Structured Process & Scope ( Ulta Beauty)

As mentioned in the textbook, a structured business process is formally defined as standardized processes that involve day-to-day operations, such as how the company gains customer satisfaction and higher profitability. These processes are typically standardized across the organization, allowing for efficiency, consistency, and control. Structured business processes often involve clear roles and responsibilities, as well as well-defined input, output, and metrics for success. 

For this example, we will focus on the point of sales (POS) process at Ulta Beauty, as it is one of the core structured processes that employees frequently interact with in their daily operations. 

The point of sales (POS) process involves all activities related to processing transactions with customers. This includes: 

• Customer Identification: Capturing customer information, whether through loyalty programs or during the checkout process. 

• Product Scanning: Scanning products that customers are purchasing, ensuring the correct items are added to the transaction. 

• Payment Processing: Accepting and processing different forms of payment (credit card, cash, gift card, etc.). 

• Receipt Generation: Providing customers with a receipt that includes the purchased items, prices, taxes, and any discounts. 

• Sales Recording: Updating the sales records in the system for inventory management and financial reporting. 

Social Capital Consideration:

Social capital is defined as organizational affiliations and experiences that provide access to desirable social networks. It represents organizational connections and experiences that enable access to beneficial social networks and play a crucial part in augmenting customer relationships during POS processes. Through loyalty programs and personalized service coupled with ongoing employee-customer interactions, Ulta Beauty builds customer relationships that extend past single transactions. Structured processes become more effective when affiliations develop a network of loyal customers who keep returning and engaged employees who stay committed through increased trust and brand loyalty.

Flow Chart

Point Of Sales process & issues 

Ulta Beauty's POS system has strengths, such as integrating tools like Walk Me's Digital Adoption Platform to streamline employee training, improve efficiency, and offer omnichannel capabilities like mobile gift card transactions and online order placement at registers. However, there are notable issues, including the system's complexity, user interface challenges, and the need for additional training. The POS can be slow, sometimes freezing during transactions, and requires manager authorization for many actions, which locks both the pin pad and PC. The system also limits card options to two before requiring an alternative payment method. Additionally, Ulta struggles to balance security with customer experience, as anti-theft measures can create friction at the point of sale. Despite these challenges, Ulta is improving its technology infrastructure to enhance employee support and the customer experience. 

The information system that supports this process is the POS system. POS stands for point of sale. This system helps support the transactions and helps take payment. The POS system also could help record the inventory the store has. The five components of this IS system would be the hardware, which would include the physical components like the cash register, card reader, printer for receipts, etc. The second component would be the software. The software would most likely be a cloud-based system where it holds information about sales, transactions, inventory, etc. The third component would be data. This would include all data like customers reward points, employee sales and credit card signups, inventory, and customer purchase trends. The fourth component would be the people. The employees are needed to operate the POS so that the customers can purchase items and need people to fix and update the register when needed. The fifth component would be the network. One Ulta location could connect to another by seeing their inventory. The stores are all connected through the internet and shared cloud.  

Inter-Enterprise Information System

An inter-enterprise is a system that multiple companies or organizations have access to when they are working together to share information. Ulta does have one. It is needed to share information with companies that are their suppliers. It is used so both sides can see what's the purchasing trends of certain products are and the demand for them. It is also needed for when people are getting their packages shipped. Not only does Ulta let you know when your package is delivered so does the shipping company who has delivered it.