Information Technology Reference
In-Depth Information
Information Systems in the Global Economy
Web Portal and Online Collaboration Shrink Distances
The Internet has enabled thousands of businesses to extend their reach beyond borders to
become global competitors. For a global business to succeed, all of its offices and personnel
spread around the world must stay in sync. This is typically accomplished by being in close
communications with headquarters. The Internet and Web allow employees separated by
thousands of miles to operate as though they were seated across the table from each other.
Automobile manufacturer Lamborghini, with headquarters in Sant'Agata Bolognese, Italy,
recently discovered the benefits of employing the latest technologies to shrink the dis-
tances between its more than 100 dealerships scattered around the world.
The famous manufacturer of elite sports and racing cars had anything but elite com-
munications between dealerships and headquarters. Until recently, Lamborghini dealers
relied on telephone, e-mail, and snail mail to order new cars and spare parts and to learn
about the latest marketing programs and business procedures. The multiple forms of in-
efficient communications were difficult to manage at headquarters and allowed important
tasks to fall through the cracks. Executives at the company realized that their problems
could be remedied by more efficient use of Internet and Web technologies.
Lamborghini decided to create a Web portal—a custom-designed Web page that would
provide dealerships with direct access to corporate databases and information systems
over the Internet, resources that were previously only accessible by employees at head-
quarters. Secured by password authentication and encryption, dealers could log on to the
Web portal to check inventory, place orders for cars and parts, read daily announcements,
and access procedural instructions. The new portal dramatically cuts down on paperwork
and manual processing of orders at headquarters. The portal has also reduced errors by
eliminating the two-stage system that used to require headquarters staff to interpret and
enter order data into the system.
Lamborghini executives were so impressed by the savings and improvements offered
by the new Web portal that they looked for ways to further enhance the system. Observing
the benefits of online social networks and Web 2.0 technologies, Lamborghini looked for
ways to implement these technologies into its own Web portal system. They added social
features that allowed dealers and personnel to post announcements and requests that
others fielded on the network. For example, if a dealership needed a part for a vintage car
that Lamborghini no longer manufactures, this system could find someone within the
network that had the part. Lamborghini also added a chat utility and file sharing features
to allow dealers around the world to collaborate on promotions and sales tactics.
Ultimately, Lamborghini created an intranet—a secure private network accessible over
the Internet—so that dealers could have expanded access to the information systems and
data stored on servers at headquarters. Using this system, the Lamborghini dealer in
Orange County, California, could access the same information, systems, databases, and
services as the vice president of sales in Sant'Agata Bolognese, Italy. The dealer could also
develop relationships with the other hundred dealers around the world for more effective
business practices.
Finally, Lamborghini developed a state-of-the-art Web site that provides an experience
more like a top-rate motion picture or video game than an automobile Web site. The site
uses the latest technologies to thoroughly impress visitors and reflect the high quality of
the corporation and its products.
