ISYS**038 Assignment 1 Case Study
University of Melbourne 2024 1
Stitching Together a Digital Future
Milano Mera is a renowned Italian fashion house known for its high-
quality, handcrafted garments. They operate several high-quality
manufacturing facilities in all the high fashion areas worldwide
including Milano, Paris, New York, and Tokyo. They source their
fabrics from Egypt (cotton), Australia and Scotland (wool), China
(silk and cashmere) and Japan (kimono silk). As with all firms in
the fashion industry, they are concerned with their reputation
around issues such as sustainability, counterfeited cheap
knockoffs, labour exploitation (especially in its fabric suppliers),
and the rise of fast fashion.
Over the past 3 years, Milano Mera has been experiencing a downturn in its market share, as it
struggles to keep pace with the fast-changing fashion landscape. Milano’s IT infrastructure, its
networks, machines and software were designed in the mid-**s and the systems and infrastructure
are well past their end of life. Their legacy systems, built for a bygone era, are proving to be a
significant roadblock to success. Subsequently, Milano Mera is missing sales opportunities due to
stock issues, is dealing with frustrated retailers, and is experiencing disconnect between its creative
vision and digital execution. Milano Mera has lost its competitive edge, as consumer demands shift
towards a more data-driven and personalised shopping experience.
A little over 2 years ago the CIO at the time Justin Shanks endeavoured to orchestrate a technological
renaissance. He proposed a comprehensive IT modernisation plan to senior management. Below is
an extract from the meeting between Justin and the management team.
Justin, the CIO, stood before the management team, his presentation complete. A tense silence hung
in the air. “So,” began Angus, the Marketing Manager, “you're asking for a significant budget increase
to essentially buy new computers and some fancy software. How exactly will this translate to more
sales?”
Justin sighed inwardly. “It's not just new computers, Angus,” he explained patiently. “Our current
infrastructure can't handle the demands of real-time data analysis. We need a system that integrates
with our sales channels and marketing tools. Think of it as giving you a clear view of what's happening,
what customers want, and how to reach them effectively.”
A sceptical look crossed the CFO, Ang's face as she thought to herself, “Here we go again, IT wants
more money, I wish they could help us increase our profits”. Out loud she said, “Real-time data?
Sounds like a lot of bells and whistles. Can't we just get by with what we have for now? What’s the
real value proposition?” The other managers murmured in agreement. Justin felt a pang of frustration.
Without a modern IT foundation, their ambitious growth plans were little more than wishful thinking.
He knew he needed to find a way to bridge the communication gap and convince them of the long-
term benefits of this investment.
ISYS**038 Assignment 1 Case Study
? University of Melbourne 2024 2
So, for the organisation it was business as usual. Justin was successful in getting some funds to
maintain the existing aging infrastructure and to start work on revitalising Milano Mera’s IT systems,
but did not make any real progress. It wasn’t until nearly 2 years after Justin’s failed attempt at
business transformation that the business was finding itself in trouble…
“What do you mean we are losing market share”, CEO, Wimonrat Bhakdijit frustratingly said to Angus
Ruffnut, the Marketing Manager during their fortnightly catch-up meeting. The CFO, Ang chimed in,
“We have overspent in IT over the last 2 years, it’s costing us a fortune!”. Angus replied, “Yeah, I
know, what a mess IT is, the computers can’t handle what we do anymore, I am constantly redoing
tasks as things freeze, and don’t work a third of the time, or I am waiting for slow responses the other
two-thirds of the time.”
Now, 2 years after Justin’s technological renaissance
presentation to senior management he was asked to meet
the CEO. At the meeting, Wimonrat asked for his
resignation over the IT “mess” that he was managing.
Wimonrat was already sending feelers out into industry,
looking for Justin’s replacement.
A new digitally adept CIO, Sophi Rossi, was headhunted
from Milano Mera’s arch-rival, Gucci. Sophia, a digital
native, had a proven track record in fashion and a strong
record as an IT leader. As part of Sophia’s role, she was
directed to investigate the current state of Milano Mera’s IT
capabilities to figure out why the changes instigated by the
previous CIO were ineffective.
During her investigation, Sophia discovered that her predecessor (Justin) tried to conduct an
infrastructure renewal program within the organisation, but the project was over budget and already
6 months over time. Her investigation showed that despite multiple attempts to involve business
leaders more in the IT decisions, Justin was unable to gain agreement from the business for the
initiatives that he was driving. Subsequently, he found it difficult to progress with updating Milano
Mera’s systems and fixing the ailing infrastructure.
As a result of the difficulties in improving the infrastructure, Sophia found that Justin fell into a
business-as-usual, maintenance mode where he was just keeping the organisation’s “lights on”. Most
funds allocated to IT were effectively spent on maintaining the status quo, without any funding being
set aside for new IT initiatives in the organisation. Funding issues also caused the organisation’s IT
function to cut staff, as they couldn’t afford to both maintain the status quo, as well as keeping staffing
levels up to requirements. The IT function was now severely understaffed and had no capacity for
anything else other than keeping the current systems running as well as doing minor bug fixes on
these systems.
Interestingly, Sophia also identified a set of minutes from a meeting between IT and the business
leaders that occurred about 12 months previously. The minutes showed that there was a lot of concern
with the state of IT in the organisation. However, at the time, no one could agree on what to
accomplish to improve IT in the organisation. There were three principal areas of concern:
ISYS**038 Assignment 1 Case Study
University of Melbourne 2024 3
1 – The organisation’s IT infrastructure is aging. The
systems are old, are full of bugs, are inefficient and are
inflexible. The systems struggle to handle the demands of a
modern fashion business, hindering core functions like:
Inventory Management: Inaccurate inventory data
leads to stockouts of popular items and overstocked
items that become dead weight. This frustrates
retailers who are unable to fulfil customer orders and
tarnishes Milano Mera's reputation for reliability.
Production Planning: Outdated systems make it
difficult to forecast demand accurately, leading to
production delays and missed opportunities.
2 - Lack of Real-Time Data Insights: Milano Mera operates in a data silo, lacking a central platform to
collect, analyse, and utilise real-time data. This limits their ability to:
Identify Customer Trends: Without access to real-time customer behaviour data, Milano
Mera struggles to understand what their customers genuinely want. This can lead to
collections that miss the mark and fail to resonate with the target audience.
Optimise Marketing Campaigns: They lack the ability to personalise marketing efforts or
target specific demographics effectively. This results in wasted resources and missed
opportunities to connect with potential customers.
3 - Limited Omnichannel Integration: Milano Mera's current IT infrastructure doesn't seamlessly
integrate with emerging online sales channels. This disconnect creates a fragmented customer
experience:
Disjointed Online Presence: The lack of integration between their website and internal
systems creates a frustrating online shopping experience. Customers may encounter issues
with product availability, order processing, or returns.
Missed Opportunities in E-commerce: Milano Mera is missing out on the booming online
retail market by failing to provide a seamless and engaging digital experience for customers.
These IT issues, coupled with the business's initial resistance to digital transformation, have created
a perfect storm for Milano Mera. To regain their footing and remain relevant in the fast-paced world
of fashion, they need to prioritise a comprehensive IT modernisation strategy.
Sophia realises that Milano Mera faces a crucial turning point. The fashion industry is undergoing a
digital revolution. While competitors embrace online sales, social media marketing and putting
customers at the centre of everything, Milano Mera has remained hesitant, clinging to its traditional
brick-and-mortar model.
The organisation seems to have identified the problems with their current state, and where they can
move forward, but they have been unable to move from their current state. Sophia realises that it is
up to her to drive the organisation forward with a good IT strategy.
ISYS**038 Assignment 1 Case Study
University of Melbourne 2024 4
She writes some notes in her planner:
What are the specific business goals for Milano Mera? How are
the current IT issues hindering these goals? Beyond frustration with
slow systems, what are the key pain points for different
departments (marketing, sales, production)?
Was there a lack of clear communication of the project's value
proposition to the business stakeholders? What were the key
disagreements between IT and the business during the project?
Does Milano Mera have a clearly defined digital transformation
strategy? If not, how can IT best support the business in developing
one that leverages technology to achieve its goals?? What is the current state of the IT infrastructure? How extensive is the technical debt, and what
are the immediate risks and long-term implications of not addressing it?
Does the existing IT team have the skillset and resources needed to implement a comprehensive
IT modernisation strategy? Are there any critical skill gaps that need to be addressed through
training or hiring?
What is the current IT budget, and how does it compare to the projected costs of an IT
modernisation project? Are there opportunities for cost optimisation within the IT department to
free up resources for strategic initiatives?
How can we create a more collaborative environment where IT and the business work together
to define priorities and ensure the successful implementation of IT initiatives?
How can we effectively manage the change process associated with a significant IT
modernisation project? How can we ensure user adoption and minimise disruption to ongoing
operations?
How will we measure the success of the IT modernisation strategy? What key performance
indicators (KPIs) will we track to demonstrate the positive impact on the business?
CAST
CEO Wimonrat Bhakdijit, an experienced CEO in the fashion industry with an MBA
from the London Business School, the top institution for MBAs in Europe
CFO Ang Wang, a licenced accountant, with an MBA from Harvard University
Past CIO Justin Shanks, a solid IT manager, with a Bachelor of Computer Science from
Chalmers University of Technology in Sweden
CIO Sophia Rossi, a renowned IT manager with a Master of Management
Information Systems from Syracuse University
Marketing Manager Angus Ruffnut, Master of Marketing, Monash University
Note: Images in this case created by https://www.photobookworldwide.com/
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