Royal Carribean

Situation

Royal Caribbean is a widely recognized competitor in the cruise industry. The cruise industry is a Ў§consolidatedЎЁ industry with only three major players competing for market share: Carnival, Royal Caribbean and Norwegian Cruise Lines. RCCL is ranked number two in the industry. Royal Caribbean operates two brands, Royal Caribbean (16 ships) and Celebrity Cruises (9 ships). The RCCL IT department went through a series of restructuring, new leadership and staff hires following its acquisitions and growth period. The focus on IT development shows the importance of IT to this company at this time. Later, RCCL developed a Ў§reputation for innovationЎЁ in its industry. The ships being at sea creates many logistical problems for the IT department to contend with regard to supply chain management. There is also a definitive split between the part of the company operating to a hotel capacity and the technical aspect of the company more geared towards mechanics and basic ship operation. Connection to on-shore departments and vendors must be considered as well. Currently, economic, political issues and increased competition are negatively impacting the industry and RCCLЎ¦s bottom line. Also, the economic crisis hit in the midst of a major IT initiative where many projects had been planned and in some cases implemented.

Problem Statement

What IT initiatives should Royal Caribbean pursue to increase competitive advantage while staying in line with expenditure limits and the companyЎ¦s overall goals and objectives?

Alternatives

„h Keep top several initiatives only, put the rest on hold. Only complete most imperative projects within the given budget guidelines. Take a short-term look at IT development and management: make a decision to continue or not based on current circumstances. Benefit: Lower costs now. Disadvantage: Better IT now can mean serious cost savings as well as customer added benefit in the future. Competitive disadvantage of not developing IT.

„h Continue with all projects, in a more cost efficient way during difficult