Business System Analysis Essay

Understanding the automotive industry, it can be observed that to serve the customer in a timely manner is an important matter. However, in order to serve the customer faster, the automotive company must also be in a state of having its inventory in place which is sufficient to fulfill the customer needs and requirements. For the automotive industry, the value chain would look something like the following:  The picture defines that before the company can actually sell directly to the customer, there are a number of hops in the in the supply chain.

Before the product reaches the company, the raw material provider for the company would consider its own supply chain and how it would need to provide the company at the earliest time possible so as to earn profits as well maintain the long term relationship with the company. Another aspect of the supply chain is that the logistics mode taken up also matters to the time lag from the time the customer is willing to buy the product from the automotive company to when the actual car is provided to the customer.

Of course, when the customer would order for the car, there would be a time difference before the car is assembled and provided to the customer. And the parts can only be assembled together if they are received in time from the supplier. Need for Consolidating Data Reviewing the case of Big Bob’s Automotive it can be seen that they have tried to implement technology into their daily operations by having computers inserted at various data collection points where there is a need to have the data updated at all times and that it is readily available for the salesperson.

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However, the computer itself is stand alone and the concept of a network or a centralized database has not come up as yet for this company. As we know, the company is facing trouble in serving its customers in time because the company itself is not aware of the inventory level and the availability of the inventory to reduce service time and increase efficiency. If the customer would be served faster, the company would then be able to take over the industry as a whole because they would gain a competitive edge and also have a positive reputation with the customers.

This would also allow the company to maybe implement premium pricing for their quick services. Benefits of Consolidating Data In order to improve its service time, the company needs to consider consolidating and integrating its data together into one place so that the salesperson would be able to achieve information from one terminal only and would not need to access different terminals for different kinds of information. The consolidation of the data would also allow the salesperson to also receive updated information.

How would this happen is also magic when a company such as Big Bob’s Automotive would go through the analysis phase. This is only possible when all the data is brought into one place. Since the data would be brought together to a central point, the data from the different stand-alone terminals would be joined in a logical manner. This means that if there is a table of data containing the inventory level of different parts and another encompassing the data about the suppliers of parts, these two tables can be logically brought together.

The integrator of the database would only need to make a table that would keep the inventory level and the concerned supplier information into one so that the salesperson can then receive the data from one terminal only. And since the data would be stored in a single place, the information would be updated regularly and this would reduce the chances of missing out or making mistake in analyzing the inventory level before the parts are called for from the supplier.

And since the inventory would remain updated at all times, an inventory manager can also be recruited into the company who may analyze and forecast the inventory levels of each part and ask for another batch of supplies before the existing one is over. Of course, the manager would need to forecast the demand of the customers for that part as well. And along with the help of the inventory manager, the suppliers must be allowed to access an application of the company which would be created solely for order and inventory management.

In this case, the supply chain would be managed where the supplier would be provided access to the company’s intranet and the supplier can continue reviewing its end of the interface to see if there are any existing orders at its end remaining to be completed. Potential Drawbacks of Consolidating Data One of the major drawbacks for consolidating data, which was in history in various locations of a company, would be the format of the data.

There is a high probability that the data would not be made in a consistent format so that it would be understood easily by any one who would be responsible for the consolidation. Of course, every department of the company would have a different understanding of the data and its attributes and hence, there would be a need to understand the meaning and the importance before the data is consolidated. The consolidator would need to also ensure that the data is as required. There are times when the departments in the company may add extra data for their understanding.

The consolidator must know the criticality and the need for each and then make the database. Another of the drawbacks is that the data may not all be updated. There could be some lazy departments who would consider updating the inventory level, for example, or some salesperson who forgot to change the inventory level when using the inventory for selling to the customer. Since the change would not be made upfront, the data would not be updated and there is a chance that the data in the terminals would not match that of the physical environment, which is the warehouse.

Since the data is not updated, the data for the database would not be reliable enough to access and the consolidator may need to actually visit the warehouse to realize the level of inventory for each item. This can impose a great threat to the reliability of the database. The consolidation may become a menial task and the consolidator may also go through some stress levels with the employees of the company, however, at the end of the day, the future of Big Bob’s Automotive would look bright.

References

1. Bruccoleri, D. (2008). Damons Laboratory. Retrieved on April 6, 2009 from: http://damon4. com/Default. aspx? blogentryid=56

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