MIS: Management Information System: Implementing the Mobile Knowledge Passenger Information Monitor (PIM) in Touch Media for Taxi Cabs in China's Cities

Management Information System: Implementing the Mobile Knowledge Passenger Information Monitor (PIM) in Touch Media for Taxi Cabs in China’s Cities
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Table of Contents
Title page……………………………………………………………………………………. i
Table of Contents……………………………………………………………………………..ii
Executive summary………………………………………………………………………….iii
Introduction…………………………………………………………………………………..1
Business analysis……………………………………………………………………………..1
Business problems facing the company……………………………………………………..1
Analysis Using Porter’s Competitive Forces Model…………………………………………2
Business Process for the company…………………………………………………………...3
IT infrastructure that this company needs to manage……………………………………….3
Data warehouse and Marketing Strategies……………………………………………………3
An opportunity which has the potential to be solved or improved by a management information system…………………………………………………………………………...4
Ethics code on privacy………………………………………………………………………..4
Recommendations ……………………………………………………………………………4
Conclusion…………………………………………………………………………………….5
References…………………………………………………………………………………….6
Executive summary
Touch Media is a China based company that deals with advertising in Taxi cabs. The taxi cabs in China lack an integrated system that provides a variety of services such as advertising, entertainment, point of sale services and location tracker in a single device. Touch Media has been successful in providing advertisements and some form of entertainment in taxicabs in China’s major cities. However, this form of advertising is slowly losing popularity among the customers, drivers and recently with the roads authorities. It is therefore very important the company adds value to the existing service by providing a management information system where fleet managers can interact with their drivers, track their location and monitor sales. Additionally the proposed system shall offer entertainment and advertisements under one device. This system shall maintain Touch Media’s monopoly in screen for taxi cabs in China’s main Cities for increased profitability.
Introduction
In 2002, Micky Fung started a company serving taxicabs in China namely Touch Media was started in 2002. It provides media solutions through advertisements in over twenty three thousand cabs all over China. According to Forbes these figures translates to advertising in a third of all the taxis in the city of Shanghai. The company has also expanded its coverage to two other cities. It has presence in Beijing where it serves in over sixty thousand cabs and generates more than fifteen million US dollars every year (Flannery, 2013). The company has been signed by the world’s leading corporations such as Coca Cola and the phone making giant Nokia among others (Flannery, 2013).
Business analysis
Touch media business strategy is to provide a platform for advertising major products to generate revenue. This requires that it signs most of the taxicabs in the cities in China. The business strategy works considering the increasing number of taxi companies that are open to the service as a way of attracting customers to the taxi cabs. Customers are attracted to such value added services offered at no extra cost. This is as opposed to cabs that fail to enlist any form of value addition in their business.
Apart from airing advertisements, Touch Media also provides other information that is relevant to customers using taxi cabs in the major cities in China. For instance, it provides news flashes about events happening in the cities. It was reportedly working on a platform providing interactive social site related to Expos (Jiawei, 2009). Taxi customers benefit from Touch Media’s services because it provides them with real time information about major events in the cities. Chinese taxi companies require their drivers to have the Touch media screens in their vehicles as a way of attracting more customers to the business (Jiawei, 2009). The drivers of the various taxis incur costs related to deposits as well as those related to lower battery life. Touch media incurs costs of screen installation as well as screens insurance (Jiawei, 2009).
It is important for Touch media to continuously improve its service offerings to lure more taxis and corporations willing to advertise on its platform. Touch media can enhance its market survival through launching a management information system that incorporates other vital information into the touch screen. This system would integrate point of sale, entertainment, advertising and vehicle tracking and navigation services into a single device. The New York Yellow Cabs has incorporated the Mobile Knowledge Passenger Information Monitor (PIM) into their taxi cabs (PR Newswire, 2008). However, their version of the system does not include the very important advertising feature. The advertising feature would attract revenues from a wide array of companies in the city such as hotels, airlines and other luxury and leisure oriented businesses. Taxi companies would on the other hand pay for the services of the GPS navigation and tracking features, the point of sale and entertainment features that their customers would enjoy courtesy of Touch media.
Business problems facing the company
One of the main problems that the company faces is that taxi drivers in China are not welcoming to the idea of installing Touch Media screens in their vehicles (Jiawei, 2009). The major taxi companies in the cities have been compelling the drivers to incur extra costs in the form of deposits while installing the screens in their vehicles. To increase the effectiveness of the screens, Touch Media requires engaging in a more friendly partnership with the drivers of the taxi cabs. This is because when drivers or the custodians of the screens perceive no direct gain to their business they are unlikely to cooperate with the company. This way, the advertisers may label the company’s strategy as an unreliable advertising channel and this would lower sales for the company.

Another problem that the company faces is that the screens consume too much power forcing drivers to resent them the more. It is important to safeguard the interests of the drivers and their business since they are the custodians of the screens. Touch Media must recognize the fact that drivers are likely to shut them owing to fears of extra costs caused by the lowered battery life span. The company must identify a solution to the high power consumption to keep the drivers unbothered about the power consumption.
Another recent problem that the company faces includes the ban of installing touch screens in taxis. The roads authority in China has indicated that touch screens pose a risks to customers or passengers in the event of accidents. The authority indicated that Touch Media requires installing covers on the touch screens to minimize the risks of injury from the shattered Glasson the screen. Major taxi companies such as Dazhong Taxi and Blue Union Taxi Co. among others have been directed to decline renewing their contracts with the company (Yabin, 2013).
This is a major threat to the Company’s business and it requires that it engages its partners in innovation to design safer screens without compromising the quality of graphic presentation. With the introduction of the management information system on the safer platform, Touch Media would retain its business because Taxi companies need an integrated management system for monitoring sales, detecting areas in need of services and for entertaining their customers. These services form their competitive advantage against other taxi companies without any form of management information systems.
Another problem that Touch media faces stems from the fact that some taxicabs customers are disinterested in the advertising all together. This is counterproductive for taxi operators that have installed the screen. They lose customers on the basis that those customers find the advertising as bothersome (Jiawei, 2009). It is necessary that touch screen provides services that meet all the needs of the travellers. This can be realized through an integrated Mobile Knowledge Passenger Information Monitor (PIM) which incorporates all the necessary services that customers require when they are travelling.
Analysis using Porter’s competitive forces model
Touch Media has a relatively low threat of new players in the transport advertising field. This is because it holds monopoly in taxi advertising. Another reason why its platform has relatively low threat of new entrants is because its services are highly interactive as opposed to its competitors who focus mainly on traditional outdoor advertising.
Because Touch Media’s services have the widest coverage in taxi cabs, it buyers have low bargaining power. This works to the advantage of the company as it does not resort to revising its prices downwards (Wong, 2011). The services that the company offers are not available in most of the leading taxi cab businesses in the major cities in China. Companies opt to use Touch Media’s cabs platform to advertise to advertise owing to its large coverage which reaches many customers in the major cities.
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