Patterns: Implementing Self-Service in an SOA Environment

230 Patterns: Implementing Self-Service in an SOA Environment

8.1 ITSOMart overview

ITSOMart is a well established grocery chain that has been operating for the past

40 years. The target customers are the high income group. ITSOMart focuses on

higher margin, luxury, and speciality products. It has 1000 stores nation-wide.

The business is currently geared toward two distinct customer types:

򐂰 Business customers

򐂰 Home residential customers

In the future, they would like to have additional lines of business, starting with

Institutional service.

Product types, quantities, marketing strategy, and delivery services differ

depending on the customer type. Although there is one common warehouse, the

company has created two divisions to handle these customer types. Each

division has its own account database with information specific to the customer.

8.1.1 Business goals

Market research has shown that there is a growing demand in the high income

group for full-service, online home shopping. ITSOMart wants to capitalize on

this demand by taking their store services and delivery online.

ITSOMart wants to put the Customer Management and Order systems online

and make them accessible over the Web. In the process, they want to use, rather

than replace, their significant investment in the existing CRM. They would also

prefer to use a third-party credit rating service rather than implementing their

own.

They anticipate doing this in several phases, starting with the online customer

registration capability.

8.2 Customer registration scenario

The first step ITSOMart wants to take in making their services online is to allow

customers to register online. They would prefer for potential customers to access

the ITSOMart Web site and to register by entering data that can be used to

contact the customer and to get an initial credit rating for them. The data will be

stored in an existing system and an account number will be assigned.