This type of purchasing is similar to EFT as the use of credit or debit cards are needed. This enables customers of House of Fraser to purchase products on the Internet. To use this mode of purchasing the customer would also need a computer, a modem and an Internet connection. When a customer buys a product the money for the product is transferred to the House of Fraser bank account from the customers automatically. When a customer uses EFTPOS the product they have bought will be delivered to their home through the post. This type of purchasing attracts lots of customers for House of Fraser as it is a easy and convenient way to purchase goods, as they don’t have to leave their homes.
Operations
The Operations section is also split up into 3 other sections.
These are Production Control, Computer control technology and Marketing.
I will now explain them in detail.
Production Control.
Production centre is divided into CAD (Computer aided design) and CAM (Computer aided manufacture). These are used to create House of Fraser’s products this is easy and more efficient to use as no mistakes are made, no breaks and holidays are needed etc.
Computer control technology
House of Fraser use computer control technology to control their heating in the store, so customers don’t get too hot or cold and leave the store .It measures temperature in the store with sensors and changes it according.
The computer control technology also controls security alarms on door sensors when they automatically close and open. They also use motion sensors for their alarm systems.
Marketing
House of Fraser use advertising to do there marketing they use a Desktop Publishing package to create websites to advertise there products via the Internet. They advertise with newspapers to and create them on computers using a Desktop publishing package such as Microsoft Publisher.
They use market research to find out vital information ,they use loyalty cards and questioners to find out where they live and other information.
They can also use direct mail e.g. Mail merge to send lots of letters/catalogues and free samples they do this to find out more information.
Information
The information is split up into five sections these are A/C information, personnel, security, storage of information and postcode software, I will now explain them in detail.
House of Fraser use Security like Passwords and Data incryptions. They also use safes to keep all vital information and Back up data for security.
Personnel is used with ICT to keep staff information, as it is a good way to keep information organised and easily accessible
Purchasing
Businesses aim to produce and supply goods or a service. To do this they need have to purchase Equipment, materials and components to make the products they wish to sell.
Purchasing involves buying stock and keeping track of how much stock you have. To do this you would need suitable software ,software that could be used are a Spreadsheet package e.g. Microsoft Excel and a Database package such as Microsoft Access. These help to create spreadsheets and databases to make it easier to make invoices and statements, keep track of stock sold and bought and to order more stock.
House of Fraser also use Access to make invoices (These are like bills that the company sends to ask for the money for a product that a customer has bought) and statements to send to customers.
House of Fraser use Microsoft Access to keep control of stock levels. This is because they can create databases that can be linked to the cash registers that the company uses in store. When a customer purchases a product they can record that the product has been bought and erase that product from the stock list so they will know when they have run out.
House of Fraser use Microsoft Excel. They can use this to create spreadsheets and make graphs to show sales, profits and losses. These can be used in meetings and conferences between managers and directors of the company to see how well stores are doing. They can do this by comparing the tables and graphs. Spreadsheets are also used by House of Fraser because they are a reliable way of creating graphs etc. To use this they need to have a computer and the correct software. To make orders for stock House of Fraser can use and email package eg Microsoft Outlook. This is a package that enables them to send e-mails to their suppliers to tell them which stock is needed and how much of it is needed. To use this they need computers, a modem and an Internet connection.
House of Fraser use Access because it is a more reliable way to do all the things like checking on stock levels etc. than doing it manually. House of Fraser also use Microsoft Access to keep the details of staff, like there names and addresses so they can send them wages and information
Finance.
Payroll – BACS
In House of Fraser payroll is used by a computerised payroll package. Payroll is calculated on a computer because the calculations will have to be made hundreds or thousands of times within the company with a large number of employees, which House of Fraser have. Accuracy is very important for payrolls and many different types of output are required. These outputs that are produced may be payslips and end-of-year reports for the Inland Revenue.
Supplier Payments
Paying suppliers is extremely important. If suppliers were not paid they would not send products to the company. If this happened the company would have no products to sell therefore losing money and possibly going bankrupt. House of Fraser do there best to make sure suppliers are paid the right amount and on time
Credit Control
Controlling money is as equally important. If money/credit was not controlled it may be spent on the wrong things. This could lead to many problems including going bankrupt. House of Fraser do their best to control how their money is spent and make sure it is spent on the right things.
Budgeting & Forecasting
Any company can go from being profitable to near or total bankruptcy. This means skilled and careful decision-making by senior management is required. So Budgeting and forecasting is used. Manufactures need to decide on new products to introduce, how much to charge for each product and how many to make. They need to forecast the likely demand, which is a difficult job so it is aided by information, available from a computer system, on how products have sold in the past, which are similar. Budgeting is when the sales forecast is made and an overall budget is drawn up for a new scheme or project. This will show an expected cost and how much profit the company should expect to make if the product is charged and kept at a certain price without change for sales.
Communication
House of Fraser uses ICT both internally and externally, in this section I am going to write how ICT is used internally in House of Fraser. House of Fraser uses Intranet as a form of internal communication. House of Fraser have their own Intranet which is like a mini Internet run through the companies networked computers.
Internal
This is all communication that occurs within House of Fraser. They use Intranet as a form of internal communication. House of Fraser has there own Intranet system, which is like a mini Internet run through the companies networked computers. They can use this to send memos, formal letters, and details on special offers in store.
Memo's
Memos are used to remind employees about what has got to be achieved. This usually contains deadlines and important documents etc. They are not formal.
Letters
They use formal letters to promote the company to people at home and at other companies, i.e. suppliers.
Posters
House of Fraser also use posters to advertise products and offers in the store. This is one of House of Fraser best ways of advertising as it is cheap and efficient. These are put around the shop windows and in popular areas, this is done to catch people’s eyes so they might wander in to see more.
Multimedia
Multimedia is used when the company buys a radio advert, TV advertisement or an advert in the paper to. These usually contain information on sales and latest offers.
House of Fraser need to use this version of communication as it helps to make sure customers know about them and want to buy their products.
External
House of Fraser also uses external ways of communication. This is all information that occurs inside House of Fraser.
Voice mail
They use voice mail, which is used by area managers to relay messages to different stores around the country.
Faxes
Faxes are used for sending urgent written information e.g. Insurance estimates to the people that need to know that information as it is a fast and reliable way to get details to them. It is also safer than using e-mail as important information could be hacked into on a P.C.
Fax is also used to send stock lists to their suppliers so they can be sent new products when they run out inside their stores.
Banks
House of Fraser uses banks for obtaining change to be put in the cash registers and to find out about profits and losses that they have made in recent weeks/days.
Emails
My company uses emails to send news about offers to people who have listed there email address to the company (usually when purchasing a product online or in surveys made inside the shops), hoping they will go in the nearest shop or online to buy one of the products.
Advertisement
They use this to help sell products by using advertisement. They can use TV, radio, leaflets, posters, newspapers and websites to tell customers about latest offers and news about the company and try and entice the customers to buy their products.
Island Revenue
Information