight to ten double-spaced pages in length (not including title and references pages) and formatted according to APA style as outlined in the Ashford Writing Center (Links to an external site.).
Must include a separate title page with the following:
Title of paper
Student’s name
Course name and number
Instructor’s name
Date submitted
Must use at least three scholarly sources in addition to the course text.
The Scholarly, Peer-Reviewed, and Other Credible Sources (Links to an external site.) table offers additional guidance on appropriate source types. If you have questions about whether a specific source is appropriate for this assignment, please contact your instructor. Your instructor has the final say about the appropriateness of a specific source for a particular assignment.
Must document all sources in APA style as outlined in the Ashford Writing Center.
The Home Depot Information Systems
Student's Name
Course Name and Number
Instructor's Name
Date Submitted
The Home Depot Information Systems
Company Background and Information Systems
The Home Depot (HD), Inc. is a publicly-listed company with shares trading in the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) since April 19, 1984. The company was founded on June 29, 1978, by Pat Farrah, Kenneth Langone, Arthur Blank, and Bernard Marcus and had its headquarters in Atlanta, Georgia (The Home Depot, n.d.). HD specializes in selling building materials and home improvement products. The commodities thereof include décor, lawn and garden, and home improvement products. Consequently, the company will extend its services to the installation process and renting out its tools and equipment (Forbes, 2020). The company continues to advance its operations with efforts being directed towards sprucing up its store brands.
Moreover, it has integrated new technology tools enabling the workforce to attain more information on consumer behavior. The insights gained facilitate the implementation of measures that guarantee upselling. (Khanna, 2020) from Fortune notes that "the company's e-commerce operation grew more than 20% last year (2019)." Therefore, it appears that the company is continuing to be a pacesetter in various dimensions, whether it is their product offerings or technological prowess and, thus, their ability to outperforming their competitors.
It is fair to highlight that HD's distribution has been phenomenal considering its widespread brick-and-mortar stores spread across North American. Company reports indicate that its warehouse-style stores are well above 2,200 in number and built across the United States, Canada, and Mexico. The average indoor retail space is about 105,000 square feet, highlighting the dominance that the company enjoys as the world's largest home improvement retailer (The Home Depot, n.d.). Its physical presence has facilitated the company's e-commerce business's actualization to a significant level that has even rivaled related numbers from the world's most renowned e-commerce retailer, Amazon. The company's commitment to a multichannel strategy has witnessed an investment of approximately $300 million to enhance its e-commerce offering. This money has gone to the full integration of its web and store inventory, supply chain management, and distribution capability. HD realized major returns from these efforts where the online sales reached $3.5 billion; this figure represented a $1 billion increase from the previous year (Wallace, n.d.). The physical assets had helped leverage online orders.
When it comes to the supply of the commodities being sold, the company stocks both proprietary brands and others sourced externally. The former category includes Plantations Patterns Patio for outdoor stuff, Martha Living and SoftSpring for carpets, Martha Living and Glacier Bay for kitchen cabinets, Cree for lighting, and Behr for paints. On the other hand, product lines, including Brown Jordan patio furniture, retail exclusively at the company. The Home Decorators Collection brand comprises of HD's products. Besides the proprietary brands, the company has established various supplier relationships with whom the company is a major customer. The popularity and ranking that HD has in the market imply that its purchases are essential to the suppliers' financial performance. Fortune Brands Home & Security (FBHS) supplies locks, doors, kitchen and bath cabinets, and home security systems. Cree is another with their specialization being on lighting. Finally, there is Scotts Miracle-Gro (SMG), which supplies lawn and garden care commodities.
In one or another, a business' success is quite predicated upon consistency in the management of both organizational and financial data using effective and efficient information systems (IS). Al-Mamary, Shamsuddin, and Aziati (2014, p. 1280) assert that an "information system can be any organized combination of people, hardware, software, communications networks, data resources, and policies and procedures that stores, retrieves, transforms, and disseminates information in an organization." Nevertheless, IS's primary goal is to place greater emphasis on the integration of information technology (IT) solutions and business processes in the quest to meet the needs of businesses and other enterprises. IS underpin modern operations because they can promptly collect, process, distribute, and share information promptly, thereby offering companies great success opportunities (Almazan, Tovar, & Quintero, 2017). It is important to analyze from what specific end does IS contributes to the business' growth in a competitive marketplace or in creating a major competitive edge.
First and foremost, IS are vital in enabling operational excellence in that the efficiency of a company's operations is improved massively (Lipaj & Davidavičienė, 2013). A prime example of this factor is the continued availability of inventory. Secondly, these systems are essential in creating new commodities (goods and services) and business models. Companies use the information they have gathered to formulate the best models to define how the firm produces, creates, and sells its commodities. Also, the organization can spot market gaps that they have the capabilities of fulfilling. The going concern is dependent on the relations it has with its external stakeholders. In this regard, IS ensures that the management can determine the areas it needs to improve regarding its customer relationship management (CRM) (Almazan et al., 2017). Exceptional customer satisfaction guarantees frequent visits, which translates to greater purchases from the suppliers. This process results in an excellent relationship between the business and both parties. On the other hand, there is improved decision making arising from the acquisition of real-time data (Karim, 2011). Besides the fact these benefits guarantee the business's going concerned into the foreseeable future, the organization gains much competitive advantage over its competitors.
HD has made significant efforts in integrating IS into its ordinary operations. IS comes in various shapes and thus serves different roles in the process. In this regard, IS include but is not limited to transaction processing, management information, enterprise collaboration, process control, knowledge management, expert, and decision support systems (Al-Mamary et al., 2014). They serve various functions spread across human resources, finance and accounting, manufacturing and production, and sales and marketing. HD has fashioned these functions through the implementation of related projects in the organization. As mentioned earlier, the company has been keen on introducing the digital sphere to complement its existing physical space. In 2017, HD committed $11.1 billion for three years to facilitate the digital-centric process's success (Giles, 2019). The entire procedure, which has been dubbed the "One Home Depot," digital transformation strategy encompasses all the activities that surround IT. Further, this initiative's primary objective is to conjure a seamless experience for customers from both the online space and physical stores.
3D augmented reality is one of the major elements that deserve mention. This tool is quite powerful, particularly when perceived from the customer's perspective. It enhances the customers' comprehension of how various products would fit in their spaces. In other words, the technological tool endears to provide a solution to the following question: "how will this item look in my home?" The company's application overlays the actual dimensions of select products, whether they be chandeliers, refrigerators, or anything else, for that case, onto the physical world. The customer perceives it as though it is there with them; in that space. In essence, it is a helpful way through which digital content is experienced, similar to the world. This dimension of relaying stuff to customers is fundamental in ensuring that they are cognizant of the products they want to buy. It reduces possible inconveniences when purchasing commodities, thereby saving time. To this end, this phenomenon ranks as a fundamental tool when it comes to attracting ...