Service_Request_Sr-Kf-013_Paper

Service Request Paper 1 Service Request SR-kf-013 University of Phoenix Service Request Paper 2 Service Request SR-kf-013 Kudler Fine Foods is an upper scale gourmet-based grocery store that opened its doors in 1998. The company currently consists of three retail stores, approx. 16,000 sq. ft. each in size, located in upper scale fashionable shopping centers. Kudler is interested in keeping pace with the modern technology and wants to offer its customers the latest in perks, while at the same time gather information about its customers and their shopping habits to help determine areas of future growth with respect to store offerings. Kudler Fine Foods is interested in developing a Frequent Shopper Program. This would be a dual purpose program. For the company, it would put in place a program to track customer purchases, which could be used in many ways. For the customer this program would award loyalty points for shopping at Kudler which the customer can save up for redemption. These loyalty points maybe redeemed for higher end gift items, or other products or services made available through partnerships with other external companies. On the surface this appears to be a win-win situation for all involved. The company believes that through tracking purchase habits of its customers that it can follow trends and offer new items that will be welcomed by its current customers. Price is not a crucial component as to why a customer chooses Kudler. Finding specialized items and higher quality gourmet items is a priority to Kudler customers. Using the data collected by offering the Frequent Shopper Program will help Kudler see customer purchase behavior patterns and will help Kudler understand these patterns and Service Request Paper 3 trends. Suppliers to Kudler can assist in following trends, and using their own supplier data, help suggest new items for Kudler to carry, based on customer trends. “Go-with” items can be marketed near other items bought together, to get “a sale from a sale”. Email advertisements can be sent to customers, aimed at their unique shopping habits. Kudler Finer Foods must understand that with any data collection comes added responsibilities. Kudler must put the security of its customer’s information at the forefront. To hold the information of thousands of customers, including name, address, credit card info, Driver License numbers, spending trends and Email addresses is a great undertaking. Some companies who have this same type of program have been known to sell certain types of information. While the temptation is there to do this there are legal and ethical issues to consider. One is respect for the customer. Kudler Finer Foods has a special, above average customer. The company should not want to jeopardize its relationship with any of its customers. This information should be for internal use only, and access to this information should be limited to a select few. The upfront costs of implementing such a program should also be taken into consideration. While much of the needed software is already in place, the costs of the software upgrades to add the Frequent Shopper Card to the scan system, the new files to be created, etc. has to be considered. There would also be the cost of training the employees how to use and understand the new system as well as brochures for the customers. Service Request Paper 4 After this program is put in place, I would suggest a 6 month follow up. I would like to see a report of just how many customers have signed up for the Frequent Shopper Program, and for those shoppers who have I would like to see if their spending habits have increased. I would also like to see a report on new items brought into the store for retail sale and if those items have done well or not. I would also like to see the cost involved in the awards given out to the customers. The Kudler Fine Foods Frequent Shopper Program is a great undertaking for both the company and its customers. I believe that this new concept will benefit all involved. The company must, though, put security measures and check points in place so that this program can run smoothly.