Evolution of an Enterprise Information System Toward Omni-Channel Retailing: A Case Study

This case study covers the evolution of an enterprise information system at a sportswear firm. Over time, the sportswear industry has moved from a single channel to multiple channels and is now progressing toward an omni-channel system for better serving their customers. This required a corresponding evolution in the firm’s information technology (IT) systems. But changes in an IT system do not work in isolation. To get the most from their new IT platform, the firm discovered the need to redesign their organizational structure, redefine IT’s role, and do strategic workforce planning. The paper describes, under fictitious names, how the firm negotiated these challenges as it moved towards a new IT platform that would enable omni-channel offering to its customers.