Report details: StarTel: A Case Study
StarTelis a mobile phone and accessories retailer based in Scotland, owned by Sharith. The business started with a single shop, which Sharith has grown into a chain of five. The first three shops were opened from scratch but in June 2016 Sharith bought 'MobBitz' a pair of similar outlets, which she intends to operate under the StarTel brand. The recent acquisition is a significant expansion in the operation of the business, not least because two of the new outlets are in Norway. Sharith is hoping that this will help her to gain a foothold in the European Free Trade Area market. As a result of the expansion Sharith has identified a need to open a new warehouse in the North-East of England, and she has decided that this would be an excellent opportunity to launch an eCommerce arm to the business, capitalising on the success of the StarTel brand, but with a relatively small additional overhead.
StarTeland MobBitz have different IT systems, and in addition to integrating the two parts of the business there is the need to add 'b2c' eCommerce functionality. Sharith would like this to be fully integrated with the retail stores, allowing customers to collect and return stock via the stores, as well as via courier.
Your Task
You are a member of the SBS Consultant Team employed by StarTel. You are required to write a professional report which deals with the issues outlined above and presents your analysis and recommendations.
- Identify key business and technical challenges of StarTel acquisition of MobBitz and transition to eCommerce.
- Consider barriers to implementation and how these might be overcome.
- Build an inclusive and persuasive argument that can be presented toSharith.