Frequent Shopper Program Essay

The objective of this project request is to track purchases of individual customer’s. The customer purchases will be tracked and accumulated as loyalty points for redemption by the customer for gift items, specialty foods and other products or services as made available through partnerships with other external companies. The strategic purpose of the Frequent Shopper Program is described on the Sales & Marketing page of the Kudler Fine Foods Intranet site. Purpose: Kudlers’s new initiative is tracking purchase behavior at the individual customer level and providing high value incentives through a partnership with a loyalty points program. The customer purchase behavior patterns will help Kudler refine its processes and offerings to best satisfy their values customers. Price is not the primary differentiating factor for Kudler consumers; these consumers are focused on quality and finding specialized items. Therefore, rather than providing everyday discounts to the customers for their purchase frequency like lower end markets, Kudler has partnered with a loyalty points program to provide customers with points which can be redeemed for high end gift items, airline first-class upgrades, or other specialty foods. Technology Infrastructure and Architecture The following sections of this document will provide an overview of the hardware, network, software, databases, and security requirements for the frequent shopper program. These requirements are suggestive Hardware Platform: Kudler Fine Foods currently has an elaborate network of hardware that may be used to implement the frequent shopper program. Client-Side hardware: 1. Each store uses NCR RealPOS 82XRT terminals linked to the network through a POS server. (These terminals will be used during purchasing to initiate data collection including customer ID and purchase history data for the FSP)   2.  The nineteen (at present count) corporate management and other admin personnel all utilize Dell Vostro computers running Windows 7 OS. These administration personnel also share 3 HP networked printers. (In relation to the FSP, these computers will be used by management to query and analyze customer purchase history for business service refinement. ) Server-Side Hardware: 1. POS Servers- are used to process orders from the POS terminals and connect to the Kudler network for database file storage 2. HP Blade Server system- c3000 system, Unix OS, SAP Retail SW, Print/File, Communications, Email, Storage, Web. These Servers will be used to store data regarding individual customer purchase history and queried for business analysis as well as loyalty points addition and redemption. ) Network Platform: 1. Each of the three Kudler Stores has a Local Area Network which connects together Via T3 Dedicated high speed lines. 2. Each store’s LAN is connected via 100 base T Ethernet. The communications into and out of the stores is ported through 2 Cisco routers and firewalls. 3. Each Local Area Network is also connected to the internet via 25Mbps high speed business internet connections. 4. Network Diagrams (Shown Below) Software Development Tools: 1. The Frequent Shopper Program is an additional service that will be implemented in conjunction with the existing Information Technology System used throughout Kudler Fine Foods. Because of the complexity and functionality of the existing system, it is recommended that the use of AGILE development methodologies be used to develop the FSP system and merge the application into the existing system. 2. Visual Studio 2012- This Integrated Development Environment will be used to develop the application modules and user interfaces for the FSP development. 3. The code will be implemented in the C# language. (used for module development) b. ASP. NET & MVC – used to develop dynamic, interactive web based application for customers to access, monitor, and redeem loyalty points Databases: 1- Customer Table – The Customer Table contains demographic data for each of Kudler’s customers. The data in this table is used to access the name and address of customers for order processing and for special mailings for anniversaries and/or birth dates, etc. – Order Table – The Order Table is used to record information pertinent to each Order placed with a given store. Each order will have one or more entries in the Order Line Table associated with it. 3- Order Line Table – The Order Line table contains detail on items appearing on an order. One or more Order Lines are associated with each order and each Order Line references an item being purchased with its description, quantity, price, etc. 4- Item Table – The Item Table stores information pertaining to products that may appear on an order. It describes goods that can be purchased from a Store. The current database tables can be re-used and combined to create the FSPoints Table The FSPoints table (Frequent Shopper Points table), will include the Customer ID and all correlating information, Item purchase history, and Item Points Value. The sum of all points’ values will be expressed and added to the Customer’s redeemable points at the end of each FSP period. User Interfaces: Describe the interface for data collection and notification to store personnel and customers. 1. The initial User Interface will remain the same at the point of sale(POS). Additional software will be added to initialize the FSP on applicable transaction.  Software modules will be initialized as needed that will collect the CustomerID as well as the individual items purchased. 2. Web Applications: Through the use of the aforementioned tools including ASP. NET and MVC, an interactive web application will be available to registered customers, and personnel to access, review, and redeem loyalty points. There will be an exclusive page created for the Frequent Shopper Program. Controls: System accuracy checks will be in place to verify unique CustomerID’s at the POS terminals. Every customer that participates in the Frequent Shopper Program will have a unique customerID. Each transaction will begin by entering this identifier which when verified for accuracy will begin collecting item purchase data. Each item is scanned at the POS, and compared to its corresponding FSPoints table to add loyalty points to the Customers FSPoint record. If the CustomerID or any items purchased to not register in the verification processing system, an exception will be returned to notify the customer and cashier at the time of purchase. Each transaction will close with a printed receipt listing the order line information, as well as the points accumulated at that transaction. A points total may be requested via the internet based Frequent Shopper Program Web application on the Kudler Fine Foods website. Security: The necessary security mechanisms need to be in place when storing and moving most data entities, especially Customer personal information. Hashing and encryption techniques will be used when sensitive data is stored in all data stores, and secure data transfer protocols (e. g. , SSL, HTTPS, and WS-Security) will be used when data is Personal Information will be secured through the use of data encryption methods and secure networking protocols when data is transmitted over the network.