- Published: September 11, 2022
- Updated: September 11, 2022
- University / College: University of Washington
- Level: Undergraduate
- Language: English
- Downloads: 7
William Sonoma Case Study William Sonoma Inc. has its operations in the United s and Canada and is a premium retailer company that manufactures and supplies home furnishings to its customers (The Home We’ve Built). In the recent times, the importance of e-commerce has been realized by certain authorities of the company and this study reflects the resistances encountered by the people who supported e-commerce and whether they could succeed in their endeavor overcoming several barriers.
William Sonoma towards E-commerce:
William Sonoma has been found to be in search for IT professionals (Infoworld, 90) reflecting the importance that the company has felt for IT technology. However, as the case reflects the thoughts of Connolly, the executive vice president of the company, had to face challenges when he realized the importance of e-commerce being a major part of the company’s operations. In spite of the resistances, he kept his focus on the implementation of effective e-commerce facilities and was ultimately successful in creating an internet team with intensions to bring all the products of the company online to their customers. This implies the growing understanding of the uses of the internet facilities that Connolly and was determined to incorporate in the business (“ E-commerce at Williams-Sonoma”).
Michel Dunn too accepted the challenges in the context of building up the operational plans for the acceptance and implementation of the internet system implying the efforts undertaken towards integrating the different functional areas into coordination with the internet system. Participation was required by all the members that were focused by Connolly and Dunn. Thus, several websites addressing the needs of the customers started being initiated by the company that gradually took a significant position in the company’s management system (“ E-commerce at Williams-Sonoma”). E-commerce is not only useful in online buying and selling but it also provides access to larger markets globally with lesser expenses and reaching out to large target market in much lesser time as well (Rainer & Cegielski, 206).
The company has successfully recognized the internet as being one of the most effective means of communication in the present world (Tapscott, 4). Nandkeolyar, the Vice President of the e-commerce, taking initiatives in the company’s incorporation of the internet technology has reflected further challenges on the part of the technology on which the entire processes of e-business had to be dependent. The design needed to be focused on the products that the company delivered to its customers. Thus the incorporation of the internet system within the company through different projects reflected both advantages and difficulties that were positively handled by Nandkeolykar, or Dunn or Connolly and successfully implemented the organized systems of e-commerce (“ E-commerce at Williams-Sonoma”).
Conclusion:
The case has clearly reflected that the company has realized the importance of the internet technology in its use in the e-commerce for its business. This has thus initiated several positive measures towards effective implementation of the e-commerce. Although this had initially cropped up several hindrances on the part of the management yet initiatives did successfully made it possible to start internet teams and gradually with success the company now is also in search of professionals in IT for improvement in its measures reflecting the company’s further intensions on employing e-commerce in their business practices.
Reference
1) “ E-commerce at Williams-Sonoma”, Harvard Business School, October 25, 2000
2) “ Infoworld”, Infoworld Media Group, (1999) 21. 38, 1-97, September 24, 2011 from: http://books. google. co. in/books? id= rk4EAAAAMBAJ&printsec= frontcover&source= gbs_ge_summary_r&cad= 0#v= onepage&q&f= false
3) Rainer, R. Kelly & Casey G. Cegielski. Introduction to Information Systems: Enabling and Transforming Business, Connecticut: John Wiley and Sons, 2009
4) Tapscott, Don. Rethinking in a Netw, GoogleUserContent, September 24, 2011 from: https://mail-attachment. googleusercontent. com/attachment? ui= 2&ik= 39a24c03e2&view= att&th= 1329c442474b97f7&attid= 0. 3&disp= inline&realattid= f_gsyt9fs52&safe= 1&zw&saduie= AG9B_P-kwC3P51cXeBxzUv3YfpXB&sadet= 1316882007870&sads= ZnAv9wQbtGF_MBrTqbBba3RTDYQ
5) “ The Home We’ve Built”, Williams-sonomainc, September 24, 2011 from: http://www. williams-sonomainc. com/company-overview