Business Case Statement
Introduction
Groceries-To-Go is an online grocery pick-up service. Customers can go to our site
to order groceries, pay for it online, and schedule an exact time to pick up their
groceries - already bagged and ready to go. We would have partnerships with local
grocery chains that provide the freshest foods and produce.
Value Proposition
We believe people don't mind going to pick up groceries if they know they will be
bagged and ready to be picked up at a specific time. It is the actual shopping that
is the hassle. Many grocery stores these days are very huge and it can take some
time to gather all of the items you need as you go from one aisle to the next. Of
course, once you have all of your items in the cart, then you have to wait your
turn at the checkout lines. Our goal is to take the hassle out of grocery shopping
with an e-commerce solution that would make it easier for the consumer.
Our service would be beneficial for participating grocery stores as the appeal of
picking-up pre-ordered groceries could potentially draw more shoppers to their stores.
In addition, we know grocers like to track items and having customers make orders
online would give them a more easy and accessible means of tracking.
Business Model
We will operate as a business to consumer (B2C) company based on the Merchant model.
We provide a website with product information and an online ordering mechanism.
Users select the products they want to buy and place an order. Our profit is generated
off of each order in the form of a convenience fee charged for pulling ordered products
from the store and bagging them for pick-up.
Intended Consumers (Age group and
Segmentation)
As most individuals do grocery shopping, we could consider that the one possessing
a computer and an Internet connection could be potential customers. Narrowing down
our target audience, immediate prospects would be people also used to shop products
and/or services online.
Our target audience is mainly active professionals from
20-45 years of age, who do not have time to go grocery shopping. In fact,
our concept’s main competitive advantage is the convenience of not having to spend
time choosing products at the dozens of aisle in the supermarket or waiting in line
for the cashier. Contrary to Peapod, one of our main competitors, the client is
the one choosing what time fits best in his or her schedule to pick up the groceries.
Our secondary target would be occasional customers, who for any reason, would not
want to physically go to the store to shop. Depending on the location of each supermarket
for example, people would be able to pick up their groceries by foot or by car.
Type of Customer
Our main type of customer would be impulsive buyers. Indeed, these customers would
care less for the price of each item, but would shop in our website for the convenience
and practicability of not wasting time in the store. In order to attract these customers,
we should have an online marketing campaign, as these are people who are busy and
are used to surf the web. Plus, it would be vital to have posters and billboards
at strategic locations in town where this type of customer usually goes: for example,
ads in the L or billboards downtown close to main office buildings.
In this case our persona would be John Kenders. He is a very busy business analyst
working for a large corporation. John works an average of 60 hours a week and is
not willing to spend his short amount of free time after work grocery shopping.
This is why while having lunch or after a meeting, he surfs our website and buys
what he needs in only a few minutes. He chooses what time he will pick his groceries
up while driving back home.
Potentially, we could also have patient buyers, but they would not be our main type
of customer. Actually, they could become increasingly potential clients when our
business matures and we are able to offer really cheap deals thanks to a network
of several stores.
Plus, analytical buyers would like the possibility of searching and comparing our
service with other competitors, but are hard to become loyal to our service and
brand, as they are constantly influenced by performance reviews.
Type of Shopping Experiences
Our concept defends the convenience of shopping online with the suppression of having
to wait for home delivery. Our customers can achieve their shopping goals with minimum
investments in time and effort. Therefore, our shopping experience would be more
utilitarian than hedonic. Our website offers customers a way to buy what they want
efficiently and in less time possible. Certainly, our main target audience has specifically
planned purchases, as they exactly know what they want. But, this does not mean
that our website will not track their purchases to effectuate reminder purchases.
On the other hand, as most e-commerce websites always have a portion of emotional
buyers searching for a hedonic experience, they will tend to be a low percentage
for us, considering the nature of our products. (Who likes to spend hours surfing
the web to look for groceries?)
Factors Improving Conversion
We differentiate ourselves from giants like Amazon and Ebay, because we are specialized
in the selling of first utility products and produce. Plus, we do not have the same
business model as our main competitor: Peapod.
As we do not provide delivery, we do not need to invest in logistics (trucks for
example) and staff. This will make us less dependent on financial institutions and
will provide a potential for auto-investment. From the consumer point of view, one
has the option to choose what time to pick up the purchase excluding the delay factor:
you will not have to waste time waiting home. You will get your products immediately
when you arrive at the store.
Of course, we will provide a secure payment option on line, in partnership with
main companies like Paypal. A market survey is also needed with interviews and questionnaires
to fully understand our target audience needs and restrictions.
E-commerce Value Chain
Attract:
We will attract our customer with online marketing campaigns after studying which
websites our prospects visit the most. Billboards, flyers and posters close to downtown
main office buildings and supermarkets will be very effective.
Interact:
We will provide an online catalog in our website, which the client could be able
to search for products according to categories (same concept as Amazon’s architecture
and layout). Our website will be dynamic and provide information about promotions,
new items and stock.
Act:
Selected items will be added to a online shopping cart. Customers will be able to
purchase online securely, thanks a partnership with Paypal. Supermarket’s staff
would pick up the selected products at the aisles and put them in bags ready for
pick-up. These bags would be put in a safe location and will have an order number
with the customer’s name on it.
React:
Our database will send data and the purchase order to the store. The client can
print a receipt that will be sent to his or her email account. If not, the clients
can just show a picture ID or the order number upon pick-up.
Project Phases
Phase 1: Analysis
Ø
Research and review similar existing
Web Applications.
Ø
Functional and Non Functional Requirement
analysis and data gathering
Ø
System Specification Approval
Phase 2: Design
Ø
Interface design (paper prototyping
and wire-framing)
Ø
Database Design
Ø
Design Approval
Ø
Enter sample data in the database
Phase 3: Implementation and Testing
Ø
Database Implementation
Ø
Web Site Implementation
Ø
Usability testing
Ø
Web Site testing
Phase 4: Deployment and Maintenance
Ø
Launch Website
Ø
Review and improve from customer feedback.
Multi-Channel Strategies
The main purpose of the website is to save customers time. Instead of driving to
the store and doing the shopping the traditional way, customers can order online
and arrange a pick up time. We also intend to provide offline services to our customers
by calling them personally to notify any delays with their order or if the customer
doesn’t show up on time.
Once our business is fully operational and functional, we may expand the businesses
through other offline channels. One possibility would be to allow customers to order
over the phone instead of ordering online. This would allow us to target customers
of over 45 years of age who are not really familiar with internet technology.
Seven Essentials for a Healthy
Website
1.
Addressing availability and uptime:
It is vitally important to ensure that our web application is accessible 24/7 to
the users. Therefore, among various different web site monitoring tools available
in the market, we will be using CA Wily Application Performance Management tool.
2.
Coding Standard:
Our programmers will adhere to the coding standard established by the team.
a.
Blue Team Coding Standard:
·
Consistent Object Oriented design
and architecture
·
Use Code Repository for reusability
(CVS)
·
Store and Release Http Session objects
when finished.
·
Reusable utility method
3.
Stream line back end system:
The web site will provide detail order information through email once the order
is processed and finalized. Users will be able to track their orders online. In
case of delay, the customers will be notified either by phone or email.
4.
Cross Channel Governance:
Our development team will ensure that the web site is compatible to all major and
minor browsers. The team will also ensure that the web site is accessible through
mobile devices and it complies with standards such as W3C and Open Mobile Alliance.
5.
User Centered Design:
The web application will be developed using a waterfall methodology but will also
include some user centered design principals. To ensure the usability of the web
site, heuristic evaluation technique will be used.
6.
Behavior and Satisfaction Monitoring:
Being a new business, it is important for us to get the most accurate picture of
what’s happening in our site. Therefore, we will be using the Google Analytics tool
to analyze our customer behavior.
7.
User Preference Tracking and Customization
and personalization: In order
to provide quick and efficient service to our customers, the website will allow
users to view their previous order and order the same items again with a quick click
of a single button. It is also desirable to include “You may Like” section like
Amazon to show users similar products.
Contributors
Allan Sievert:
Concept and analysis; Documentation (Introduction, Value Proposition, and Business
Model)
Giancarlo Avolio Dos
Santos:
Documentation (Intended Consumers, Type of Customer, Type of Shopping Experiences,
Factors Improving Conversion, and E-Commerce Value Chain)
Sumit Mukhia:
Documentation (Project Phases, Multi-Channel Strategy, Intended Customers, Seven
Essentials for a Healthy Website)
Tim Knight:
Project Leader; Team Blue website