Service Request Sr-Kf-013

Running head: SERVICE REQUEST SR-KF-013 Service Request SR-kf-013 for Kudler Fine Foods University of Phoenix Online Business Systems BSA 310 Manuel Torres, MSc September 14, 2009 Introduction Kudler Fine Foods put forth a service request for the development of its Frequent Shopper Program. According to Apollo (2004), this program will track purchases of individuals to accumulate loyalty points for redemption by the customer. The loyalty points will be redeemable for gift items, specialty foods and other products or services.The behavior patterns of customer purchases will directly help Kudler Fine Foods to produce sales events. The following paragraph will focus on the newly proposed electronic commerce website. After laying out the aspects of electronic commerce, the issue of legality will be brought forth. Once the legal aspects of the frequent shopper program are understood, ethics can be brought to the table. Security considerations will be proposed with a financial analysis to justify expenditures with the development of the frequent shopper program.Finally, weigh the benefits and liabilities for the proposed frequent shopper program. Electronic Commerce Aspects Kudler Fine Foods has proposed creating an electronic sales database of all their products that can be linked to a website. In return this will allow customers to purchase any of his or her items online and have them shipped to his or her homes. With the creation of this electronic commerce, loyalty points can be added to online purchases as well as physical purchases. The loyalty points can also be redeemed for gift items and specialty foods on the website.Before a customer can purchase products online they must register their name, e-mail address, mailing address and credit card information. After providing the proper information they will be prompted to create a user name and password for future use. When an account is set up for a customer, bonus loyalty points could be given as an incentive t o register with Kudler Fine Foods. All customer information will be stored in a database at the La Jolla main office. A link on the website can be connected to partnerships and external companies for a further variety of rewards.A search utility will be available to help customers find specific items quickly. Kudler Fine Foods electronic commerce website will have a shopping cart function which will take a customer to a check out page which allows the customer to use his or her loyalty points towards the total cost of their purchases. Legal The legal aspects of creating an electronic commerce website are minimal. The minor legalities needed for the website benefits Kudler Fine Foods because According to Apollo (2003), Anne Shousha is Kathy Kudler’s sister-in-law and her only legal counsel.Anne Shousha is a successful tax attorney and only charges Kathy $100 an hour for formal meetings and nothing for telephone calls. Copyright laws and customer rights are the only parts of la w that Anne Shousha will have to investigate to insure legal protection of Kudler Fine Foods. Ethics To the average person purchasing items online and having them delivered to his or her home is convenient. When businesses force customers to give up private information for statistical reasons so that they can buy from them online, their ethics are in question. Some companies require phone numbers even though they are not needed for any reason.In today’s world, people expect to have to create an account with a company when he or she purchases items online. Not every person realizes that all his or her information gets traded with other companies. Kudler Fine Foods should take under consideration the privacy of their customers by limiting the information needed for purchases and never trading customer information with another company. Security Considerations Realizing that customers have to give up private information such as addresses and credit card numbers to make a purchase ; Kudler Fine Foods must onsider high security in their budget. A good portion of the $5,000 in the budget section of Apollo (2003), Kudler Fine Foods has set aside for the design and development of their website should go towards an encrypted server. The encrypted server will secure a connection to their website so that a hacker cannot view a customer’s information. By encrypting the server a tiny lock icon will show up in the address bar of a customer’s browser which makes the customer feel safer when purchasing from Kudler Fine Foods website. ConclusionKudler Fine Foods has a well thought out plan to create an electronic commerce that customers can earn loyalty points and redeem them by purchasing items online. This website should definitely increase sales and profits for Kudler Fine Foods. They must pay close attention to the design of the website so that it will appeal to customers. Kudler Fine Foods must give attention to the legal and ethical aspects of taking c ustomers information. Finally, they must also make sure that they take into consideration the gains and losses from giving loyalty points out to customers. References Apollo Group, Inc. 2004). Kudler Fine Foods. Marketing Overview. Retrieved September 13, 2009. BSA/310 –Business Systems. https://ecampus. phoenix. edu/secure/aapd/cist/vop/Business/Kudler/Sales/KudlerSM001. htm Apollo Group, Inc. (2003). Kudler Fine Foods. Budgets. Retrieved September 13, 2009. BSA/310 –Business Systems. https://ecampus. phoenix. edu/secure/aapd/cist/vop/Business/Kudler/Finance/KudlerBudget001. htm Apollo Group, Inc. (2003). Kudler Fine Foods. Legal Overview. Retrieved September 13, 2009. BSA/310 –Business Systems. https://ecampus. phoenix. edu/secure/aapd/cist/vop/Business/Kudler/Admin/KudlerAdmin002. htm