Chocolate Companies Love IT

Information technology is a powerful company asset. When optimally implemented, IT can help companies fulfill their goals and live up to their mission statements. For a class assignment, I was asked to select two familiar companies and see how those companies can utilize IT to help reach corporate objectives. Being a self-proclaimed chocolate connoisseur, I chose to investigate two well-known candy companies, Hershey's and Cadbury. We all know about their delicious chocolates and candies, but you may be unfamiliar with Hershey's and Cadbury's business practices. So, here's a little more information about two of my favorite brands.

HERSHEY'S
Mission Statement: Bringing sweet moments of Hershey happiness to the world every day. To our shareholders, this means:

• Consumers – Delivering quality consumer-driven confectionery experiences for all occasions
• Employees – Winning with an aligned and empowered organization … while having fun
• Business Partners – Building collaborative relationships for profitable growth with our customers, suppliers and partners
• Shareholders – Creating sustainable value
• Communities – Honoring our heritage through continued commitment to making a positive difference

Corporate Philosophy: In seeking to balance our desire for profitable growth with the obligations which we have to various other constituencies, we shall strive to:

1. Protect and enhance the corporation's high level of ethics and conduct
2. Maintain a strong "people" orientation and demonstrate care for every employee
3. Attract and hold customers and consumers with products and services of consistently superior quality and value
4. Sustain a strong results orientation coupled with a prudent approach to business

CADBURY
Mission Statement: As Cadbury plc, our purpose is to work together to create confectionery brands people love. Our governing objective remains to deliver superior shareowner returns through achieving our vision of being the biggest and best confectionery group in the world.

Our Strategy: We believe that the business still has significant untapped potential – both in terms of top line growth and returns. By exploiting the strength of our leadership positions to continue to grow our market share and significantly increase our margins and returns, we aim to achieve our vision of becoming the biggest and best confectionery company in the world.

Our Vision into Action (VIA) plan for 2008 to 2011 aligns the energies and efforts of our teams around the world behind a number of priorities which will make the most impact on our revenue and margin performance.

In order to generate superior returns for our shareowners, our VIA will deliver six financial targets. These are set out in our financial performance scorecard below:

• Organic revenue growth of 4% - 6% every year
• Total confectionery share gain
• Mid-teens trading margins by 2011
• Strong dividend growth
• An efficient balance sheet
• Growth in Return on Invested Capital (ROIC)

To achieve these financial goals, we have a growth and efficiency strategy which aligns behind our focus on fewer, faster, bigger and better. This focus is being applied to all aspects of our business.

HOW IT SUPPORTS BUSINESS ACTIVITIES
Virtually every function of business can benefit from IT. Operational, managerial, and strategic activities all impact a firm's performance and play a role in reaching goals. Information systems support all of these business activities, thus enabling companies to achieve objectives.

Operational Activities: Operational activities deal with the day-to-day operations of an organization, which makes them short-term by nature. Such activities can include processing orders and recording employee labor hours. Transaction processing systems (TPSs), management information systems (MISs), and mobile systems typically support operational activities. A company's mission statement and goals shape its behavior in the business environment. Business operations must carried out so that the firm's mission is upheld and corporate goals are achieved.

Managerial Activities: Managerial or tactical activities are concerned the middle-management activities of short-term planning, organizing, and control. Several types of information systems are available which help managers perform their duties and make sound business decisions. In order to reach company goals, managers must use all of the information available to them to make good decisions. MISs and business intelligence (BI) can provide managers with relevant data.

Strategic Activities: Strategic activities or decisions have the power to significantly change the manner in which business is conducted. These activities help to formulate both short- and long-term plans. IT impacts strategic response activities by supporting or providing the response to a competitor's action or changes in the business environment. IT can also help a company become an initiator of change.

Additionally, the missions and goals of both companies can be better achieved by utilizing several specific types of information technology. With a customer-centric attitude, Hershey's and Cadbury can strengthen their relationship with customers and improve satisfaction through business intelligence and automated decision support (ADS) systems. A strong IT infrastructure which allows for quick and easy communication among all employees and business partners is necessary. Communication and collaboration systems allow employees, partners, and customers to interact and work together more efficiently. Management information systems (MISs) and knowledge management (KM) systems aid managers with making business decisions. Transaction processing systems (TPSs) and inventory management systems can generate usable data and boost efficiency. At the manufacturing level, IT systems can support quality standards and streamline production.