Page 130 - Using MIS

98 Chapter 3 Strategy and Information Systems

Figure 3-16
ABC, Inc., Web Page to Specify
Email Notification

a similar system. Further, the generation of email messages when ABC picks up and delivers a
package could be considered to be a new service.
Because this information system captures and stores data about recipients, it reduces the
amount of customer work when scheduling a shipment. Customers will be locked in by this
system: If a customer wants to change to a different shipper, he or she will need to rekey recipi-
ent data for that new shipper. The disadvantage of rekeying data may well outweigh any advan-
tage of switching to another shipper.
This system achieves a competitive advantage in two other ways as well. First, it raises the
barriers to market entry. If another company wants to develop a shipping service, it will not only
have to be able to ship packages, but it will also need to have a similar information system. In

Figure 3-17
ABC, Inc., Web Page to Print
a Shipping Label