Using the attached file, find an example of 2 “Best Practices’ that you agree with and 2 “Best Practices” that you do not agree with. Some examples include project management, SDLC, change control/management, architectural considerations, security issues, training, end-user acceptance, modeling, prototyping, ISO 9000, etc. List them and provide justification on why you have your opinion. Cite some examples either located online or from your own practical experience to elaborate on your responses.
Below are my starting points are…
2 ‘Best Practices’ I agree with is training and security. Training provides so many benefits for employees. The staff will gain practical and technical proficiency,….
For the second part of this question, I could only come up with one ‘Best Practice’ that I don’t agree with, architectural considerations. I choose this option primarily because….
March 31,
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This memorandum aims at refining the Sales Support sector of ER UMUC Inc., by addressing key issues affecting this entity following the recent acquisition of CarbonTech and MyRentals. An analysis has been evaluated based on the company’s existing system and procedures. In order to convey more uniformity between all three divisions, updates into its operations, backup solutions, training, and information storage practices are necessary in an effort to enhance productivity and customer relations.
Challenge/Opportunity Area for ER UMUC Inc.
ER UMUC Inc. has impeccable regional sales representatives which is evident through an extensive network of community contacts acquired over the last couple of years. However, the company is faced with the challenge of improving methods in which the sales team stores its information. Currently, company information is being stored in various formats, hindering potential advancements made on behalf of the company. In addition, there is currently no system backup available of the important information stored by the sales representatives. Company information should be streamlined into one synchronized format, backed-up regularly and accessible by all applicable personnel. The most effective way to achieve this is to implement the adaptation of a common information storage system and format.
Apart from the issues of information storage and system backups, there is much needed improvement in the area of staff training. Although employees receive training, the training processes need to be sharper in their approach. In addition, consumers’ interest in the option of leasing shelters rather than purchasing them out-right has increased.
Recommendations
Based on the study, the following recommendations should be considered:
a) Dedicated Server: There should be dedicated servers installed for the storing of information entered by the sales representatives. In an effort to make all entries uniformed, a detailed procedure and/or query database established for storing information should be developed.
b)
Outsource Training: ER UMUC, Inc. should outsource training resources so to offer an overall enhanced training experience, gain access to practical and technical proficiency, and greater efficiencies on the part of the staff. Outsource training is also a cost effective method of ensuring staff get trained faster and learn more under the direction of a specialist with a proficient expertise in the field of sales/customer service (Training and Development.Naukrihub.com, 2012).
c) Additional Sale Option: In response to customer inquiries, the company should offer renting shelters in addition to purchasing. Doing so will increase revenue, and customer relations.
Proposed IT Solution
ER UMUC Inc., should commission the acquisition of a technology based information management system that will capture all business related information for the sake of maintaining positive customer relations, integrity, and future growth. Dedicated servers for the purposes of housing a database of all client data and other pertinent information can be shared among the sales representatives. Thus making it possible to handle a wider selection of clients and providing personalized service suitable to their needs. Additionally, these servers should also run on a scheduled back-up plan to ensure optical effectiveness in the event of a system failure.
Solution Fit to Challenge/Opportunity
This strategy will help the company to get control over the valuable information that has so far been available to the company in different formats and locations. Looking forward, controlled access can also be shared with the other subsidiaries (CarbonTech and MyRentals), bringing more uniformity into all three operations which eventually will improve the volume of sales across the board.
References
Training and Development.Naukrihub.Com. Retrieved March 29, 2013, from
http://traininganddevelopment.naukrihub.com/benefits-of-outsourcing.html
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IFSM 301: Information Systems Management
IT Architectural Considerations for Proposed Technology
Case Study – Stage 2
Janelle Chapman 4/13/2013
Case Study – Stage 2
IT Architectural Considerations for Proposed Technology
According to the proposed idea in the first stage to use dedicated servers and systems for the sales representatives, it is believed that the solution will provide a meaningful platform to the imperative sales team of ER UMUC Inc. It is to be mentioned here that the servers will not only be used for storing the information coming from the various offices but will also be helpful in tracking the performance of the overall processes. In addition, the move will help in improving the customer satisfaction and will only take the customer relationship activities to the next level.
The dedicated servers and systems will also help in bringing uniformity in the way information is being stored into the ER UMUC Inc. systems. Although, the initial investment in this process will be relatively large as compared to the investments by ER UMUC Inc., in technology so far but this system can also be used in integrating the operations of MyRentals and CarbonTech. Once the integration is complete, the initial huge investments in setting up this system will end up being very small as compared to the overall benefits that it will offer to the company.
Considering the fact that proper functioning of the sales representatives is very important for the long-term success of ER UMUC Inc., the investment in aligning the processes for the team will prove to be a very effective strategy for the company. Regarding the architectural considerations, it should be noted here that the system will be accessible to the entire sales force of ER UMUC Inc., as they will be the ones who will be filling in the information into the system. Since all the information will be stored in the cloud, the accessibility factor is taken care of by deploying dedicated servers for the task. Keeping in mind that all the work is being done on an in-house basis, one can be assured that maintainability will not be a cause of concern. In fact, the system will be designed in such a way that it can be easily modified with the changing needs of the business. In addition, since the system will be used by a huge sales force that may or may not be friendly with technology, it will be kept in mind that it is user-friendly and can accommodate as many users at a given point of time.
The nature of work of ER UMUC Inc., is such that when the demand comes in contingency, it has been fulfilled in a short duration of time, the security of this process is of utmost importance to the company. Keeping these conditions in mind, the authentication so this software will be taken care by allotting a personal key to every employee thus giving him access to fill in his information into the software. In addition, there will also be a master key which will be given only to a selected few which will give access to the entire information database. Apart from the personal key, the software will also ask for employee code before giving him access to the next phase. And for the master access, there will be only IP allowed at a time and along with the personal key and employee code, it will match the retina of the employee with the help of a webcam.
Out of supply chain management, customer relationship management and ERP systems, the second option i.e. customer relationship management is most applicable to this task. Keeping in mind that the core purpose of this task is to effectively manage the information that was so far not kept in uniform format and hence was not much of use, the effective use of information will help in improving the satisfaction levels of the consumer. It may also be noted here that all the information that will be stored by the sales representatives, it will help the company in tracking the overall performance in a much better fashion.
Proposed Solution Resources
Information System Activities
References
Haag, Stephen; Maeve Cummings, Donald J. McCubbrey, Alain Pinsonneault, Richard Donovan (2006). Management Information Systems for the Information Age (Third Edition).
O’Brien, James A; Marakas, George M. (2011). Management Information Systems (Tenth Edition).
Input
Customer information received by sales representative
Processing
Information received is organized for future retrival
Output
Reporting sales performance
Storage
Shared database containing all customer information
Control
Quality control on information entered by sales representative
People Resources
End Users (ER UMUC sales support representatives)
Specialists (systems analysts, software developers, & technical personnel)
Hardware Resources
Machines (desktop computers & printers)
Software Resources
Programs (data entry program applicable to ER UMUC data.)
Procedures (data entry procedures)
Data Resources
Existing Customer records
Inventory databases
Network Resources
communications control software
inter-network processors
modems
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Emergency Response Unique Manufacturing Unified Companies (ER UMUC) Incorporated
Company Overview:
ER UMUC Incorporated: ER UMUC, Inc. is a light (value added) manufacturer in the Emergency Response Management market, and offers a variety of products to support domestic and international disaster relief efforts. Some of their products are: rapidly deployable structures, custom mobile command trailers, gas mask filter canisters, etc. ER UMUC has built its reputation on the personal relationships fostered by its regional sales representatives and has an extensive network of community contacts. The sales representatives are proud of the best-in-breed product offering and are frequently called for live product demonstrations.
ER UMUC Company Stats (Last Quarter Results):
Gross Annual Revenue: $30 Million/year
Outstanding Debt: $20 Million
Available Cash: $4 Million
Average Sales Margin: 15%
ER UMUC made significant profits during a recent hurricane impact on the gulf coast. The executive management and board of directors felt that the time was ideal to acquire two companies that differed noticeably from their current business, CarbonTech and MyRentals.
CarbonTech: A small activated carbon and filter manufacturer with NIOSH approval for their filter design. CarbonTech’s IT infrastructure is small (25 computers, 3 servers); the Operations Manager, Joe DeCline, has been servicing all IT needs. He takes great pride in the
Epicor Vista®
Software that he runs on a Progress® database. This has been a family business for years, and Joe’s father Jay manages the business very closely. Generally, CarbonTech is resistant to change.
MyRentals: This medium size event services company provides tent rentals for a variety of events; they have been a “big player,” renting tents, AC Units, portable professional kitchens, etc. to everything from the Super Bowl to personal weddings. No event is too large or too small. The company’s General Manager, Bobby Buddy is the quintessential nice guy. He has a great personal relationship with most of his 200 full time employees, and even some of the 300 seasonal workers. The IT administration has been completely outsourced, and MyRentals is unhappy with the current level of support. The cost to support IT in their 14 satellite offices and use the
Microsoft Dynamics GP®
ERP system is consuming their very valuable cash.
The Technology Environment: As the Director of Information Technology for the combined companies, you find three very different environments. The current CEO of ER UMUC, Rock Martin, is technology averse – historically IT capital equipment purchases have been limited to less than $5,000/year. This is in stark contrast to your direct supervisor the CFO, Neil Robber, who loves to be connected. CarbonTech’s General Manager, Jay DeCline, is willing to invest in technology, but only if his son, Joe approves the purchase. Joe believes that he has already provided CarbonTech with everything they need in the areas of Operations and IT Infrastructure. Joe is fond of saying “If it aint broke don’t fix it.” Bobby Buddy, GM for MyRentals, is inherently trusting of his advisors, and has purchased all recommended services and support from his telecommunications, IT, and ERP support providers.
Your IT staff consists of yourself as Director of IT, a senior database developer, and a ½ time PC technician.
Each company has its challenges: The parent company, ER UMUC is cash poor and unprofitable. CarbonTech is very profitable, but does not earn enough to support the other companies, and is very resistant to change. MyRentals has placed too much trust in the individual branch managers to run localized operations and is now only breaking even; they desperately need to get control of their financials, but each branch has different procedures for material acquisitions. Their “just get it done” attitude has resulted in poor margins and poor documentation on all purchases.
Now with many more assets, personnel, and business challenges, the executive management is turning to you to help alleviate some of their financial stress with sound IT solutions that will demonstrably improve ER UMUC’s ability to operate and the “bottom line.” With so many different stakeholders you know that your analysis and recommendations must be sound!
Challenges and Opportunities:
ER UMUC has many challenges and opportunities as it works to combine the three companies into one integrated enterprise. The company could benefit from any number of enterprise-wide implementations that would improve its sales support, its manufacturing and supply services, and its corporate financial management, as described below.
Sales Support
The historical root of ER UMUC’s success has been its regional sales representatives, and there is no reason to expect otherwise in the future. Each sales representative returns to the company’s headquarters periodically for product training and a PC upgrade. You have noticed, even in your short time at ER UMUC, that everyone stores their information in a different format.
ER UMUC has been warmly received by all their customers. Despite that fact, however, there is some fear that the market for new purchases in the rapidly deployable shelter product line may be evaporating. The shelter product line has been the leading revenue generator at 60% of all revenue. Lately, ER UMUC’s established customer base is more interested in shelter rental options than purchase options. Suffice it to say that ER UMUC’s sales team is working long hours trying to sell the products they have been trained on (i.e. ER UMUC’s historical product line).
ER UMUC wants to continue to manufacture the deployable shelters, but is willing to lease them through the MyRentals subsidiary. ER UMUC would like to reduce the total sales force, make them more efficient in their use of technology, and use the same sales force to sell and lease the shelters, depending on customer requirements.
Your task is to propose an efficient IT solution for the mobile sales force to support them as they sell and lease products of both ER UMUC and MyRentals.
Manufacturing and Supply Services
ER UMUC has been using the filters made by the newly acquired CarbonTech Company in its filter canister product and now wants to completely integrate the product line, manufacturing the correct number of filters and having them available at the canister plant just in time to be used in making the canisters. The sales of the canisters are increasing at a pace that ER UMUC will be able to use all the filters made by CarbonTech.
In addition, ER UMUC will be the sole provider of deployable shelters to the MyRentals subsidiary. Therefore, the requirements for sales and leases of the shelters will impact the manufacturing process; and the amount of shelters manufactured will determine how many can be sold or leased. Since deployable shelters are a primary product of ER UMUC, and are a significant portion of the leasing business of MyRentals, you have decided to focus on that product line as you propose improvements in the IT support.
Your task is to propose a solution to the just-in-time supply of filters to the canister manufacturing process and to ensure the manufacturing line for the deployable shelters is producing the right number of shelters to fulfill the sales and leasing requirements.
Corporate Financial and Inventory Management
ER UMUC is supporting three different financial systems for their business functions, which have been independent. For a publicly traded company, this presents an accounting nightmare. Each company reports independent financials and each company has different report formats. This makes the integration needed for combined reporting nearly impossible. Every quarter the accounting staff, IT Staff and executive management spend nearly 4 weeks producing end of quarter reports. Consequently, annual inventory is also challenging – once again, three systems, three inventory procedures. The annual inventory covers only the permanent assets of ER UMUC and its subsidiaries, not the products being manufactured, leased, or sold.
Financial systems currently in use are:
· ER UMUC –
Infor ERP Visual®
· CarbonTech – Epicor Vista®
· MyRentals – Microsoft Dynamics GP®
ER UMUC is not current on their service contract. Both CarbonTech and MyRentals are current on their licenses and service contracts. Below is a summary of expected annual costs:
· InforERP Visual: $25K to bring all 25 licenses to the current build, 10K for independent support, $10K for annual renewal of licenses.
· Epicor Vista: $16K for 10 licenses with support.
· Microsoft Dynamics GP: $25K for 25 licenses, $10K for support.
Your task is to propose a solution for integrating the financial management and inventory systems for ER UMUC and its two subsidiaries to significantly reduce the time and effort required to produce the quarterly reports and to ensure accuracy.
Throughout this course you will be Director of Information Technology for ER UMUC. Taking advantage of the business practices and IT solutions discussed in the class, the Course Modules and the textbook, you will be expected to increase profits, keep the business running, and bring ER UMUC and its subsidiary companies into the 21st century.
One
of the challenges/opportunities above will be identified by you, and you will propose a solution for that area. That solution will be used in a series of staged assignments.
Upon completion of these assignments you will have performed an array of activities to demonstrate your ability to apply the course content to a “real world situation” to:
· Recommend an IT solution based on your analysis of the business environment (case study, stage 1: memo)
· Evaluate the IT architectural considerations of your recommended solution (case study, stage 2: paper) Provide the details of an IT solution
· Provide a business case for your proposed solution (case study, stage 3:annotated outline)
· Explain the best practices and enterprise methodologies to be used for implementation of your proposed solution (case study, stage 4: executive briefing)
· Evaluate the risks of a specific solution (Exercise 1)
You will find the details of each assignment and a corresponding grading rubric in separate assignment documents. The specific weights of each of these assignments can be found in the class syllabus.
Note: ONE of the listed business challenges/opportunities areas listed above (sales support, manufacturing and supply services, or corporate financial and inventory management) will be used throughout the staged project. Hint: As noted earlier in the case, the goal of ER UMUC is to combine the three companies into one integrated enterprise—so your solution should support that goal.
