GG Freightways (GGFRT) IT Strategic Plan: Part 2 (Essay Sample)

GG Freightways (GGFRT) IT Strategic Plan: Part 2
Student Name
University
Course
Professor Name
Date
GG Freightways (GGFRT) IT Strategic Plan: Part 2
IT Strategies
This table contains information on IT strategies that will support GGFRT’s long-term goals. It also explains how the proposed I strategies align with the compay’s business strategic objectives.
IT Strategy (state the IT Strategy)

State the Business Strategic Objective from the ITSP #1 assignment, then Explain the Alignment of the IT Strategy in the first column to the stated Business Strategic Objective

Internal/Business-Enabling

Example: do not use but leave it in the table when completing this section.
Meet compliance requirements by updating current technology or developing/acquiring new technology to meet those mandates

* Business Strategic Objective (BSO): Meet FMSCA reporting requirements for driving hours by the company's drivers
* Explanation of the Alignment of the IT Strategy to the Business Strategic Objective: By acquiring or developing technology that will capture and store driver hours electronically, the company will comply with FMSCA regulations and provide this information upon request.

Internal

1. Acquire an application that can track freight to improve the timely delivery of shipment.

BSO: Track freight whereabouts to provide customers with accurate delivery dates and times.
Explanation:
Unforeseen setbacks can result in operational inefficiencies. However, freight-tracking software can improve a company's forecasting accuracy, allowing the company to anticipate delays (Bartholdi & Hackman, 2019). With accurate forecasting, GGFRT can prevent unexpected delays and provide customers with precise delivery dates and times.

Business enabling

2. Acquire real-time load tracking software to improve the percentage of loaded miles.

BSO: Reduce costs by improving the percent of loaded miles.
Explanation: The software will generate accurate information of shipment location, regardless of carrier/truck. Upon delivery, the software will alert the company on which truck and shipment have been delivered. This way, the company can tell how much space is available on the truck and send it to pick a similar shipment within the same geographic zone. This coordination will improve the percentage of loaded miles; hence, reducing operational costs.

Business enabling

3. Develop a warehouse management system (WMS) to improve the warehousing services of the company.

BSO: Provide warehousing services to clients whose customers are within the company's terminal localities.
Explanation: A typical WMS can induct newly arrived products inside the warehouse (Bartholdi & Hackman, 2019). Because the WMS orchestrates the flow of information, GGFRT can use it to ensure customers' orders are picked, packed, and shipped quickly. The system can also automatically generate notifications for customers that need to pick their shipment from the warehouse immediately after the products are signed into the system.

Business enabling

4. Update the current technology to meet the regulatory requirements for driver hours.

Business Strategic Objective: Capture drivers' hours to meet the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) reporting requirements.
Explanation: The technology will allow the company to capture each driver's ID, work shifts, and the number of hours worked per shift. This way, the company can meet FMCSA driver hour requirements.

Internal

IT Portfolio Roadmap
The following table contains information on the projects undertaken by different functional areas of GGFRT. The bars represent an estimate of the time taken for each project to be developed and implemented. The black bars represent the existing projects already in progress, while the maroon bars are proposed projects.
Projects by
Functional Area

Qtr. 1

Qtr. 2

Qtr. 3

Qtr. 4

Qtr. 5

Qtr. 6

Finance
Precise Financial Reporting System
243522569215 Management Reporting System

-24130188595






Marketing
Mobile Marketing App

102870-12700






IT Department
Develop a Transport Management System (TMS) for tracking freight to improve time delivery and provide customers with accurate delivery times and dates.
Acquire Kinaxis software as the company's supply chain management system

1022354229103898901217295






Proposed Project
Proposed Project: To acquire Kinaxis software as the company's supply chain management system.
Kinaxis uses artificial intelligence to forecast the performance of future promotional events. With the forecasting data, the sales team can plan on which promotional events or product/service introductions need to be shared on the company’s Mobile Marketing App. They can also use the software to automate promotions with best performance (based on software predictions) to maximize sales (Kinaxis, n.d.). The demand-sensing capability of the software will cut down marketing costs. The software also capabilities of generating consolidated financial statements; hence, it can be used as a the single data source for Precise Financial Reporting System and Management Reporting System.
The software also has a transportation load optimizer (TLO), a feature that can help the company improve its transportation loading practices (Kinaxis, n.d.). The TLO enables companies to optimize order quantities per truck, improving the efficient truck loading efficiency. The TLO improves loading efficiency by creating a real-time visualization of trucks within a given geographic area (Kinaxis, n.d.). The company then uses the visualization data to "prepone" or postpone shipments until all orders in the area are consolidated. This approach ensures that trucks operate under their maximum load capacity, reducing transportation costs and enhancing operational efficiencies. Therefore, the software will help the company meet its BSO of reducing costs by improving the percent of loaded miles.
Risk Management
Risk 1: Unreasonable Project Schedules
(1): The project manager can erroneously estimate the project timeframe, resulting in unreasonable schedules or timeframes.
(2): A project that fails to meet its estimated timeframe will require more resources; thus, it can be terminated for operating over the assigned budget.
(3): The CIO can manage this risk through proper time and cost planning to establish a reasonable baseline (Talet, 2014).
Risk 2: Personnel Shortfall
(1): The successful completion of the project depends on staff skills, competence, and experiences. Given that the IT personnel are already working on ongoing projects, they may be reluctant to work on additional projects due to heavy workloads.
(2): Insufficient staff can lead to poor-quality work, lack of motivation/morale due to burnout, and inability to complete the project on time (Talet, 2014).
(3): Outsource non-value activities and procure external players for deliverables outside staff capability.
Risk 3: Economic Circumstances
(1): As indicated by the CFO, the IT costs need to be reduced, implying that the department will be operating on a tight budget.
(2): Inadequate funding may lead to sub-standard or shoddy work. If the company develops/acquires software that creates value that exceeds what the organization is prepared to absorb, the software may be prematurely terminated (Talet, 2014).
(3): Through consultation with key stakeholders, the CIO should identify and make appropriate tradeoffs between scope and time.
Risk 4: Lack of Executive Support
(1): The corporate culture may be unsupportive of additional IT projects/developments due to adversities between agents and factions.
(2): Political motivations can cause funds to be pulled out of the project due to conflicts. For example, sponsors may refuse to support the program if they perceive the top-level management does not support the project (Talet, 2014).
(3): Effective stakeholder management, including stakeholder consultation before decision-making, to build positive relationships and achieve political influence.
Business Continuity Planning
This section highlights the general steps the company could implement during the development of a business continuity plan (BCP) Adapted from (Punla, 2017):
* Perform a business impact analysis to identify the time-sensitive and core business functions and the company resources that support them.
* Identify and document strategies or plan to recover the critical business functions and operations.
* Develop a business continuity team that will manage disruptions.