Making a list of customers will mean that employees of the car garage will be able to quickly and easily find all the details of the customer and then be able to mail the customer by mail merging the details. This would also make mass mailing far easier as names, addresses and car details could be altered but the content of the letter could be left so that one letter could be altered for as many customers as applicable.
Current System Details
Currently the details of the cars the garage has to sell are kept in a card filing system, when a car come to the garage to be sold on the details and specifications are written down on the card. When customers want a car with certain specifications then the card file system has to be looked at manually to find a car to fit the demands of the customer.
The customer’s addresses and details are kept on file, handwritten records of names and addresses are kept in these. These are unreliable in the sense that for each customer a new file has to be made. Currently the car garage has an old outdated computer rarely used to create advertising posters etc to be put up around the garage, a new computer will be needed with far better specifications and a good software package.
Benefits Of Updating
If both the records of cars and the customer’s files were put onto computer then all records would be in the same place, clearing office space and helping towards the smoother running of the company, customer records would be accessible at the same time as looking at the car the garage has. Everything would be much easier faster and more accurate than the existing system. Saving our employees time and providing a better service for our customers than we are able to at present. Now instead of flicking through the card filing system, which is outdated and time consuming, to find a car now all employees will have to do is set up a search and the customer can enter his or her ideal car and it will give a list of choices on the screen of the computer in a matter of seconds.
I will use a questionnaire to ask employees about change o the current system so they can use suggestions and comment about their own experiences with the current system.
Questionnaire
1. What do you think of the current car, and car detail list?
Could it be improved?
How could it be improved?
2. What do you think of the current customer address and details list?
Could it be improved?
How could it be improved?
3. Do you think a search of some kind would be convenient for customers to find the ideal new car?
4. What do you think of the current customer mailing system?
Could it be improved?
How could it be improved?
5. Would updating the current system as to store all the data on the computer be a good idea?
What features would you like to see on a computer system?
By using this questionnaire I will be able to determine what changes (if any) need to be done to the current system. This will provide me with the opinion of the people who actually use the current system, and will show all the advantages/ disadvantages of the current system, and that of changing to a computerised system.
Plans for new system
To computerise the current system I will need to use a program to suit what I am converting to computer. For the car detail list I will use Microsoft access as I will be able to have each and every detail in each category on screen so that each car detail is easy to find.
For the customer address list I will also use Microsoft access because for a list of any type access is a valuable program. For customer mailing, I will use both Microsoft access and Microsoft word, using the mail merge feature, which will make customer notification very simple.
To set up a search function for customers to find their ideal car I will again use Microsoft access and the queries function on this program which will enable a customer to select the fields he requires for his car and then show him a list of compatible cars.
Comparison table of Microsoft excel and Microsoft access
This table shows the advantages and disadvantages of two choices of program, which may be suitable for the purpose they computer system must serve.
