The scenic and sightseeing transportation industry is witnessing a paradigm shift, with technology playing a pivotal role in shaping consumer behavior and expectations. Digital platforms are now essential for customer engagement, booking, and service customization, setting new standards for industry practices.

Analyzing the competitive landscape reveals several key insights:

• Internal Rivalry: The industry sees moderate to high internal rivalry, with a mix of established players and new, agile entrants competing on digital offerings and customer experience.
• Supplier Power: Limited, as the main resources are the scenic locations themselves and the vessels, which are owned by the operators.
• Buyer Power: Increasing, as customers have more options and information, enabling them to demand higher quality services and personalization.
• Threat of New Entrants: High, especially from digital-first companies that can offer innovative and flexible experiences with lower overheads.
• Threat of Substitutes: Moderate, with alternative tourism and entertainment options vying for the same discretionary spending.

Emerging trends indicate a shift towards experiential travel, digital integration for personalized experiences, and sustainability. Changes in the industry dynamics include:

• Increased preference for customizable and immersive experiences, offering opportunities to create differentiated, high-value offerings but also requiring significant investments in technology and content.
• Adoption of digital platforms for booking and customer engagement, necessitating upgrades to IT infrastructure and capabilities.
• Heightened focus on sustainable practices, presenting both a challenge to adapt operations and an opportunity to appeal to environmentally conscious consumers.

The organization has a strong brand and loyal customer base, underpinned by its unique cruise experiences and deep knowledge of the Caribbean. However, it struggles with digital adoption, operational inefficiencies, and an organizational culture resistant to change.

SWOT Analysis

Strengths include a well-established brand and exclusive access to certain scenic routes. Opportunities lie in leveraging technology to enhance customer experience and operational efficiency. Weaknesses are evident in the company's digital infrastructure and resistance to change. Threats include the entry of new, agile competitors and changing consumer expectations.

VRIO Analysis

The company's brand and unique scenic routes are valuable and rare, offering a competitive advantage. However, its digital capabilities are neither rare nor costly to imitate, indicating a need for significant improvement in this area to sustain competitive advantage.

Distinctive Capabilities Analysis

Success in the scenic cruise market requires excellence in customer experience, operational efficiency, and innovation. The company's strong brand and unique offerings are key assets, but it must develop capabilities in digital innovation and customer engagement to maintain its market position.

Considering the insights gathered from the External Analysis and Internal Assessment, the management has decided to pursue the following strategic initiatives over the next 24 months :

• Digital Platform Development: Launch a comprehensive digital booking and engagement platform to offer customizable cruise experiences, aiming to enhance customer satisfaction and operational efficiency. This initiative will create value by improving the customer journey and streamlining internal processes. It requires investment in technology infrastructure and digital marketing capabilities.
• Customer Experience Innovation: Implement new onboard and offboard customer engagement programs, utilizing digital tools to create personalized experiences. The intended impact is to increase customer loyalty and attract new segments. Value creation stems from leveraging data analytics for personalized offerings, necessitating investments in data analytics tools and staff training.
• Sustainability Integration: Develop and implement a sustainability program, focusing on reducing environmental impact and promoting eco-friendly practices. This initiative aims to align the company with emerging consumer values around sustainability, potentially increasing brand loyalty and market differentiation. Resource requirements include sustainability consulting, operational changes, and marketing to communicate efforts.

Business Process Management Implementation KPIs

KPIS are crucial throughout the implementation process. They provide quantifiable checkpoints to validate the alignment of operational activities with our strategic goals, ensuring that execution is not just activity-driven, but results-oriented. Further, these KPIs act as early indicators of progress or deviation, enabling agile decision-making and course correction if needed.

• Customer Satisfaction Score: Essential for measuring the impact of digital transformation and customer experience initiatives on overall satisfaction.
• Digital Platform Adoption Rate: Tracks the effectiveness of the new digital booking and engagement platform in attracting and retaining users.
• Sustainability Program Impact: Measures the success of sustainability efforts in reducing environmental impact and enhancing brand perception.

These KPIs offer insights into the effectiveness of strategic initiatives, enabling timely adjustments and demonstrating progress to stakeholders. Monitoring these metrics closely will ensure the strategic plan remains on track and delivers the intended outcomes.

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Business Process Management Deliverables

• Digital Transformation Roadmap (PPT)
• Customer Experience Enhancement Plan (PPT)
• Sustainability Program Framework (PPT)
• Implementation Timeline and Milestones (Excel)

The strategic initiative to develop a digital platform was significantly bolstered by the application of the Blue Ocean Strategy and the Technology Acceptance Model (TAM). The Blue Ocean Strategy, a framework for creating uncontested market space and making the competition irrelevant, was instrumental in guiding the organization towards innovative digital offerings that differentiated it from competitors. The organization embarked on this path by:

• Conducting a thorough analysis of the scenic cruise market to identify overserved and underserved customer needs, focusing on digital engagement and booking processes.
• Developing a value innovation initiative that combined an easy-to-use booking system with unique, customizable cruise experiences, thereby creating a "blue ocean" of new market space.

Simultaneously, TAM was utilized to ensure the digital platform met user expectations for usefulness and ease of use. This was achieved through:

• Gathering data on perceived usefulness and ease of use from potential users via prototypes and beta versions of the digital platform.
• Iteratively refining the platform based on feedback to maximize adoption rates upon launch.

The successful deployment of these frameworks enabled the organization to launch a digital platform that was not only innovative and differentiated but also highly accepted by users. Customer bookings through the digital platform increased significantly, demonstrating the effectiveness of combining Blue Ocean Strategy with the Technology Acceptance Model to create and successfully introduce a market-leading digital service.

For the strategic initiative focused on customer experience innovation, the organization implemented the Service-Dominant Logic (SDL) framework and the Customer Journey Mapping technique. SDL, which emphasizes the co-creation of value with customers, was pivotal in shifting the organization's approach towards a more customer-centric model. Following SDL principles, the company:

• Engaged directly with customers through digital channels to understand their needs and preferences in real-time, fostering a co-creation environment for service innovation.
• Transformed its service offerings by integrating customer feedback into the customization of cruise experiences, thereby enhancing perceived value.

Customer Journey Mapping was employed to visualize and understand the end-to-end customer experience. This process involved:

• Identifying all the touchpoints customers have with the organization, from initial awareness through post-cruise engagement.
• Analyzing these touchpoints to identify opportunities for improvement and innovation in service delivery.

The application of SDL and Customer Journey Mapping led to a profound transformation in how the organization approached customer engagement and service delivery. The initiative resulted in a notable increase in customer satisfaction scores and repeat bookings, validating the effectiveness of these frameworks in driving customer experience innovation.

The strategic initiative for sustainability integration was advanced through the application of the Triple Bottom Line (TBL) framework and the Stakeholder Theory. The TBL framework, which considers environmental, social, and economic impact, guided the organization in developing a comprehensive sustainability program. The organization proceeded by:

• Assessing its operations and supply chain to identify areas with significant environmental impact, setting measurable goals for improvement.
• Implementing eco-friendly practices and technologies, and measuring their impact on the organization's environmental, social, and economic performance.

Stakeholder Theory was crucial for understanding and balancing the diverse interests of all parties affected by the organization's operations. This understanding was achieved by:

• Mapping key stakeholders, including customers, employees, local communities, and suppliers, and identifying their specific interests and concerns related to sustainability.
• Engaging with these stakeholders through forums and surveys to gather input on sustainability initiatives and incorporate their feedback into the program's design and implementation.

Implementing the TBL framework and Stakeholder Theory enabled the organization to launch a sustainability program that not only reduced its environmental footprint but also strengthened its relationships with customers, employees, and the community. The program contributed to an enhanced corporate image and increased customer loyalty, demonstrating the value of these frameworks in guiding successful sustainability integration.