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Customers' perceptions are a company's reality (McKenna, 1995) and for the Cafe being boring in an age of always-on Wi-Fi and continual innovation is a big threat. The Cafe must change with the times or face the threat of being seen as anachronistic. The second series of threats emanate from the lack of control the company has over its suppliers and inventory. If there were an unforeseen spike in demand or supplier prices, the Cafe would be hit hard financially. At least with an IT system they would be able to anticipate the costs and potentially mitigate the excess costs.
Recommendations
First, the Cafe needs to invest heavily in making the customer experience of this century. Investing in Wi-Fi (Brus, 2005) and excellent security online to protect customers using their connections (Potter, 2006). Second, going full speed ahead with social networking strategies including creating a Facebook Fans page and also creating Twitter accounts will serve to create a more effective customer conversation online and most likely attract new visitors as well (Bernoff, Li, 2008). The Cafe should find this transition easy to navigate as they have a high degree of trust from their customers.
Second, the most critical areas of the Cafe in terms of transactions and inventory management need major investment. Beginning with the development of a wireless distributed order management system that captures the customers' order electronically and instantly places it on the kitchen's planning grid of meals to produce is critical. A menu planning system is also critically important as well, so that meals that can be fulfilled only are shown to customers. Daily menu planning using these systems and a laser printer can drastically increase customer satisfaction because the Cafe will only offer for sale what they can produce.
Third, the Cafe needs a supplier replenishment and supply chain management system badly. At this point, in 2010, there are suppliers for cafes...
By having a real-time supplier replenishment and supply chain management system, the Cafe will be able to avert stock-outs and stay more consistent with each menu item over time (Ritchie, 1990).
Fourth, there is no centralized accounting system. All other systems need to be integrated into this one so that the Cafe knows at any point in tem w3hat their financial condition is, and what the implications are of augmenting their menu or service. This system will also tell them if there are sales increases from putting a Wi-Fi system into the Cafe or not. Measuring sales and profit performance will help the Cafe stay focused on the faster pace customers are setting.
References
Bernoff, J., & Li, C.. (2008). Harnessing the Power of the Oh-So-Social Web. MIT Sloan Management Review, 49(3), 36-42.
Brian Brus. (2005, December 26). Wi-Fi connects businesses to more customers. Daily Record and the Kansas City Daily News-Press, p. 1.
Mary Boltz Chapman (2008, October). Over the COUNTER. Chain Leader, 13(10), 2.
Astrid Dickinger, Mirella Kleijnen. (2008). Coupons going wireless: Determinants of consumer intentions to redeem mobile coupons. Journal of Interactive Marketing, 22(3), 23.
Competitors PC BANG - PC Bang is a Korean Internet cafe with 21460 outlets across Korea. Kinko's - Kinko's is a copy centre chain with 1100 stores across the United States and overseas. Office Max - Office Max is a retail chain which also has a major online presence. Office Max offers a full range of business services. Staples - Staples is a retail chain providing office supplies and services. It also has
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