Solutions to the 5th Workshop:

Blockbuster's original 'old' process:

The Proposed solution - 'new' process for Blockbuster :

Solutions to the 4th Workshop:

The Youtube video which is brief, informative and interesitng is http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DXxCPgJ75QY&feature=related

Problems Encountered	Proposed ICT Application	Features
Too many middlemen for sale of goods	Website	Direct sales ot customers
Reduced order to delivery time	ERP across organisations	Online management  of purchase orders
Better Inventory Management	ERP within and across organisations	Continuous and true sharing of inventory  with the suppliers
Improved demand forecasting	ERP within and  across organisations	Continuous and true sharing of inventory  with the suppliers
Reduce manufacturing costs	ERP within and across organisation	A result of all the above
Too many middlemen for purchase of goods	e-procurement	Direct purchase from suppliers

Solutions to the 3rd Workshop:

In order to invest in our online TV business, we need to choose a strategy that will lead us to success.  Therefore by choosing the right-channeling strategy, will enable us in prioritizing different communication channels in order to achieve prosperity in the business. This approach involves tactics, which integrate different channels supported by technology to reach:

1.     The right people

2.     At the right time

3.     Using the right communication channel

4.     With a relevant offer, product or Message.

Following the above strategy our priority list is listed below:

1.     Direct subscription of individual (home based) customers

2.   Lock in suppliers (content producers) through an portal that offers rewards for latest releases (movies, TV programmes)

3.     Advertising in facebook® and through Google engine searches

4.     Pay per view in hotels

Right-channeling means it is selective adoption of e-channels by business for some products or markets in order to best generate value for the organization according to stakeholder preferences.

Solutions to the 2nd Workshop:

Our company intends to focus on the following category of customers:

·      Low income customers who are not subscribing to any movies rental service for economic reasons.

·      Geographical segmentation to target emerging economies like China, India etc.

·      New customer segmentation, to target customers who are on the fence.

The social factors to be considered in such a situation which are relevant are as under:

1.    Cost of access is an important aspect for low income customers and for customers based emerging economies. While the cost of computers can itself be a significant component, getting broadband is also a significant expenditure.

2.    Ease of use and fear of the unknown: New users of the net can be very tentative about their approach to the net. Approaching a person who is just starting to access the net to get on with streaming a movie could be very daunting.

3.    Identification and focus on the local content: Important for various markets that we intend to take our product to. 

4.    Value proposition: Customers need to perceive the value of this company, that is buying TV channels/movies online will relieve them in many ways. Two important aspects:

a.    the economical, by saving money on TV license and low prices for renting movies/series.

b.    the ease of staying home and enjoying the movie or episode whenever they want and for as long as they want it.

Solutions to the 1st Workshop:

The supply side and the sell side map of a company which is in the business of selling Movies and TV programs online attached herewith. It is an area of business which is characterized by intense completion and has huge scope for IT innovation. The major players who are presently fighting for major share are Lovefilm and Netflix.

The supply side is essentially concerned with the purchase and procurement of the relevant software which can then be sold or streamed online. The major sources for the software are the various movie and documentary production companies, TV companies who have the rights to such software, Individual manufacturers of such software and other similar companies. Given the present market scenario, our company has to have a a huge huge inventory of movies and TV programs if it has to be successful in the present competitive market. Also the company should have complete rights over the software so as to sell, rent or stream the acquired inventory.

The sell side has huge scope for innovation and IT application. Our company intends to  have the following revenue streams:

1.    Online streaming of movies on PC, laptop

2.    Online streaming of movies on normal TVs if the owner has a PS3, XBOX or a high end blue-ray player

3.    Online streaming on Smart TVs

4.    Online streaming on iPads

5.    Postal rentals of DVDs, Blue-ray discs

6.    Sale of DVDs, Blue-ray discs

7.    Streaming to hotels and then to the customers by the hotels

8.    Selling rights to TV networks like Sky, Virgin etc who also require movies and other tv programs for telecasting

9.  Selling rights to Telecom companies like Orange, Vodafone etc who may require small movies and other TV programs for telecasting

Thus the sell side gives a lot of options to the company to generate revenue. It may be mentioned that there are B2B, B2C & C2B business models that can be seen here.

The supply and sell side of our business.

Benefits:

·       Providing program of choice on demand

·       Multiple platforms on which the product is being made available

·       No major expenses other than buying the software rights

·       Scalability

 

Risks:

·      Intense competition with very big players

·      Internet dependent ( any problem to the net to adversely impact business)

·      Security issues, to ensure that the rights acquired are not infringed

·      Reputation risks (children watching/accessing inappropriate content)

Value Addition:

There is a significant value addition as the company is offering content to its clients using cutting edge technology and making it possible to access the content in ways difficult to imagine a few years back. Streaming a movie/TV program of choice on demand, on a device of choice, wirelessly or otherwise, is a significant value preposition to the customers. The company gains a significant competitive advantage as only a couple of companies are presently offering a similar product which would result in the formation of an oligopoly and hence it can be a price setter rather than being a price taker.  Also, the customers can be constantly approached with tailored offers as per their tastes and likings making their online interaction with the company interesting and fruitful.

Welcome to our Blog!!

Hello bloggers of MSc BIS 2011-2012 (Royal Holloway),

Welcome to our blog, we are The Incredibles!

This group is formed for educational reasons under the supervision of Dr Jose Cordoba-Panchon for the BI5691- The Network Organisation module.

In this blog we are going to upload every week our solutions to the workshop questions.

The Incredibles are formed by:

• Ravjit Arneja 

• Yile Ba 

• Elena Hadjiyiangou

• Ziyi Liang