Chapter 1: The Internet of Things

outbound logistics

distributes goods and services to customers

marketing and sales

promotes, prices, and sells products to customers

Neiman Marcus/Macys

Example of broad market and high cost firm

WalMart

Example of broad market and low cost firm

Tiffany & Co

Example of narrow market and high cost firm

Payless Shoes

Example of narrow market and low cost firm

competitive intelligence

The process of gathering information about the competitive environment to improve the company's ability to succeed

Buyer power, Supplier power, Threats of new entrants, Threats of substitute products or services, Rivalry among competitors

What are Porter's five forces?

broad differentiation, broad cost leadership, and focused strategy

What are the three generic business strategies?

narrow market and high cost firm (Tiff & Co)

Which of the generic strategies does Apple fit under?

competitive advantage

a feature of a product or service on which customers place a greater value than they do on similar offerings from competitors.

business strategy

a leadership plan that achieves a specific set of goals or objectives

business process

a standardized set of activities that accomplish a specific task, such as processing a customer's order.

The Internet of Things (IoT)

a world where interconnected, Internet-enabled devices or "things" can collect and share data without human intervention.

primary value activities

acquire raw materials and manufacture, deliver, market, sell, and provide afternoon sales services

inbound logistics

acquires raw materials and resources and distributes to manufacturing as required

technology development

applies MIS to processes to add value

Porter's three generic strategies

are generic business strategies that are neither organization nor industry specific and can be applied to any business, product, or service.

supply chain

consists of all parties involved, directly or indirectly, in obtaining raw materials or a product.

switching costs

costs that make customers reluctant to switch to another product or service

SWOT analysis

evaluates an organization's strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats to identify significant influences that work for or against business strategies.

support value activities

include infrastructure, HRM, tech development, and procurement

firm infrastructure

includes the company format or departmental structures, environment, and systems

management information systems (MIS)

is a business function, like accounting and HR, which moves information about people, products, and processes across the company to facilitate decision making and problem solving

entry barrier

is a feature of a product or service that customers have come to expect, and entering competitors must offer the same for survival

threat of new entrants

is high when it is easy for new competitors to enter a market and low when there are significant entry barriers to joining a market

Threat of substitute products or services

is high when there are many alternatives to a product or service and low when there are few alternatives from which to choose.

Supplier power

is the supplier's ability to influence the prices they charge for supplies (including materials, labor, and services).

first mover advantage

occurs when a company can significantly increase its market share by being first with a new competitive advantage.

product differentiation

occurs when a company develops unique differences in its products or services with the intent to influence demand.

service

provides customer support after the sale of goods and services

human resource management

provides employee training, hiring, and compensation

procurement

purchases inputs such as raw materials, resources, equipment, and supplies

machine to machine (M2M)

refers to devices that connect directly to other devices.

loyalty programs

reward customers based on their spending

Buyer power

the ability of buyers to affect the price they must pay for an item.

operations

transforms raw materials or inputs into goods and services

value chain analysis

views a firm a series of business processes, each of which adds value to the product or service

information age

when infinite quantities of facts are widely available to anyone who can use a computer.