The invoice is attached to the order, which is sent to the customer giving him/her another choice: to keep the goods and make their payment, or send the goods back to the company.
If the customer decides to pay for the goods Mr. Smith would receive the payment and the customers account would be updated, indicating that they paid for their item(s). The payment made would then be banked, making a profit for Mr. Smith. The updated customer accounts could be used for marketing- but only if Mr. Smith chooses so- and a marketing strategy would then be mailed to the customer in the form of a new catalogue.
When the stock level falls too low Mr. Smith realises this because of the updated stock records. He then makes another order from his suppliers in America. The order form is then sent to the distributor who then sends the requested items in order to top up Mr. Smith’s low stock supply. The order is then received and the stock records are updated. If Mr. Smith chooses not to reorder to top up his stock levels his stock records are then updated consequently
The Problems with the Current System
Ordering Process (RED)
As you can see there are many problems with Mr, Smith current process of ordering. It is obvious why he wants to change to an ICT orientated office, because there are far too many processes for one person to go through each time a customer wants to order. I shall now talk through the problems of this system.
The beginning of the system is fine- ICT could, though be used to create the catalogues for Mr. Smith so he wont have to pay for someone else to do it. Or alternatively the order form which Mr. Smith sends out with the catalogue could be posted normally with a telephone number, e-mail address and a website address. Orders could then, for customers, be sent over the internet via e-mail. If Mr. Smith had his own website he could have an order form set up which would have an order e-mailed to his computer in his office. This may also be a more appealing idea for the customer, as they would know that their order was being received almost immediately. These alternative ordering types are lso a way of reducing human error.
After a customer has ordered their desired item Mr. Smith currently has to check through the order form manually in order to establish which category of item the customer wants. This wastes a lot of time which could be spent on less monotonous tasks. ICT could create some form of data capture form in place of his current order form, leaving less chance of human error.
If Mr. Smith finds out that a specific item is not in stock he has to personally write out a letter apologising for the inconvenience, which is yet another time wasting task, which has to be done. If an item is in stock Mr. Smith has to find it, wrap it appropriately, and then post it. This is another very monotonous and time wasting task. If all his customers contact details were stored on a database he could then use mail merge to send out letters of apology which would be much quicker than handwriting them.
The first(RED) section of the system must be done within a week to allow time for postage in order to keep customers happy. This work must be very strenuous for Mr. Smith.
Payment/Billing System (BLUE)
The next section relies on the customer, so it will be up to the customer whether Mr. Smith receives the posted goods back, whether he receives payment and most importantly whether his business gets a good reputation.
Although it would be to Mr. Smith’s advantage he wouldn’t be allowed to assume that every customer of his has a computer, so he has to offer the ordinary five or six different forms of payment through snail mail.
With a computerised system when Mr. Smith sends out an item which has been ordered he can use a special mail delivery service which can track his mail to customers. Also with a computerised system it would be much easier for Mr. Smith to keep track of all the orders, which have been paid for and those which are outstanding.
Towards the end of the blue section where it indicates that the information obtained from the customer from each order could be used as an indirect data source for marketing. With a computerised interface Mr. Smith would be able to bring up records of information for each customer, such as what a customer has bought a lot of or a little of, or whether the customer has bought anything out of his/her usual trend. The indirect data could be used to influence the type of catalogue sent to a particular customer. For example, if a customer mainly buys sports tops from the catalogue a catalogue can be designed with just sports tops and equipment and it can then be sent to this particular customer.
Stock Record Updating (GREEN)
The stock process is probably one of the most simple, yet arduous tasks within the whole of Mr. Smiths current system. Although it is the hardest it could easily be turned into the easiest with the appropriate use of ICT.
If Mr. Smith uses ICT within his workspace every order he sends using his system will be logged and all of the stock records will be adjusted automatically, and before Mr. Smith may have had to keep a constant tally of all of the stock items he has sold within a week, or a month, but with the use of ICT all of his stock levels can be monitored practically every minute of every day. This will be especially useful because when it comes to ordering all of his stock from his suppliers in America he can e-mail all of his required items, and if that fails he can call the suppliers up with the order on screen and simply dictate what is needed to replenish his stock.
When Mr. Smith receives his stock orders he can use his computer system to update his stock levels much quicker than it would be to do it manually.
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Analysis of The New, ICT Based System
Why A New System?
Mr. Smith wants to change to a new, ICT based system, and judging from what I have discussed in the previous analysis it is obvious that a computerised system for Mr. Smith would be a step in the right direction for improving his business and his reputation.
The new system Mr. Smith will bring in will be used primarily to take most of the stress out of his work and to save time by organising his customer information and previous orders. It will make his job much more enjoyable.
A computerised system in Mr. Smith’s office would be much more efficient in that it would take up less space, would use less paper, could be accessed by more than one person if a network was set up. Files could copied and pasted without the hassle of using a photocopier. This system could also have the capability to eliminate 80% of human errors that could be made.
It will also increase the number of orders which Mr. Smith will be able to handle as his new system would be much faster. If he thinks that the system is too slow he can upgrade his computer, buy more RAM or buy a new more up to date computer system.
The greater speed would then equate to a higher number of orders processed in a day, which would mean more orders fulfilled in a week, giving Mr. Smith a greater profit. The greater profit could be used for expansion of the business and therefore a newer, more powerful computer system would give Mr. Smith’s business the kind of strong reputation which he will need to give him a competitive edge over other similar companies.
Limitations of the New System
The limitations and problems with this new computer system must be identified at the design stage, otherwise when Mr. Smith or anyone else receives it they will realise the problems with it first hand which is not what we want.
It must be kept in the forefront of the mind that Mr. Smith has practically no ICT skills. So the system has to be designed in such a way that it can be classified as “idiot proof”. To make it idiot proof it must be easy to use, easy to update and easy to manage.
Also in order to allow Mr. Smith to keep up to date the software and hardware must be kept simple. The computer itself must be a simple to operate and up to date system. The software will be manipulated in such a way that Mr. Smith has a front end user interface which he uses most of the time, he must also be able to enter the files which are hidden behind those, if in an emergency situation he needs to access vital files.
What Will The New System Do?
When the new system is finished it must be able to identify new customers and prepare a new catalogue for that customer. It should give all customers an ID number so that when a customer tries to use an account that hasn’t been created that customer automatically receives a newly created account.
Also to make the ordering process easy the system must be able to simplify the ordering form this could be done by reducing the number of fields needed to perhaps four or five:
- Name and customer I.D
- Address
- Desired product I.D
- Desired Product Quantity
- Payment Options
When a customer orders a product the computer system should be able to:
- Locate the product in the warehouse
- Prepare invoice bill
- Update the stock levels when the product leaves the warehouse
It should also be able to handle payments, but payments should be taken from the customers balance when the computer knows the package has been delivered.
Information Requirements of the Ordering System
Feedback: Records of stock ordered/order status
Information Requirements of the Stock System
Feedback: Increased business profit
Information Requirements of the Stock System
Feedback: Updated stock levels
Proposed New Computer System
Run-Through of all involved within the system
First of all it is plainly obvious that Mr. Smith will have less to do as the flow chart for the new system only takes up half of the page where as the current system took up two pages.
This system begins the same way, with the customer receiving a catalogue of all the products Mr. Smith will be selling for any particular length of time. The same process again happens when the customer decides to order a product, but then the computer takes over.
The data is entered either automatically or typed in by Mr. Smith. The data is then backed up onto magnetic tape and the order is processed. The processed order is then stored on the hard drive, from where the customers can associate the orders customers most commonly requested such as shoes, jerseys etc. this information can be stored and every so often information can be sent to the customers.
From the process order form the stock can be updated by deducting whatever stock has been ordered. The bill is attached to the product it is posted to the customer who receives his/her product and pays the price on the bill.
From the bills produced the computer can keep records and then produce a sales summary report either weekly or monthly.
Taking up from the updated stock again, Mr. Smith can choose to reorder. If he does the computer can print of an order form, which Mr. Smith can then send to his supplier and they will reply with the suggested products.
Also from the updated stock Mr. Smith can print off stock reports every month or week again.
All of the processes explained above are constantly monitored and backed up onto hard disk, with backups made onto magnetic tape every week, or automatically every night even.
System Requirements
For the system to operate certain software and hardware is needed. The most up to date software and hardware should be used so that Mr. Smith finds his system easy to use and so that he has all the new facilities and so his system operates quickly.
Hardware Requirements
- CPU
- Monitor
- Printer
- Mouse
- Keyboard
- Modem (for internet connection)
- Internet connection line
Software Requirements
- Microsoft Windows XP (Home or Professional)
- Office XP (Microsoft Word, Excel, Access, PowerPoint, FrontPage)
- ISP (internet service provider)
Data Requirements
In order for Mr. Smith’s business to run successfully he will need to have adequate data requirements which will have to be relevant to his needs. These are the data requirements he will need for the:
- Customer
- Customer ID
- First name
- Surname
- Address
- Post code
- Payment method
- Contact number
- E-mail address
- Sex
- Supplier
- Supplier ID
- Surname
- Address
- Phone/Fax
- E-mail address
- Product
- Brand
- Price
- Type
- Size
- Sex
- Product ID
- Image
- Colour
Data Requirements
ORDER
STOCK
BILLING
