BUSINESS PROJECT:

Becoming a data-driven organization - Digital process transformation at BIPA

To succeed in today’s highly competitive global economy, organizations must embrace insight-driven decision-making. By incorporating data analytics and appropriate technological advances, organizations that use up-to-date, granular data in their internal processes are able to quickly anticipate and enforce business change with constant and effective innovation. Our project partner firm, BIPA (Austrian drugstore retail market leader) realises that the drugstore retail industry is not an exception.

In a collaborative project with our partner:

• Students are asked to investigate the affinity towards digital and data-driven transformation of key processes in the drugstore retail industry and specific ways in which data analytics and technological advances will affect these processes
• This investigation includes obtaining a high-level understanding of the processes in scope, general current and future trends of digitalization and use of data analytics (e.g., descriptive, diagnostic, predictive, prescriptive) in retail, research about technologies and methods for digital and data-driven transformation of the processes in scope, best-practices by other retailers that have adopted these technologies, and implementation proposals as well as an underlying measurement framework to assess the efficacy of data-driven process transformation at BIPA

LEARNING OPPORTUNITIES FOR STUDENTS:

• Students interested in data analytics and digital process transformation will be part of a research-focused consulting project and learn how to do a practically relevant research study. Students will get unique real world insights into key processes in the drugstore retail industry and will have the opportunity to interview managers (incl. finance and accounting fuctions) in large and successful Austrian firm.
• Students will be able to develop and train their team-working and leadership skills. According to the “IfU Business Project Approach“ which has been awarded the Austrian State Prize for teaching (Ars Docendi) in 2016, five Master Students will take the role of team leaders and lead small teams of Bachelor students. The experienced challenges of leadership will be discussed in class and all students (Bachelor and Master students) will have the opportunity to get invaluable „learning by doing“ leadership experience for their future career.

Application for this course is compulsory and comprises cover letter and CV. Application details with further infomation on the project and deadline will be sent via email in due course. Sole registration through the LPIS-System hence does not guarantee a spot.

After completing this class students will be able to:

• describe and discuss applications of data analytics in various processes of the drugstore/retail industry
• conduct systematic literature reviews
• critically read and make sense of research articles
• structure complex business problems
• design and implement practice-oriented research projects

Apart from that, completing this course will contribute to students' abilities to:

• organize and manage a large-scale project in the field of strategic management and management accounting
• pursue the project management (PM) activities and master the use of various PM tools
• structure complex and ill-defined problems
• apply theoretical knowledge from different fields to find creative hands-on solutions to real-life business problems.

In order to successfully pass this course, your absence is limited to 20% of our appointments.

• Coachings
• Group discussions about research papers
• Group assignments
• Individual assigments
• Practitioner feedback

The final grade of the course will depend on:

• Kick-off introductory presentation & discussion: 10%
• Interim presentation and workshop: 20% each
• Final presentations and accompanying documentation including peer evaluation: 30%
• Project management objectives-reporting: 10%
• Participation: 10%

Application for this course is compulsory and comprises cover letter and CV. Application details with further infomation on the project and deadline will be sent via email in due course. Sole registration through the LPIS-System hence does not guarantee a spot.

Aleksandra Klein & Lea Zwickl & Isabella Grabner

The first session on Mar 2 as well as the two-day kick-off event Retz (lower Austria) from Mar 9, 08:00  to Mar 10, 14:00 are compulsory! More information will follow at the first meeting.