Implementation of Business Information Systems in an Existing Business - A Case Study

The Little Trodgers Holiday Park (hereafter known as LTHP) is located in Bakewell, a small Derbyshire Village. The core competencies of LTHP are to provide camping and caravanning pitches, alongside its static holiday homes. The owners also have an opportunity to diversify products by entering into the market of offering Scandinavian style log cabins. There are a number of key issues that will be analyzed within this article, all of which aim to allow the Rhodes – the owners of LTHP – to ascertain how they can implement a business information system (BIS) using strategic processes to give them the competitive edge that the business needs to remain successful.

The first item we'll look at is the SWOT Analysis, which focuses on the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats of Little Trodgers Holiday Park.

Strengths

The case study that we will be analyzing has a number of strengths which currently act as the foundation of the company.

• First, we know that the company is well established, located in the peak district of Derbyshire, which is the very first and main strength of the company. The Rhodes offer a range of caravans and motor homes, which are likely to attract more customers as there is a wide range provided and not all holidays parks offer this.

• LTHP is owned and managed by the same people. Therefore, not many conflicts arise as to how the park should be managed. Also, the Rhodes are able to view how they can use their turnover and decide what to use it on without having a third person telling them how to manage their park and turnovers.

• The caravans are replaced when they become 10 years old. Their caravans are also cleaned daily, therefore leading to less customer dissatisfaction. The holiday park is open all year round, unlike many other parks, so they have an increased turnover. However, we will look at the negative implications of this in the weaknesses section.

• The Little Trodgers Holiday Park also has a small shop in which they can increase profits, as they buy cheap products from Costco, which is a wholesaler. The products are bought cheaply and sold for a higher price, so the Rhodes are receiving the profit.

• A games room has been made for the younger generation and for families that visit with younger children. Various booking offers have been placed, such as different tent pitch offers, in order to attract customers in the slow season. During the peak season, booking can be as high as 90%, which is good news for the business.

• The company currently has a PC which they can use to handle the basic requirements of the business.

• FInally, the business has been granted permission in order to expand their business by building Scandinavian Style log cabins to improve their annual outcome. We will discuss this in the opportunities section of the SWOT analysis.

Weaknesses

We will now discuss weaknesses of the business. Some of the strengths of business also have a negative impact which we will also discuss.

• First, the business is managed and owned by the same person, which is a huge responsibility and may cause a lot of stress for the Rhodes.

• A very big disadvantage for the company is that it does not have a business website. Therefore, they are unable to communicate with their customers and advertise their business on the Internet. The company already has access to broadband, so they would easily be able to access a website if one existed. The company could use this means to also view their booking system and notify customers of any important notices. They can use this booking system instead of doing bookings over the phone, which is not a safe way of giving personal details since this may also include bank details.

• The peak season for the business is when children have school holidays. The possible cause of this may be because the business has many attractions for children and does not really focus on the older generation, which may a possible disadvantage. LTHP is open all year around, but is not generating profit all year round. This is a major weakness which the Rhodes need to consider. Suggestions linked with this weakness are made in the opportunities section.

Read on to the next page where we finish the SWOT Analysis by looking at opportunites and threats. We'll then move on to looking at the PESTLE Analysis for Little Trodgers Holiday Park.