New Computer Systems for a Nostalgia Record

¶ … New Computer Systems

For a Nostalgia Record Store

Nostalgic Record Store Information Systems Proposal and Plan

Strengths and Weaknesses of Recommended Information Systems

Comparing Record Store Computing Systems Cost and Benefits

Baby Boomers who are nostalgic for music from the 60s, 70s and 80s are a lucrative market for a record store. Many of these music fans are also big fans of the classic nostalgic music from the 1950s, which include many of the classic rock and roll pioneers including Elvis Presley, early Johnny Cash recordings, Richie Valens and Buddy Holly. The demand for music from these periods is very high given the tendency on the part of people in general and Baby Boomers specifically to prefer music from less complicated times.

What's very important to realize about these purchasers is they have a completely different series of information channels they go through to learn about music vs. how they buy. While the new store will be a physical storefront, many of those in the target market don't have the time to get down to the store. Due to their demanding schedules, many will buy online and have the music either shipped to them or potentially just download if an MP3 file is available for sale. With these market requirements in place, the defining of the five different systems that would best be used to automate the most critical processes in the new store can be chosen and designed.

Catalog Management & E-Commerce website system

Checkout or Selling System

General Ledger system

Inventory Merchandise Tracking System

SaaS-based Customer Relationship Management system

The strengths (benefits) and weaknesses (drawbacks) of these systems are discussed in the next section of this paper.

Strengths and Weaknesses of Recommended Information Systems

Beginning with the Catalog Management & E-Commerce website system, the advantages or strengths is the ability to automate the entire website incouding catalogs and pricing for all items online. There is also the advantage of creating online specials and getting customers to opt in for specials and to create profiles showing their specific interests in music. This system will help with search engine optimization (SEO) to make sure the store shows up in searches. The disadvantage's are that these systems can be expensive and often are hosted on servers at 3rd party companies incouding Yahoo or Google. This means it is difficult to recover data or if the system crashes, recreating it can take a lot of time. The second systems is the Checkout or Selling System which is the cash register tied back to the central system running the store. The advantages of using this type of system is that all transactions can be quickly captured and recorded directly into the accounting system. Another advantage is the ability to quickly update inventory and pricing for new products. The disadvantages are the cost and the need for having a small network running the TCP/IP protocol throughout the store to enable this system to integrate with the General Ledger system (Bagchi-Sen, Kuechler, 2000). The third systems General Ledger systems are indispensable in running any business, and for the development of an effective series of financial statements, this system is critical. The advantages are better control of finances than any other approach that is manually based, greater support for banking tasks, and more efficient use of existing cash on hand by knowing the exact status of accounts (Bagchi-Sen, Kuechler, 2000). The disadvantages of this type of system include the lack of visibility into the