FlashMobz is a mobile phone and accessories retailer based in England, owned by Asif. The business started with a single shop, which Asif has grown into a chain of eleven. The first four shops were opened from scratch but in July 2014 Asif bought ‘PhonesRUs’ a group of three outlets, which he intends to operate under the FlashMobz brand. The recent acquisition is a significant expansion in the operation of the business, not least because two of the new outlets are in Belgium. Asif is hoping that this will help him to gain a foothold in the European market. As a result of the expansion Asif has identified a need to open a new warehouse in the East of England, and he has decided that this would be an excellent opportunity to launch an eCommerce arm to the business, capitalising on the success of the FlashMobz brand, but with a relatively small additional overhead. FlashMobz and PhonesRUs have different IT systems, and in addition to integrating the two parts of the business there is the need to add ‘b2c’ eCommerce functionality. Asif would like this to be fully integrated with the retail stores, allowing customers to collect and return stock via the stores, as well as via courier. Your Task You are a member of the SBS Consultant Team employed by FlashMobz. You are required to write a professional report which deals with the issues outlined above and presents your analysis and recommendations. • Identify key business and technical challenges of FlashMobz acquisition of PhonesRUs and transition to eCommerce. • Consider barriers to implementation and how these might be overcome. • Build an inclusive and persuasive argument that can be presented to Asif.
