How do they help?
They all help the sales in Varndean because without all of the hardware, they wouldn’t have a computer. Without a computer, they wouldn’t be able to send out information to potential buyers so that the buyers can see what you have in stock. Varndean wouldn’t be able to receive e-mails from potential buyers and be able to send e-mails for advertising your company. Also you wouldn’t be able to print out documents if you didn’t have a printer. Also you wouldn’t be able to back up documents onto CDs without a CD copier, which is very important.
Purchasing
What information is needed?
The information that is needed for purchasing at Varndean is the equipment that is required for the workers, so that they can do their job properly. They also need to know how much of the software is needed so that you can sell it, because you don’t want to run out of stock. You also need to know about the customers needs, because you buy the totally wrong type of product, then you won’t make much money because no-one will want them. They also need to know how much of the office equipment they need such as paper clips, envelopes and paper for the printers. Also, they need to know how much money they have on their debit card, because they use it purchase all of the items that they need to get.
What hardware is used?
The hardware that is used in purchasing at Varndean are mice, keyboards, 17” flat panel monitors, computers with Pentium 4 processors. They are all used to help you purchase discs and other objects that you need to sell the software, and to keep in touch with clients by using e-mail. They also need to use a hardware firewall and router for Internet connection, because lots of the suppliers have online tracking systems, so that they can find out exactly where your purchase is, like in the van or in the warehouse, and the only way of seeing that is by looking at it online.
What software is used?
The software that is used in purchasing at Varndean is Sage Accounts software, which is used to keep track of who the suppliers are and what they have bought from them. It can also keep track of the VAT returns and bank reconciliations, which shows them how much money they have going in, from the software they have sold and how much is being spent from the bank, and shows them if they are making any profit or not.
How do they help?
They all help purchasing by making it easier to purchase the objects that are needed for the software, so that it is a smoother operation to run, and it makes it quicker as well. The hardware helps the purchasing department by making peoples jobs easier. Rather than doing everything over the phone, they can use the Internet to email clients. Also, emailing clients is a lot easier because it doesn’t involve any paperwork, which could get lost or ruined, and makes the office a tidier place, so it is easier to find everything that you need, because it is all organised.
Finance
What information is needed?
The information that is need for finance at Varndean is that they need to know about the company’s financial status, to know if they are making any profit or whether they are going into debt. Another piece of information needed is the personal details of the staff, including their name, address, pay rate, job, hours worked and their bank details, so that they are able to pay their staff to the correct bank accounts every month. They also need the personal details of their customers such as their name, address and billing details so they know where to send the software.
What hardware is used?
The hardware that is used in finance at Varndean is a 17” flat panel monitor, a mouse, a keyboard and a computer with a Pentium 4 processor, which has a banking system, and a calculator, so that you can keep up with how much money the company has. They also use the old dot matrix printer which is linked to the computers, which allow mass printing of letters, bills, purchase order forms and wage slips, which they can then send off to the customers and their own members of staff.
What software is used?
The software that is used in finance at Varndean is Sage Instant Accounts package, which is easy to use and it is also the software that their accountant uses, which means that they can send their end of year accounts to them automatically. With this package they always have an accurate idea of how much money they have. They also need Microsoft Access, so that they can keep all of the personal details of their customers such as their name, address and billing details, all in one database, where it is easy to find customer’s personal details.
How do they help?
They all help finance by making it easier to know how much is being spent on getting the software and how much money is being made. They use Sage Instant Accounts software, which is used for purchase and sales ledger, bank reconciliation, which lets the company know how much money they have in their bank account. It also does a pay roll, which pays the employees their wages. Also, Microsoft Access can keep all of the personal details of their customers in a database so it is easy to find and store. The information that they would store includes their customers name, address and billing details, all of this info helps them to know where to send the bills and other things like letters.
Operations
What information is needed?
The information needed for operations in Varndean is to do with the three main areas of development. They are Multimedia products, database tracking and Website products.
What hardware is used?
The hardware that is used in finance at Varndean is a 21” flat panel monitor, a mouse, a keyboard and a very high spec computer. Their computer spec includes a Pentium 4 processor, 3.6 GHz Processor, 1Gb RAM and 240Gb Hard Disk. They also need a high quality colour laser printer, so that they can try different designs for the website on paper, so that they know what it will look like. They back up all of their documents onto an external USB storage hard disk. They could also use a digital video camera (via firewall card), so that they can put videos of some presentations onto the website, or to show clients what they do. Also they could use a digital still camera (via USB 2.0 card) to put picture of the software onto the website.
What software is used?
At Varndean, they use three main types of software, they include Macromedia Dreamwaver, Macromedia Authorware and Microsoft Access. Macromedia Dreamwaver is used to create their web pages for the website, this is useful because they make 80% of their business through the website. Macromedia Authorware is used to create their interactive resources that they sell to other schools. Microsoft Access is used to create a database tracking programs that can be used to keep track of student progress when they use the interactive products. They also use a piece of software called Microsoft Active Server Pages, this technology allows WebPages to talk to the database which means that what the user sees is different every time.
How do they help?
They all help operations because without all of the hardware and software, they wouldn’t be able to run the business because they create their own software. The hardware also helps operations by making their jobs easier to do, because without a computer, it would take ages to find a piece of info, but when it is stored on a computer it is easier to find, because the computer keeps everything organised. Macromedia Authorware helps them to make the software by allowing them to create e-learning packages, which contain sound, pictures and videos that they can then sell to schools that are interested in buying e-learning packages.