An IS-Perspective on Omni-channel Management: Development of a Conceptual Framework to Determine the Impacts of Touchpoint Digitalization on Retail Business Processes

The retail industry is continuously changing. Now, the digital transformation is yet again changing the way how retailers operate their business. After the introduction of different channel types, retailers now try to systematically manage these channels and thereby, blur the lines between those and the various customer touchpoints. This digitally-enabled channel management approach is called omni-channel management. One enabler of this approach is the digitalization of traditional customer touchpoints in brick & mortar stores. However, omni-channel management currently lacks an Information Systems (IS)-perspective and most publications mainly deal with technical or marketing aspects. Thus, the impacts and opportunities of the digitalization of specific customer touchpoints are not entirely clear, making it hard for retailers to prioritize their store innovation projects. Therefore, the overall goal of this research is the generation of a theory, which supports retailers with their decisions regarding the digitalization of customer touchpoints. In this article, a guiding conceptual framework is developed as a basis for the research design. This research design guides the ongoing research efforts to determine the impacts of customer touchpoint digitalization on retail business processes

Identifikation funktioneller genetischer Varianten in entzündlichen Darmerkrankungen durch Genom- und Transkriptomsequenzierung

Dissertation dealing with 1) the analysis of the whole genome and transcriptome of a family with a severe case with early onset of Crohn's Disease and 2) the development of an application for the genome-wide analysis of antisense transcription in Next-Generation-Sequencing.Dissertation, die sich mit der Analyse des gesamten Genoms und Transkriptoms einer Familie mit schwerem Fall und frühem Ausbruch von Morbus Crohn beschäftigt, so wie mit der Entwicklung einer Applikation zur genomweiten Analyse von Antisense-Transkription durch Next-Generation-Sequencing

Mastering Omni-Channel Retailing Challenges with Industry 4.0 Concepts

Omni-Channel Management is an important trend, which allows retailers to improve customer experiences. Notwithstanding, entirely seamless integration of all channels, for example, in terms of customer or pricing data or consistent product offerings, is still a challenging endeavor. Technological developments, such as Industry 4.0 (I4.0), lead to innovation opportunities in the production industry. As there are intersections between I4.0 and Omni-Channel retailing, we propose that prominent Omni-Channel retailing challenges can be overcome by integrating knowledge from both research domains. Therefore, the purpose of this article is to investigate, which I4.0 concepts are utilized in scientific literature to overcome challenges and how these concepts can be transferred to Omni-Channel Management. To make this knowledge tangible for retailers, this article deduces opportunities on the application of I4.0 concepts in Omni-Channel retailing. The results show that especially IoT networks offer numerous deployment options and even Cyber-Physical Systems and Smart Factories provide related potentials

Semantic Shopping: A Literature Study

The digitalization of the economy and society overall has a significant impact on customers’ shopping behavior. After being conditioned by experiences in entertainment or simple Internet search, customers increasingly expect that a smart shopping assistant understands his/her shopping intentions and transfers these to shopping recommendations. Thus, the emerging opportunity in this context is to facilitate an intention-based shopping experience similar to the way semantic search engines provide responses to enquiries. In order to progress this new area, we differentiate alternative types of shopping intentions to provide the first set of conversation patterns. Grounded in the Speech Act Theory and a structured literature review, semantic shopping is defined and different types of shopping intentions are deduced

Mirroring E-service for Brick and Mortar Retail: An Assessment and Survey

The digital transformation increasingly impacts the competitive retail market structure in favor of e-commerce and digital business models, while many Brick and Mortar (BaM) retailers are struggling to meet customers’ expectations. Supported by the customer adaption of e-commerce and digital technologies, this paper applies the lens of channel complementary theory to BaM. We examine, which e-service touchpoints from e-commerce can be transferred to the physical servicescape of BaM retail to complement customer journeys. Drawing from the dominant design theory, we first assess leading e-commerce solutions to identify dominant e-service touchpoints, which are then mirrored for their application in BaM retail. Second, we surveyed 250 shoppers to elicit the likeliness of use regarding these touchpoints. Our results provide a foundation for both academia and retail to advance the knowledge of relevant e-service touchpoints in BaM

Design of a Software Tool Supporting Orientation in the Context of Digital Transformation

The digital transformation is a continuous and complex but indispensable endeavor. Because practice and academia regularly develop new digital technologies, companies face difficulties in selecting appropriate technologies to innovate their business model. Step-by-step instructions may guide companies to identify, evaluate, and select potential digitalization ideas. Software tools can support these activities in a structured way. Thus, the research objective of this paper is to design a software tool supporting the orientation phase of a company's digital transformation. To reach this objective, we conduct an action design research approach in cooperation with three companies. As an evaluation step, a focus group discussion with practitioners and end-users is carried out. The final tool design comprises 18 design principles that serve as the basis for a set of visual mockups and a prototype implementation of the intended tool

Manananggal - a novel viewer for alternative splicing events

Background: Alternative splicing is an important cellular mechanism that can be analyzed by RNA sequencing. However, identification of splicing events in an automated fashion is error-prone. Thus, further validation is required to select reliable instances of alternative splicing events (ASEs). There are only few tools specifically designed for interactive inspection of ASEs and available visualization approaches can be significantly improved. Results: Here, we present Manananggal, an application specifically designed for the identification of splicing events in next generation sequencing data. Manananggal includes a web application for visual inspection and a command line tool that allows for ASE detection. We compare the sashimi plots available in the IGV Viewer, the DEXSeq splicing plots and SpliceSeq to the Manananggal interface and discuss the advantages and drawbacks of these tools. We show that sashimi plots (such as those used by the IGV Viewer and SpliceSeq) offer a practical solution for simple ASEs, but also indicate short-comings for highly complex genes. Conclusion: Manananggal is an interactive web application that offers functions specifically tailored to the identification of alternative splicing events that other tools are lacking. The ability to select a subset of isoforms allows an easier interpretation of complex alternative splicing events. In contrast to SpliceSeq and the DEXSeq splicing plot, Manananggal does not obscure the gene structure by showing full transcript models that makes it easier to determine which isoforms are expressed and which are not