The Internet as a consumer tool has been one of the biggest causes of changes to consumer behavior in recent years. People are much more willing to make purchases online, pay bills and track the performance of their financial accounts. The Internet has acted as an effective tool for meeting the needs of customers in the 21st century as it provides people with rapid access to information and “promotes accelerated dissemination” (Miles, 2004 in Fagerberg et al, p. 16).
The service industry is highly dependent upon innovation in order for firms to meet the demanding needs of their customers and thus remain competitive within the marketplace within which they operate. Payments related services have both delivered a new channel for banking services and have enabled online shopping channels for many major retailers and Internet shops.
However, whilst the internet has provided a innovative vehicle by which companies can reach their customers, it has brought with it additional complexities and, as customers have become increasingly demanding, it has necessitated rapid changes in order to keep abreast of what customers actually want. Meeting customer needs and demands is always a primary focus of any organization.
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These needs are constantly changing and keeping abreast of what customers want is highly challenging. Companies need to be flexible and need to be able to adapt their internal processes and operations to meet customer’s changing demands. They also need to be able to customize their offerings to suit the customer’s specifications.
A prime example of this is online shopping. Initially the Internet served as a method through which customers could learn about a company or the products they sold. In more recent years however it has developed to the stage where now a customer can not only browse online but can make purchases and can often specify what products they want in which combination, where they would like them delivered and the times at which they can accept these deliveries.
One of the ways in which companies have met the needs such rapid changes in demands and needs have caused is through Accelerated Knowledge Management (AKM).
Accelerated Knowledge Management (AKM) is concerned with the application of Knowledge Management within the Theory of Constraints (TOC).
The combination of these two business concepts creates a system whereby knowledge can be utilized to highlight and assess the business processes that require attention in a proactive manner, “Accelerated knowledge that flows through the enterprise will create a more responsive and intelligently acting organization. Businesses may organize more around knowledge and business processes than around facilities and products” (Birchfield, 2002, p.14).
Accelerated Knowledge Management is especially applicable within the service industry, within applications such as online banking and internet shopping, as these are highly interactive and information dependent offerings that require a high level of integration of operational systems and processes within a business (Kalakota and Robinson, 2000, p. 34). Accelerated Knowledge Management assists companies to meet these requirements through providing a framework for the management of the processes within their organization in such a way that their value offering is able to meet the specific needs of every customer.
Works Cited:
Birchfield, 2002, Advanced Process Control, Optimization and Information Technology in the Hydrocarbon Processing Industries—The Past, Present and Future. Retrieved October 28, 2008 from <http://www.aspentech.com/publication_files/Advanced_Process_Control.pdf>
The Business plan on Management Software Business Sage Ufsoft
... business process reengineering by applying new technology.4. 1 Sage Group Plc. -- More complex and flexible customer business. ... be the leading supplier of business management software solutions and related products and ... order to stimulate the industry accelerating growth. Particularly, the software companies, ... > Global EDGE, (2003) Global Business Knowledge on line.Available from: web > Johnson, ...
Kalakota, R. and M. Robinson, 2000. E-Business: Roadmap for Success. New York: Addison-Wesley Longman.
Miles, Ian (2004).
“Innovation in Services”, in Fagerberg, Jan, David C. Mowery and Richard R. Nelson: The Oxford Handbook of Innovations. Oxford University Press.
