Implementing Innovation
It is prudent to ensure that any gap identified in your organization is bridged to avoid loss of competitive advantage. Ulta Beauty has been falling short in customer service and experience, especially when it comes to online services. E-commerce is taking over the beauty industry, and our analysis shows that even our competitors are yet to fully adopt online business (Ulta Beauty Reviews – 3.8 Stars, 2018). As such, it is recommendable that we establish an online platform that enables customers to view products, compare and order and pay online. The platform shall also allow them to enjoy promotions efficiently. It will combine search and navigation and is usable in all devices. The sole purpose for such a move will be to improve customer experience by creating a seamless shopping platform that reaches everybody wherever they. Of course, such a project goes hand in hand with a reliable delivery service.
Since the organization has had an online market experience, this will be an upgrade of the old system. However, to put this idea into practical shape, it is going to be developed in the form of an application that can be supported by various operating systems such as those from apple, android and windows. This way, it becomes a project that needs a project team to make sure everything works out well (Burke, 2013). The project will be beneficial to the company once completed because it will improve customer experience by supporting online sales and delivering a consistent consumer experience across more than 696 retail locations as well as mobile, web, guest services, and direct mail channels. The project will cost approximately $100 million. It is a strategic project that has to be looked at from a long-term perspective. However, it is promising because prospects are that online sales might grow by more than 10%. In essence, the project is expected to increase the company’s revenue besides improving customer service and experience.
The app is going to be developed with the help of oracle eCommerce. They are the best consultants in online business designs in the world today. The project has risks attached to it. For instance, it is not guaranteed that all our customers will buy the idea. Many people just find it hard to be satisfied even when you try to satisfy them. As such, the return on investment may not realign to the propositions. It is, however, a risk worth taking, especially now that our competitive position depends on it (Burke, 2013). The project can only be dropped if the prospected period of return is surpassed by six months, and the project does not seem to hit its break-even. The project calls for teamwork and collaboration since a customer care team will be required to respond to customer feedback. This team will work hand in hand with the delivery team and the inventory personnel. Oracle is going to be our mentor for the project. They always send someone on the ground to oversee this kind of operations whenever they are in a similar contract. Constant communication and sharing with the mentor are paramount because he is the consultant.
In conclusion, prior analysis identified customer service and experience in the eCommerce sector as a pain point in our organization. This project ideally mitigates this problem. However, sometimes people are resistant to change. I believe breaking down the numbers and majoring on the weight of the project as a long-term strategy is convincing enough to make someone buy the idea.