WGU E006 Digital Transformation in the Enterprise Task 1 – Complete Digital
Transformation Proposal | 2026 Update with complete solutions.
Student Name: [Insert Name]
Student ID: [Insert ID]
Course: E006 — Digital Transformation in the Enterprise
Assessment: Task 1
Date: [Insert Date]
Scenario note: This rubric-aligned model assumes a fictional midsized wholesale and
distribution company called NorthStar Distribution. Replace the company name and scenario
details with the exact information from your WGU course simulation before submission. A
passing score cannot be guaranteed because evaluators grade against the current rubric and
simulation evidence.
Introduction
NorthStar Distribution is a midsized distributor that supplies consumer and commercial products
to regional retailers. The organization has expanded its customer base and geographic reach, but
its technology environment has not developed at the same rate. Its departments depend on
disconnected legacy applications, locally stored spreadsheets, manual inventory processes, and
aging on-premises servers. Consequently, employees lack reliable real-time information about
inventory, customer activity, orders, and operational performance.
This proposal recommends a coordinated digital transformation based on the McKinsey 7S
Framework. The proposed technical solution is an integrated Microsoft Dynamics 365 enterprise
platform supported by Microsoft Azure cloud infrastructure. The transformation will connect
operations, information and communications technology (ICT), and marketing and sales while
improving data quality, security, scalability, and organizational decision-making.
A. Current Enterprise Technology Deficits
A1. Operational Pain Points
Aging on-premises infrastructure
NorthStar maintains its inventory, order-management, and shared-file applications on aging
servers located at its primary office. This infrastructure requires frequent maintenance, has
limited processing capacity, and creates a central point of failure. Adding capacity requires
purchasing and configuring additional physical equipment, preventing the organization from
responding quickly to seasonal demand or business growth.
, The current infrastructure also provides limited disaster-recovery capability. Although
employees conduct periodic backups, recovery procedures are largely manual and are not tested
consistently. A hardware failure, fire, cyberattack, or extended power interruption could
therefore make critical information unavailable for an unacceptable period.
Disconnected departmental systems and data silos
Operations, finance, sales, marketing, and customer service maintain separate databases and
spreadsheets. The warehouse records inventory in a legacy inventory application, while sales
representatives track leads and customer interactions in individual spreadsheets. Marketing
maintains a separate contact list, and finance receives batch exports of completed transactions.
Because these systems do not exchange information automatically, NorthStar does not maintain
a single authoritative version of its product, customer, and order data. For example, sales
representatives may promise an item to a customer based on an outdated inventory spreadsheet.
Warehouse personnel may then discover that the item is unavailable only after processing begins.
Manual order and inventory processes
Employees manually transfer customer-order information from emails and spreadsheets into the
legacy order-management application. Warehouse personnel also use paper-based picking lists
and manually enter completed transactions at the end of a shift. These repeated data-entry
activities consume employee time and introduce risks such as incorrect quantities, duplicate
orders, transposed product numbers, and missed customer instructions.
The lack of barcode-enabled, real-time inventory updates also prevents managers from obtaining
an accurate view of stock levels. Inventory discrepancies are frequently discovered during
physical counts rather than when the discrepancies occur.
Outdated productivity and collaboration tools
Documents are stored across shared network drives, employee computers, email attachments,
and departmental folders. Employees frequently create multiple copies of the same spreadsheet
or report, making it difficult to determine which version is current. Remote employees must
depend on virtual private network access to reach internal resources, and performance can be
unreliable.
The absence of standardized workflows means that approvals for purchases, discounts, and
customer returns are handled through email. Managers cannot easily determine an approval’s
status, identify the responsible employee, or measure how long the process takes.
Incomplete customer visibility
Sales representatives record customer conversations, follow-up activities, quotations, and
complaints in different locations. When an employee is unavailable or leaves the organization,
Transformation Proposal | 2026 Update with complete solutions.
Student Name: [Insert Name]
Student ID: [Insert ID]
Course: E006 — Digital Transformation in the Enterprise
Assessment: Task 1
Date: [Insert Date]
Scenario note: This rubric-aligned model assumes a fictional midsized wholesale and
distribution company called NorthStar Distribution. Replace the company name and scenario
details with the exact information from your WGU course simulation before submission. A
passing score cannot be guaranteed because evaluators grade against the current rubric and
simulation evidence.
Introduction
NorthStar Distribution is a midsized distributor that supplies consumer and commercial products
to regional retailers. The organization has expanded its customer base and geographic reach, but
its technology environment has not developed at the same rate. Its departments depend on
disconnected legacy applications, locally stored spreadsheets, manual inventory processes, and
aging on-premises servers. Consequently, employees lack reliable real-time information about
inventory, customer activity, orders, and operational performance.
This proposal recommends a coordinated digital transformation based on the McKinsey 7S
Framework. The proposed technical solution is an integrated Microsoft Dynamics 365 enterprise
platform supported by Microsoft Azure cloud infrastructure. The transformation will connect
operations, information and communications technology (ICT), and marketing and sales while
improving data quality, security, scalability, and organizational decision-making.
A. Current Enterprise Technology Deficits
A1. Operational Pain Points
Aging on-premises infrastructure
NorthStar maintains its inventory, order-management, and shared-file applications on aging
servers located at its primary office. This infrastructure requires frequent maintenance, has
limited processing capacity, and creates a central point of failure. Adding capacity requires
purchasing and configuring additional physical equipment, preventing the organization from
responding quickly to seasonal demand or business growth.
, The current infrastructure also provides limited disaster-recovery capability. Although
employees conduct periodic backups, recovery procedures are largely manual and are not tested
consistently. A hardware failure, fire, cyberattack, or extended power interruption could
therefore make critical information unavailable for an unacceptable period.
Disconnected departmental systems and data silos
Operations, finance, sales, marketing, and customer service maintain separate databases and
spreadsheets. The warehouse records inventory in a legacy inventory application, while sales
representatives track leads and customer interactions in individual spreadsheets. Marketing
maintains a separate contact list, and finance receives batch exports of completed transactions.
Because these systems do not exchange information automatically, NorthStar does not maintain
a single authoritative version of its product, customer, and order data. For example, sales
representatives may promise an item to a customer based on an outdated inventory spreadsheet.
Warehouse personnel may then discover that the item is unavailable only after processing begins.
Manual order and inventory processes
Employees manually transfer customer-order information from emails and spreadsheets into the
legacy order-management application. Warehouse personnel also use paper-based picking lists
and manually enter completed transactions at the end of a shift. These repeated data-entry
activities consume employee time and introduce risks such as incorrect quantities, duplicate
orders, transposed product numbers, and missed customer instructions.
The lack of barcode-enabled, real-time inventory updates also prevents managers from obtaining
an accurate view of stock levels. Inventory discrepancies are frequently discovered during
physical counts rather than when the discrepancies occur.
Outdated productivity and collaboration tools
Documents are stored across shared network drives, employee computers, email attachments,
and departmental folders. Employees frequently create multiple copies of the same spreadsheet
or report, making it difficult to determine which version is current. Remote employees must
depend on virtual private network access to reach internal resources, and performance can be
unreliable.
The absence of standardized workflows means that approvals for purchases, discounts, and
customer returns are handled through email. Managers cannot easily determine an approval’s
status, identify the responsible employee, or measure how long the process takes.
Incomplete customer visibility
Sales representatives record customer conversations, follow-up activities, quotations, and
complaints in different locations. When an employee is unavailable or leaves the organization,
