Kiosk Technology paper Research Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Kiosk Technology - Research Paper Example Kiosk point-of-sale systems provide 24 x 7 availability to the customers where they can make transactions in an easy, user-friendly manner (Silicon Landmark, n.d.). The ease, with which transactions can be made, provides an important element towards an organization's ability to attract customers; as the customers look for user-friendly and always available systems that can take care of their needs. Kiosk promises to be the technological advancement that can take care of this need. In addition, kiosks provide customers with product information and interactive features that improves the overall image of the company in customers' minds. Kiosks are available in various types and for various purposes. Ranging from a simple cash register to a complex and integrated ATM (Automated Teller Machine), kiosks are believed to improve customer relationships, reduce headcounts for manual/ traditional operations, to take benefit of technology boom, to achieve accuracy and efficiency in operations and to improve customers' perception about the company by providing various marketing and product/ services information on the kiosk terminals. However, as yet no study has been conducted to verify the above claims of kiosk vendors. Whitech Solution (n.d.) has explained the process through which the customers are relieved from standing in the queue for getting a product or service; rather they can use the self service feature that is provided by the kiosk system at POS sites to reduce the response time that is otherwise on a higher side in traditional systems. The kiosk software communicates directly with organization's database systems from where it fetches information to the customer at the kiosk site. 1.2 Implementing a Kiosk at POS A company needs to adopt an organized approach for implementing a kiosk system at its POS sites. This strategic IT decision should be taken after careful analysis of costs and the perceived expected benefits of the implementation. The site, technology, type of kiosk to implement the hardware and software requirements, the vendors and strategic partners for the implementation are needed to be identified well before the actual implementation gets underway. As with any strategic IT implementation, the Return On Investment (ROI) must be calculated for this decision as well. However, since a number of qualitative factors are involved in this scenario, it is relatively a bit difficult to do a quantitative analysis to determine the degree of effectiveness and efficiency that a kiosk will provide to the business. This inherent limitation requires the organization to apply a focused effort to carefully examine and evaluate different criteria that it believes will have an impact on the overall implementation. 1.3 Managing the Change Although it is believed that kiosks add value to the business, yet the implementation needs to be monitored and supervised. The importance of using the right technology for the business can not be undermined; however, Mitra (2007) has pointed out the importance of employees' and customers' support towards introduction of new technology.

A Bear Workshop Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

A Bear Workshop - Essay Example The management structure has knowledgeable and dedicated staff that provide ample knowledge exchanges in an interactive environment with customers. This is a fundamental strength of a business to be able to provide better customer relationship management and provide them with exactly what customers are looking for. Clearly, the owner understands the importance of cost monitoring when it comes to purchasing and production and will likely continue these trends over the next five to ten years. Having a strategic-focused management system is the key to ensuring a proper expansion. If the business conducts regular market research using focus groups or interviews with target customers, it will likely find more success in identifying social and buying trends early in order to gain market share in the toy market. Further, growth in Internet usage in developing countries such as India, China and Pakistan will provide even more customers in an environment that is convenient. Through agreements with different distribution agencies, Build A Bear will probably be able to find low-cost distribution to ensure that many international customers are able to buy the products and have them delivered in a timely fashion. If the business remains focused on product rather than pricing, higher resource (financial) consumers will likely recognize the brand and have a loyalty that can be built up over the next five years.