NANDO'S AND E-BUSINESS

Nando's and E-Business

Nando's and E-Business

Introduction

A new landscape for conducting e-business has arisen with the proliferation of technologies that facilitate e-business, such as information communication technologies (ICT) (any communication device or application encompassing radio, television, cellular phones, satellite systems, etc.); enterprise resource planning (ERP) (any software system designed to support and automates the business processes of medium and large businesses); electronic data interchange (EDI) (an information system or process integrating all manufacturing and related applications for an entire enterprise; and manufacturing resource planning (MRP) (a system for effectively managing material requirements in a manufacturing process) (Harris, 2003, pp. 511).

Agility, flexibility, speed, and change are the conditions for developing e-business models. In addition, by using information and telecommunication systems, companies are able to communicate with their global customers where barriers such as time zones, currencies, languages, and legal systems are reduced or eliminated.

As a result, global customers can be reached anywhere and at anytime. Services and products can be obtained whenever, wherever, and by whomever. The digital economy is blazing a new path for doing business where the notion of “value through people” becomes the driving force for a successful model of e-business.

In addition, online sales easily penetrate global markets. Some companies treat Web customers as a new type of audience—so united in their use of the Internet that national differences no longer apply. Other companies, such as IBM, Microsoft, and Xerox, have developed local versions of their websites. These versions run off regional servers, address technical issues (such as the need to display different character sets), and provide information about local services and products. Occasionally they reflect aesthetic differences—such as cultural biases for or against certain colors—but few companies actively consider cultural variations that might enhance the delivery of their products.

With the advent of the World Wide Web, business is increasingly becoming an online environment. Traditional brick-and-mortar businesses have evolved into “click-and-mortar” businesses. Additionally, the Internet has changed from a communications tool used mostly by scientists to a business tool used by companies to reach millions of customers across the globe. As a result, the Internet has become a powerful business resource because its technology enables firms to conduct business globally (Berranger, 2003, pp. 177).

Introduction to the Organization - Nando's

Founded in 1987 in Johannesburg, Nando's is a casual dinning restaurant known for its unique Portuguese and Mozambique style cuisine. The restaurant gets its name from its founder Fernando, who is the son of a Portuguese national living in South Africa. Nando's specialises in chicken dishes including its famous peri-peri chicken. Currently Nando's operates in 26 countries including: USA, UK, Australia, UAE, and Singapore, just to name a few. The company's entrance into the UK market began in 1992 with its first franchise opening in Ealing.

UK franchises are owned and operated by the Capricorn Ventures International group. As of August 2009 there was a total of 214 Nando's restaurant located throughout the UK. The company also operates online web stores in Australia, the UK and the ...