Question

Steve’s Lumber Company on the Missouri River features a large selection of materials for flooring, decks, moldings, windows, siding and roofing. It is a small family business that is looking to expand. The prices of lumber and other building materials are constantly changing. When a customer inquires about the price on pre-finished wood flooring, sales representatives consult a manual price sheet and then call the supplier for the most recent price. The supplier in turn uses a manual price sheet, which has been updated each day. Often the supplier must call back Steve’s reps because the company does not have the newest pricing information immediately on hand. Steve has hired you to assess the business impact of the situation and see what can be done for them to make this process more efficient.

Complete the following:

1. Business Process.
   1. List at least 3 issues with the current process.
   2. Explain the impact of the existing process on operational efficiency
2. Diagram the existing Process. Using a diagramming tool model the existing process.
3. Metrics. Identify 3 metrics that could be put in place to measure the impact of the existing process on operational efficiency.  
4. Process Improvements.
   1. Discuss the changes that could be made to make the process more efficient.
   2. Explain how information systems could support those changes. Discuss what data the systems should capture and what decisions the system could improve.

Answer 1

Business Process:

a.List at least 3 issues with the current process.

1. A Sales Rep. must consult a manual price sheet with the constant change in cost.

2. A supplier must get in contact with the Sales Rep with new pricing information, which in turn lengthens the chain of communication, and uses company time.

3.The manual price sheet is not constantly updated or available to both the supplier, and the sales Rep.

b. Explain the impact of the existing process on operational efficiency.

The company is losing a lot of valuable time and money through a long drawn out process of communication between customer, seller, supplier, and manufacturer. The source used to consult customers about pricing is also not updated which causes this chain reaction of calls to other sources of pricing information.

Metrics. Identify 3 metrics that could be put in place to measure the impact of the existing process on operational efficiency.

1. Amount of time used to answer a customer’s question about pricing.

2. How much money the company saves.

3. How many transactions the company makes weekly, monthly, and yearly.

Process Improvements.

a. Discuss the changes that could be made to make the process more efficient.

Having an information system that contains the inventory in stock, as well as calculates the mark-up and tax applied with the price of the product. Along with and automated email update system that sends an alert email to users in the system when a change is made in the system.

b. Explain how information systems could support those changes. Discuss what data the systems should capture and what decisions the system could improve.

With a new information system that is kept current and up to date, the company can quickly access any pricing information about a product as well as have the information on inventory, tax, and what the mark-up will be. This can increase productivity throughout the company, as well as increase sales and customer reform.

NOTE : For  Diagram the existing Process. -> ***I'm sorry that this part has to be done by you, we can't provide direct answers and just help students make their own thinking according to our HomeworkLib guidelines. Please understand***

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