Managing Information Technology

Chapter 12 • Planning Information Systems Resources 531

Can we use IT to help our customers increase their revenues?

— By providing proprietary market data to them?

— By supporting their access to their markets through our channels?

Competitors

Can we use IT to raise the entry barriers of new competitors into our markets?

— By redefining product features around IT components?

— By providing customer services through IT?

Can we use IT to differentiate our products/services?

— By highlighting existing differentiators?

— By creating new differentiators?

Can we use IT to make a preemptive move over our competition?

— By offering something new because we have proprietary data?

Can we use IT to provide substitutes?

— By simulating other products?

— By enhancing our existing products?

Can we use IT to match an existing competitor’s offerings?

— Are competitor products/services based on unique IT capabilities or technologies and

capabilities generally available?

FIGURE 12.9 Continued

PRIMARY

ACTIVITIES

SUPPORT

ACTIVITIES

Firm

Infrastructure

Human Resource

Management

Technology

Development

Procurement

Planning models

Automated personnel scheduling

Computer-aided design

Online procurement of parts

Electronic market

research

Inbound

Logistics Logistics

Marketing Service

and Sales

Operations Outbound

Automated

warehouse

Remote

servicing of

equipment

Computer

scheduling

and routing of

repair

trucks

Telemarketing

Laptops

for sales

representatives

Automated

order

processing

Flexible

manufacturing

Examples of IT

Application

FIGURE 12.10 Strategic IT Application Opportunities in the Value Chain