I believe that Fashion Wholesaler would not benefit enough from the installation of Microsoft Project (MS Project) to outweigh the cost of implementation and training.
MS Project is a software application designed to enable proper planning using organization of tasks, calculation the duration of each task involved and evaluating the most effective way to complete a project within budget and on or before the expected deadline. This software has many functions that are extremely helpful to businesses that often rely on heavily calculated project timelines. As a first time user of this software I found it very frustrating to use. Because of the level of intricacy and detail in order for someone to operate this software to its full capability I believe that training would be mandatory prior to implementation.
In regards to answering if Fashion Wholesaler should adopt MS Project I think the answer to that is No. Fashion Wholesaler does not work enough with massive projects, tight timelines and extensive budgets to warrant the time and money needed to install and train employees on this software. Currently, Fashion Wholesaler relies on Excel, Microsoft Word and AccountEdge software to complete orders both large and small. MS Project could cost anywhere from $34/month or $1,160/month depending on how many computers/users would be engaged with the software. Since Fashion Wholesaler is a very small company of about 5 full time employees that work in the office if we were to entertain the idea of implementation we would only need it on one computer - the main server. Let's take the low end price of $34/month to calculate expenses:
Price: $34/month. Equates to $408 for the year.
Now since this software is so detailed and extensive some training will be required. Since we would all have to learn to be proficient on the software we can calculate the cost of training each employee roughly. I am going to calculate conservatively and assume it will only take people two hours of training to become proficient.
Receptionist 1: $15/hour * 2hrs = $30
Receptionist 2: $10/hour * 2hrs = $20
Designer = $30/hour * 2hrs = $60
Logisitics Manager = $25/hour * 2hs = $50
Total = $160. This total is the amount of money lost in salaries that could have been spent working on processing orders, creating garments, and working on other projects.
MS Project IT Specialist salary = $175/hr * 8hrs = $1,400.
Now if you take into account the bill for the specialist that is a total of $1,560. Now add in the fee for the software we are looking at $1,968 for implementation, training and first year expenses.
Knowing that Fashion Wholesalers do not operate enough projects to utilize this software it doesn't seem to make much sense for them to invest in it and waste the time or money in implementing it properly
Thursday, May 1, 2014
Harrah's Entertainment: Case Prep & Reflection
Problem/Issue Statement:
Harrah's main operating strategy focuses primarily on their vast customer knowledge and rewarding customer loyalty. With competitive casinos growing rapidly Harrah's needed to start focusing on implementing creative, consumer friendly advertising and marketing campaigns and information technology. In order to keep ahead of the competition Harrah's needed to invest heavily in both of these areas. In the technology aspect investment was required to aid in the integration of data from other sources for use in their patron database and their marketing workbench. Harrah's wanted to really understand their customer's preferences by running experimental advertising and mining data to try and meet their patron's needs. In order to really accomplish these two aspects Harrah's adopted a new IT system, which included a revamped customer loyalty program, data warehousing, and closed loop marketing. The main issue was that Harrah's was operating all of it's facilities as independent entities with all aspects of the business being run by the individual casino managers. Marketing and promotions were all done on a casino level bassi and customers were not fully understood or managed properly - especially when it came to cross-property customer action. Harrah's did not know their customer's preferences and were not taking full advantage of specific target marketing. Another issue of this problem is that there is no true brand image or clear strategy for the company to grow and expand.
Situation Assessment:
The problem of how to build and maintain customer relationships and ensure Harrah's has a more cost effective plan to expansion. The context of the problem focuses on expanding into other locations and maintaining their competitive advantage over the other casinos. It is imperative for Harrah's to invest and develop their software to aid in creating unique customer profiles and experiences and ensure more highly detailed target marketing offers.
List of Plausible Alternatives:
The aspects of their business differentiation strategy that have been already put to good use are the development of WINet (operational data store), which collects patron data from various sources and integrates this data into making each patron's experience with Harrah's more exciting and more personal. WINet allowed Harrah's to create personalized offers targeted to specific markets and demographics to increase their customer's presence in their casinos. By creating and implementing this database Harrah's was able to leverage their customer database to created personalized promotions to their vast customer base. Additionally, Harrah's created their Total Rewards Program, a loyalty program for their patrons. Total Rewards tracks all of their customers activities within their facilities and then rewards them with various promo's their system has analyzed that would appeal to each demographic depending on where their customers frequent in the casino. Harrah's also implemented closed-loop marketing to develop and retain results for future use within the company. This allowed Harrah's to figure out what types of campaigns/advertisements were most effective and therefore held the highest value for the company.
Harrah's team was able to leverage each of these areas to build up their customer base, attract more frequent visits and really focus their marketing programs so that they had the most impact. These strategies elicited a 62% internal ROI, a 14% revenue growth in same location sales, and increase the frequency of return visits by their loyal patrons.
Even though Harrah's has spent time and money developing these platform their competition is not far behind them in learning how to leverage their own technologies to create personalized experiences for their customers. In order for Harrah's to continue to "strike while the iron is hot" and remain the leader in the gambling industry they need to continue to leverage their already developed technologies and consistently enhance these systems and databases to ensure their are leveraging the highest amount of information from each platform. It is in Harrah's best interest to continue to researching their customers and finding out what really draws them back to Harrah's again and again. Leveraging that data could possible help Harrah's predict future activities. This will help Harrah's maintain long lasting relationships with their patrons.
Another alternative Harrah's needs to look into is the way they will be revamping their website. I think since they are on the road to doing so placing targeted advertisements on their home page will be a great way to get customers to purchase additional items outside of a room or food by offering special pricing/discounts on other amenities Harrah's offers. Integrating their Total Rewards program would give Harrah's the opportunity to track where on their site their customers visit and able to target their needs better.
Evaluation of Alternatives:
The alternatives discussed above are all very important for Harrah's to leverage. But more importantly I think ensure their IT infrastructure is capable of handling their new found technologies and that their staff is well versed in how to operate all these new features is very important. If a customer has a great front end experience with their targeted advertising but gets to the concierge and has a difficult time that customer may not want to come back and deal with the potential hassle again. These two aspects need to have very high valuations in Harrah's mind to create an amazing 360 degree experience for their patrons. Since Harrah's has first mover advantage in expanding their business in this arena they need to make sure they are consistently brainstorming new, creative ideas to keep them ahead of the curve and keeping their customers wanting to come back for more. Harrah's has prospered since creating this one brand image and consolidating all the data into one stream that is available to each of their locations and they shouldn't rest on their laurels else one of their competitors is going to find a way to outshine them one day.
Recommendation:
After hearing the presentation and what the consultant's recommended it is important for Harrah's to continue to expand and grow to maintain their leading position in the gaming market. In order to continue to stay at the top of their game Harrah's needs to look into two specific options:
1) Improve and enhance their already successful IT system and marketing ventures.
2) Invest, expand and upgrade their locations.
In order to do these two successfully Harrah's needs to work first on improving and elaborating their IT system and marketing efforts; possibly by using their online presence to offer an online booking system, discounts and coupons for activities within the facilities, and advertisements on their site. This would be convenient for their customers but it would also entice them to come back for more each time they visit their website or check their email. I believe that if Harrah's can capitalize on generating higher revenues from these activities will allow them to retain the capital needed to invest in new properties. It requires a large investment to get a new property up and running to the same capacity as the already existing ones and I believe this should be a long term plan for Harrah's but not part of their immediate concerns.
Since Harrah's is currently the market leader I think they need to look into creating experiences for non-gambling visitors. Putting some effort and time into creating some target marketing to attract non-gamblers to come and enjoy a spa day, a special events - food festivals, wine festivals, etc - or even a concert or party would greatly expand their presence into untapped demographics that could help expand their bottom line.
It is in Harrah's best interest to leverage these options to help expand their bottom line and continue to stay atop of the casino market.
Harrah's main operating strategy focuses primarily on their vast customer knowledge and rewarding customer loyalty. With competitive casinos growing rapidly Harrah's needed to start focusing on implementing creative, consumer friendly advertising and marketing campaigns and information technology. In order to keep ahead of the competition Harrah's needed to invest heavily in both of these areas. In the technology aspect investment was required to aid in the integration of data from other sources for use in their patron database and their marketing workbench. Harrah's wanted to really understand their customer's preferences by running experimental advertising and mining data to try and meet their patron's needs. In order to really accomplish these two aspects Harrah's adopted a new IT system, which included a revamped customer loyalty program, data warehousing, and closed loop marketing. The main issue was that Harrah's was operating all of it's facilities as independent entities with all aspects of the business being run by the individual casino managers. Marketing and promotions were all done on a casino level bassi and customers were not fully understood or managed properly - especially when it came to cross-property customer action. Harrah's did not know their customer's preferences and were not taking full advantage of specific target marketing. Another issue of this problem is that there is no true brand image or clear strategy for the company to grow and expand.
Situation Assessment:
The problem of how to build and maintain customer relationships and ensure Harrah's has a more cost effective plan to expansion. The context of the problem focuses on expanding into other locations and maintaining their competitive advantage over the other casinos. It is imperative for Harrah's to invest and develop their software to aid in creating unique customer profiles and experiences and ensure more highly detailed target marketing offers.
List of Plausible Alternatives:
The aspects of their business differentiation strategy that have been already put to good use are the development of WINet (operational data store), which collects patron data from various sources and integrates this data into making each patron's experience with Harrah's more exciting and more personal. WINet allowed Harrah's to create personalized offers targeted to specific markets and demographics to increase their customer's presence in their casinos. By creating and implementing this database Harrah's was able to leverage their customer database to created personalized promotions to their vast customer base. Additionally, Harrah's created their Total Rewards Program, a loyalty program for their patrons. Total Rewards tracks all of their customers activities within their facilities and then rewards them with various promo's their system has analyzed that would appeal to each demographic depending on where their customers frequent in the casino. Harrah's also implemented closed-loop marketing to develop and retain results for future use within the company. This allowed Harrah's to figure out what types of campaigns/advertisements were most effective and therefore held the highest value for the company.
Harrah's team was able to leverage each of these areas to build up their customer base, attract more frequent visits and really focus their marketing programs so that they had the most impact. These strategies elicited a 62% internal ROI, a 14% revenue growth in same location sales, and increase the frequency of return visits by their loyal patrons.
Even though Harrah's has spent time and money developing these platform their competition is not far behind them in learning how to leverage their own technologies to create personalized experiences for their customers. In order for Harrah's to continue to "strike while the iron is hot" and remain the leader in the gambling industry they need to continue to leverage their already developed technologies and consistently enhance these systems and databases to ensure their are leveraging the highest amount of information from each platform. It is in Harrah's best interest to continue to researching their customers and finding out what really draws them back to Harrah's again and again. Leveraging that data could possible help Harrah's predict future activities. This will help Harrah's maintain long lasting relationships with their patrons.
Another alternative Harrah's needs to look into is the way they will be revamping their website. I think since they are on the road to doing so placing targeted advertisements on their home page will be a great way to get customers to purchase additional items outside of a room or food by offering special pricing/discounts on other amenities Harrah's offers. Integrating their Total Rewards program would give Harrah's the opportunity to track where on their site their customers visit and able to target their needs better.
Evaluation of Alternatives:
The alternatives discussed above are all very important for Harrah's to leverage. But more importantly I think ensure their IT infrastructure is capable of handling their new found technologies and that their staff is well versed in how to operate all these new features is very important. If a customer has a great front end experience with their targeted advertising but gets to the concierge and has a difficult time that customer may not want to come back and deal with the potential hassle again. These two aspects need to have very high valuations in Harrah's mind to create an amazing 360 degree experience for their patrons. Since Harrah's has first mover advantage in expanding their business in this arena they need to make sure they are consistently brainstorming new, creative ideas to keep them ahead of the curve and keeping their customers wanting to come back for more. Harrah's has prospered since creating this one brand image and consolidating all the data into one stream that is available to each of their locations and they shouldn't rest on their laurels else one of their competitors is going to find a way to outshine them one day.
Recommendation:
After hearing the presentation and what the consultant's recommended it is important for Harrah's to continue to expand and grow to maintain their leading position in the gaming market. In order to continue to stay at the top of their game Harrah's needs to look into two specific options:
1) Improve and enhance their already successful IT system and marketing ventures.
2) Invest, expand and upgrade their locations.
In order to do these two successfully Harrah's needs to work first on improving and elaborating their IT system and marketing efforts; possibly by using their online presence to offer an online booking system, discounts and coupons for activities within the facilities, and advertisements on their site. This would be convenient for their customers but it would also entice them to come back for more each time they visit their website or check their email. I believe that if Harrah's can capitalize on generating higher revenues from these activities will allow them to retain the capital needed to invest in new properties. It requires a large investment to get a new property up and running to the same capacity as the already existing ones and I believe this should be a long term plan for Harrah's but not part of their immediate concerns.
Since Harrah's is currently the market leader I think they need to look into creating experiences for non-gambling visitors. Putting some effort and time into creating some target marketing to attract non-gamblers to come and enjoy a spa day, a special events - food festivals, wine festivals, etc - or even a concert or party would greatly expand their presence into untapped demographics that could help expand their bottom line.
It is in Harrah's best interest to leverage these options to help expand their bottom line and continue to stay atop of the casino market.
Monday, April 7, 2014
Bombardier: Case Prep & Reflection
Problem/Issue Statement:
The most integral problem Bombardier Aerospace faces is the low visibility of inventory and the lack of communication and integration of its legacy systems. The individual systems did not communicate well with each other and it became increasingly difficult to share data and information between all the facilities. Bombardier inherited data and with it many inefficiencies, such as the aforementioned data sharing. As a direct reflection of these inefficiencies Bombardier began replacing its legacy system with an integrated Enterprise Resource System (ERP). They believed this would answer their problems and keep them ahead of the curve. The main problem this new ERP corrected was the lack of inventory visibility (and therefore to help reduce the value of the inventory being held). Since ERP's are highly complex and usually result in lower than expected performance it is no surprise that Bombardier hired a consultant company after their first failed run in 2000, which cost them approximately $130M. Bombardier also took the route of assembling an internal ERP development team to create a new vision. After many development delays and other issues Bombardier decided to implement the Bombardier Manufacturing Information System (BMIS) on individual plants one at a time. The first implementation took place at the Mirabel facility located near Montreal and the second one was at the Saint-Laurent plant. The main issue the company was facing at the point of facility implementation was that there was an inherent disconnection between the business and project teams that causes a big communication issue. This was adversely affecting the system transition and delaying training time.This problem really involves all of the plants/facilities that will implement the ERP system. They employ approx 27,100 people in 13 facilities worldwide. Before they can move forward with their implementation schedule they need to solve the new system adoption issues. There needs to be a more seamless transitions from old to new. Although Bombardier has made improvements since the first roll out they still need some refining on the implementation and acceptance of of the ERP system.
Situation Assessment:
The context of the problem lies mainly in the area of implementation at the first two locations. It stems from not having consistency in their game plan of rolling out the new ERP system. This roll out caused issues with the project team, employees and the management team. They need to work on setting clear, attainable objectives, strengthening communication between all parties involved, garnering management's approval and finally addressing the time and training issues.
List of Plausible Alternative Courses of Action:
There are a few key points that need to be taken into consideration by Bombardier. The first is that the management needs to remain actively involved in the implementation process and they need to be thinking ahead about their ability to help smooth out the potential organizational changes that can occur when a new ERP system is implemented. There should be a connection and understanding between the information technology department and the functional areas where the software is being implemented. The project team should be focusing on all the functional areas where the implementation can occur and employees should be given appropriate training on how to come together as a team and learn how to work together as a team before the implementation begins. Also they need to have a focused and knowledgeable project manager on board who's full time job is over seeing this implementation. One of the final things they should be doing is making sure that everyone is on board with the conversion of data from the old system to the new one. There should also be a very early window of conversion time within this project to ensure that all employees/team members have enough time to check for any kinks or work out any issues with the transition from training to actual use.
Evaluation of Alternatives:
When evaluating the alternative options it is important to remember to focus on what will cover the main problem and a majority if not all of the symptoms of the problem. The framework outlined above will help with the implementation process by requiring early planning and enhancing communication between management, the project ten and employees. It will also help lay out a more comprehensive game plan to help everyone navigate this transition a little more smoothly. I think starting with the revisions outlined above will be the best place for Bombardier to start. They need to be realistic in their approach and choose the options that will incorporate the most change/revamping for the better of the company and it's team members. These choosing of the best fit requirements will help in their implementation at their third location and any/all following locations as well.
Recommendation:
After hearing the consultants presentation at last week's meeting I feel that Bombardier is headed in the right direction in regard to their ERP implementation. There was vast improvement from the first implementation to the second implementation and it looks like we are headed to even more success for our upcoming third implementation. I believe that if we continue down this path and work on a few key aspects of the best practices we will have a highly successful third implementation.
The two biggest aspects that I think need to be focused on are project management/leadership and investment in training. I think that having strong project management will help correct the disconnect between the project team, management and employees. This would help the process move along more smoothly and it will keep all members of the company on board and feeling more like a cohesive unit rather than three seperate factions. Training is another key aspect of my recommendation. I think Bombardier should have a detailed plan laid out prior to start implementation. I think investing in trainers, training sessions and workshops would be very beneficial to all the team members. It would allow access to training, material and technical support allowing everyone to feel more comfortable and knowledgable about the upcoming implementation.
I think implementing all facets of best practices and really focusing on the two outlined above will cause Bombardier to have a much more successful and functional third rollout. Since Bombardier has already committed much of itself to this project I think striving to improve in these areas while maintaining the already successful portions will lead to overall success for them. If these key features are adjusted and all others are kept up to par then Bombardier is sure to surpass its second rollout.
The most integral problem Bombardier Aerospace faces is the low visibility of inventory and the lack of communication and integration of its legacy systems. The individual systems did not communicate well with each other and it became increasingly difficult to share data and information between all the facilities. Bombardier inherited data and with it many inefficiencies, such as the aforementioned data sharing. As a direct reflection of these inefficiencies Bombardier began replacing its legacy system with an integrated Enterprise Resource System (ERP). They believed this would answer their problems and keep them ahead of the curve. The main problem this new ERP corrected was the lack of inventory visibility (and therefore to help reduce the value of the inventory being held). Since ERP's are highly complex and usually result in lower than expected performance it is no surprise that Bombardier hired a consultant company after their first failed run in 2000, which cost them approximately $130M. Bombardier also took the route of assembling an internal ERP development team to create a new vision. After many development delays and other issues Bombardier decided to implement the Bombardier Manufacturing Information System (BMIS) on individual plants one at a time. The first implementation took place at the Mirabel facility located near Montreal and the second one was at the Saint-Laurent plant. The main issue the company was facing at the point of facility implementation was that there was an inherent disconnection between the business and project teams that causes a big communication issue. This was adversely affecting the system transition and delaying training time.This problem really involves all of the plants/facilities that will implement the ERP system. They employ approx 27,100 people in 13 facilities worldwide. Before they can move forward with their implementation schedule they need to solve the new system adoption issues. There needs to be a more seamless transitions from old to new. Although Bombardier has made improvements since the first roll out they still need some refining on the implementation and acceptance of of the ERP system.
Situation Assessment:
The context of the problem lies mainly in the area of implementation at the first two locations. It stems from not having consistency in their game plan of rolling out the new ERP system. This roll out caused issues with the project team, employees and the management team. They need to work on setting clear, attainable objectives, strengthening communication between all parties involved, garnering management's approval and finally addressing the time and training issues.
List of Plausible Alternative Courses of Action:
There are a few key points that need to be taken into consideration by Bombardier. The first is that the management needs to remain actively involved in the implementation process and they need to be thinking ahead about their ability to help smooth out the potential organizational changes that can occur when a new ERP system is implemented. There should be a connection and understanding between the information technology department and the functional areas where the software is being implemented. The project team should be focusing on all the functional areas where the implementation can occur and employees should be given appropriate training on how to come together as a team and learn how to work together as a team before the implementation begins. Also they need to have a focused and knowledgeable project manager on board who's full time job is over seeing this implementation. One of the final things they should be doing is making sure that everyone is on board with the conversion of data from the old system to the new one. There should also be a very early window of conversion time within this project to ensure that all employees/team members have enough time to check for any kinks or work out any issues with the transition from training to actual use.
Evaluation of Alternatives:
When evaluating the alternative options it is important to remember to focus on what will cover the main problem and a majority if not all of the symptoms of the problem. The framework outlined above will help with the implementation process by requiring early planning and enhancing communication between management, the project ten and employees. It will also help lay out a more comprehensive game plan to help everyone navigate this transition a little more smoothly. I think starting with the revisions outlined above will be the best place for Bombardier to start. They need to be realistic in their approach and choose the options that will incorporate the most change/revamping for the better of the company and it's team members. These choosing of the best fit requirements will help in their implementation at their third location and any/all following locations as well.
Recommendation:
After hearing the consultants presentation at last week's meeting I feel that Bombardier is headed in the right direction in regard to their ERP implementation. There was vast improvement from the first implementation to the second implementation and it looks like we are headed to even more success for our upcoming third implementation. I believe that if we continue down this path and work on a few key aspects of the best practices we will have a highly successful third implementation.
The two biggest aspects that I think need to be focused on are project management/leadership and investment in training. I think that having strong project management will help correct the disconnect between the project team, management and employees. This would help the process move along more smoothly and it will keep all members of the company on board and feeling more like a cohesive unit rather than three seperate factions. Training is another key aspect of my recommendation. I think Bombardier should have a detailed plan laid out prior to start implementation. I think investing in trainers, training sessions and workshops would be very beneficial to all the team members. It would allow access to training, material and technical support allowing everyone to feel more comfortable and knowledgable about the upcoming implementation.
I think implementing all facets of best practices and really focusing on the two outlined above will cause Bombardier to have a much more successful and functional third rollout. Since Bombardier has already committed much of itself to this project I think striving to improve in these areas while maintaining the already successful portions will lead to overall success for them. If these key features are adjusted and all others are kept up to par then Bombardier is sure to surpass its second rollout.
Monday, March 24, 2014
The Puerto Rico Education Project: Case Prep & Reflection
Problem/Issue Statement:
The Puerto Rico Education Project (PREP) is a three year information technology project worth fifteen million dollars that involves designing, implementing and installing a mainframe computer, systems and application that would allow the Puerto Rico Department of Education to evaluate the effectiveness of their current education programs. This project is required to be performed on-site in Puerto Rico (PR) and it will be performed by a large US company funded by the US Government. The PREP would also require that the staff and their families move to PR stay for the entire duration of the project.
The main objective of the PREP is for the USCO to design and implement effective data collection as well as develop mathematical models to continually assess and evaluate the educational programs in PR. Since planning is such a crucial aspect to this project we can see from this case study that the USCO failed to complete proper research and preparations.
Situation Assessment:
The USCO has procedures in place to help classify projects as either domestic or international. USCO upper management misclassified the PREP as a domestic project and even though PR is part of the US it has a vastly different culture/environment than the rest of the country, therefore it should have been classified as an international project. But since it was classified domestic none of the staff or families were given any cultural training or background information. When they got to PR they were completely shocked at the living conditions and they were not prepared to conquer the language barrier or prepared for the vastly different lifestyle. It got so bad that the USCO employees had to ask the USCO to give them a temporary increase in salary so they could afford private schooling for their children because the public school system in PR was so inadequate.
List of Plausible Alternatives:
The USCO has two alternatives:
1) They can send their employees who are not willing to stay in PR back to the US.
2) They could tell their employees that they have to stay in PR until the project is finished since they are on contract.
Evaluation of the Alternatives:
When examining both alternatives there are pros and cons to both. Looking at option #1 - to send back the employees who are not willing to stay - it would allow the company to keep their employees happy by sending them back to the US and it would allow the USCO to hire other employees who can speak the language and are more comfortable living in PR. On the reverse side of this is finding new jobs for all the employees they send back to the US and the financial burden of sending all of those employees back to the US after they spent time and money sending them to PR in the first place. There is also the potential burden of a legal issue with breaking the contract or the backlash from employees they can not find replacement work for.
The second option - forcing their employees to stay in PR due to their contract - would have a pro of keeping their investment in their employees and the sunk costs of the project working for them rather than giving that all up. On the reverse side this decision would continue to lead to low moral and very unhappy employees, which would incur low productivity and poor work performance rates.
Reflection:
Since I think there is a 0% chance of canceling the
project without incurring severe repercussions and backlash to our reputation That leaves option three completely off the table. Besides we wouldn't want to run the risk of making
the PR education commission unhappy, which is not the case currently. I think the customer/client’s satisfaction is
the most important for us -
high customer approval is key to our reputation. Cancelling the
project also runs a very high legal risk, which I think (even though it is only
potential at this point) steering clear of is a very high priority.
The Puerto Rico Education Project (PREP) is a three year information technology project worth fifteen million dollars that involves designing, implementing and installing a mainframe computer, systems and application that would allow the Puerto Rico Department of Education to evaluate the effectiveness of their current education programs. This project is required to be performed on-site in Puerto Rico (PR) and it will be performed by a large US company funded by the US Government. The PREP would also require that the staff and their families move to PR stay for the entire duration of the project.
The main objective of the PREP is for the USCO to design and implement effective data collection as well as develop mathematical models to continually assess and evaluate the educational programs in PR. Since planning is such a crucial aspect to this project we can see from this case study that the USCO failed to complete proper research and preparations.
Situation Assessment:
The USCO has procedures in place to help classify projects as either domestic or international. USCO upper management misclassified the PREP as a domestic project and even though PR is part of the US it has a vastly different culture/environment than the rest of the country, therefore it should have been classified as an international project. But since it was classified domestic none of the staff or families were given any cultural training or background information. When they got to PR they were completely shocked at the living conditions and they were not prepared to conquer the language barrier or prepared for the vastly different lifestyle. It got so bad that the USCO employees had to ask the USCO to give them a temporary increase in salary so they could afford private schooling for their children because the public school system in PR was so inadequate.
List of Plausible Alternatives:
The USCO has two alternatives:
1) They can send their employees who are not willing to stay in PR back to the US.
2) They could tell their employees that they have to stay in PR until the project is finished since they are on contract.
Evaluation of the Alternatives:
When examining both alternatives there are pros and cons to both. Looking at option #1 - to send back the employees who are not willing to stay - it would allow the company to keep their employees happy by sending them back to the US and it would allow the USCO to hire other employees who can speak the language and are more comfortable living in PR. On the reverse side of this is finding new jobs for all the employees they send back to the US and the financial burden of sending all of those employees back to the US after they spent time and money sending them to PR in the first place. There is also the potential burden of a legal issue with breaking the contract or the backlash from employees they can not find replacement work for.
The second option - forcing their employees to stay in PR due to their contract - would have a pro of keeping their investment in their employees and the sunk costs of the project working for them rather than giving that all up. On the reverse side this decision would continue to lead to low moral and very unhappy employees, which would incur low productivity and poor work performance rates.
Reflection:
As per the consultants presentation they brought to us three solutions.
1) Keep the employees that are already contracted for the project and find ways to boost moral and productivity through incentives such a cars, vacations, bonuses, overtime etc.
2) Keep the seven "happy" employees and hire Puerto Rican programmers to replace the unhappy workers being sent back to the US.
3) Cancel the project all together.
After weighing all of the options and details outlined I have come to the following conclusions. I think our first step should be to should keep the current employees. We need to set up a meeting with all of the team members and attempt to find out what
would make them happy and discuss some potential incentives for them and their families. An example would be providing a shuttle bus to work, which would allow the remanning family members to have access to a car. We could also look into and discuss some productivity driven bonuses. I think as a company we need to accept some failure in setting up this project (classifying it as domestic instead of international) and in not properly preparing our employees and their families for what they were being thrown into. I think trying to see if we can properly motivate them and finding some middle ground between making them happy(and motivated) and keeping costs at a minimum should be our first step. I would personally set a time limit to this aspect - say 2-3 months. If this step doesn’t correct the behavior and improve the timeline of the project then I think we need to look into letting the unhappy employees out of their current contract - contingent on them signing a new agreement that will state that they will be let out of this contract with a promise of not facing any legal action from USCO, but that we will attempt to find them jobs for an "x" amount of time. If within that given time we have not been able to place them then they are on their own to find work because we will not be guaranteeing them a position in this new contract. We would also have to bite the bullet and eat the cost of transporting them and their families home again since we were the ones who brought them here ill prepared. Once all of the unhappy employees have left then we would replace them with Puerto Rican programmers at entry level pay (provided we can find the talent necessary for the job) and continue to work on bridging the language barrier by providing a language teach for "x" amount of hours/week for all employees to learn/improve their non native tongue. We could also institute in-house team building exercises and many a project wide employee lunch once a month to help foster the relationships between all of the employees. I believe that this would help circumvent any potential rift between the US and new PR employees.
I think a combination of option one and two gives us the best chance for success overall. We have the potential to get this project back on track in both time and employee productivity/moral. I think working with the current employees is an important first step in bridging the widening gap. If that doesn't yield any solutions then replacing the unhappy workers with new native programmers is the next best option.
Business Impacts of Ubuntu
Ubuntu is a free, complete desktop Linux operating system. It included more than 1,000 pieces of software, such as Linux kernel and Gnome. It also covers every standard desktop application from word processing, spreadsheet applications, internet access apps, web server software, email software, programming language and tools.
In answering the question, whether or not my company should virtualize their workstations through the use of Ubuntu, there are two key aspects to examine before a decision can be made.
First, what is the learning curve associated with Ubuntu. It seems fairly easy to install and to learn but when we break down the time spent installing and teaching all of the employees how to operate it effectively we are looking at some wasted hours that could have been spent processing orders, taking new sales, or meeting clients. Along with this information we need to look at how useful a program like this would be to our company. Since we are so small (only four full-time employees) and all employees already work on a seamless and problem free system would Ubuntu be worth while? To that I say no. The fashion company uses a Windows based platform to do it's business. We use Microsoft Word, Excel, Gmail, Dropbox and Google Drive without any issues. Each of our employees already knows how to operate all of the above applications without any issues and we never have any problems sharing documents or photos on Google Drive or Dropbox. Since working from home is not an option for us (if the weather is bad then our warehouse is closed because the trucks will not pickup or drop off any goods) Ubuntu doesn't seem to have any benefit for my company. So we would be spending time and money in setting up this new software that we don't really have a need for I say save the money and keep using our current system.
Since we've already established that this would not be a useful tool for my company it may not be necessary to even touch upon this aspect but I feel like it should be mentioned none the less. Ubuntu states on their website that they a secure platform. "You can surf in safety with Ubuntu - confident that your files and data will stay protected - thanks to the built-in firewall and virus protection. And if potential vulnerability appears, we provide automatic updates, which you can install in a single click" (http://www.ubuntu.com/desktop). Even with this built-in protection what can stop a hacker from getting into classified databases or accessing secure files? There are many sophisticated ways to hack systems and computers these days. My company, like most, have secure financial data on their systems and they wouldn't want that exposed to the outside world.
Overall, I am not quite sold on the idea of Ubuntu (maybe because I am not one to trust technology I do not know). I think the security risk is still too high but more than anything I feel like it would not be useful to my company. I think instead of transitioning to Ubuntu we could save ourselves time and money and keep using our current applications/processes that haven't failed us.
In answering the question, whether or not my company should virtualize their workstations through the use of Ubuntu, there are two key aspects to examine before a decision can be made.
First, what is the learning curve associated with Ubuntu. It seems fairly easy to install and to learn but when we break down the time spent installing and teaching all of the employees how to operate it effectively we are looking at some wasted hours that could have been spent processing orders, taking new sales, or meeting clients. Along with this information we need to look at how useful a program like this would be to our company. Since we are so small (only four full-time employees) and all employees already work on a seamless and problem free system would Ubuntu be worth while? To that I say no. The fashion company uses a Windows based platform to do it's business. We use Microsoft Word, Excel, Gmail, Dropbox and Google Drive without any issues. Each of our employees already knows how to operate all of the above applications without any issues and we never have any problems sharing documents or photos on Google Drive or Dropbox. Since working from home is not an option for us (if the weather is bad then our warehouse is closed because the trucks will not pickup or drop off any goods) Ubuntu doesn't seem to have any benefit for my company. So we would be spending time and money in setting up this new software that we don't really have a need for I say save the money and keep using our current system.
Since we've already established that this would not be a useful tool for my company it may not be necessary to even touch upon this aspect but I feel like it should be mentioned none the less. Ubuntu states on their website that they a secure platform. "You can surf in safety with Ubuntu - confident that your files and data will stay protected - thanks to the built-in firewall and virus protection. And if potential vulnerability appears, we provide automatic updates, which you can install in a single click" (http://www.ubuntu.com/desktop). Even with this built-in protection what can stop a hacker from getting into classified databases or accessing secure files? There are many sophisticated ways to hack systems and computers these days. My company, like most, have secure financial data on their systems and they wouldn't want that exposed to the outside world.
Overall, I am not quite sold on the idea of Ubuntu (maybe because I am not one to trust technology I do not know). I think the security risk is still too high but more than anything I feel like it would not be useful to my company. I think instead of transitioning to Ubuntu we could save ourselves time and money and keep using our current applications/processes that haven't failed us.
Saturday, March 8, 2014
Strategic IT Transformation at Accenture
Problem/Issue Statement:
The main issue for this company deals with their struggle to decided whether to continue using their legacy system, developed by Arthur Andersen, or to create a completely new IT infrastructure. This situation stemmed from the splitting and rebranding of Andersen Consulting from it's parent company Arthur Andersen in 2001. Since then Andersen Consulting has become known as Accenture. Accenture decided that after the split they were going to do a complete IT overhaul. They decided to go with one platform that housed streamlined applications. They also found new vendors/suppliers and were able to reduce their IT expense around the globe. This feat is very hard for many organization to undergo but Accenture did it very successfully for a company their size. Accenture wanted a simplified process that still allowed them to remain on the cutting edge of IT.
Currently, Accenture is considering another IT upgrade. They are looking at two options: the first is keeping their newly overhauled system and the second is the implementation of a governance system called Control Objectives for Information and Related Technologies (COBIT) to update their business standards and reporting. COBIT 5 is being highly considered due to massive amount of regulations and compliance standards Accenture has to comply with across the globe. If they switch to COBIT 5 it will help Accenture to "maintain high quality information to support business decisions, achieve strategic goals and realize business benefits through the effective and innovative use of IT, achieve operational excellence through reliable, efficient application of technology, maintaing IT-related risk at an acceptable level, optimize the cost of IT services and technology and support compliance with relevant laws, regulations, contractual agreements and policies." (Credit: http://www.isaca.org/COBIT/Pages/default.aspx?cid=1003566&Appeal=PR)
The current symptoms of the problem are a lack of sophisticated ability to measure the successfulness of IT projects, an inability to address the many regulations and compliance policy standards that must be adhered to by law.
If Accenture decided to implement COBIT 5 the scope of rebuilding/re-crafting include the re-training the staff to get their accreditation on the system, the implementation of new staff or redistribution of staff to ensure that COBIT 5 is being used correctly, and expenses related to training and tech support. Implementing this new system will affect Accenture's branches all over the world so the rollout would be massive.
List of Plausible Alternatives:
There are two alternatives for Accenture. To keep their current system or to adopt a new IT governance system - COBIT 5.
In order to make a comparison we need to look at the pros and cons of both options. Firstly, in keeping their current IT system it wouldn't cost them any additional funds, all the employees are familiar with the works on the system and one of the biggest pluses is that the system has been working since its inception in 2001. On the opposing side there are questions as to whether or not the system is all encompassing or not. Their system is not as sophisticated as COBIT therefore one could wonder how accurately it measures and evaluates risk.
If they were to adopt COBIT 5 they would not only have one of the most common used systems but it operates on a best practices used method. On the other end COBIT would cost Accenture a lot of money in re-training and certifying their employees on the new system. They may also suffer from their employees resistance to the learning the new program as well as the fact that COBIT might not be as specific and effective for their clients as their current system is.
Evaluating the Alternatives:
When looking at these two options the two biggest issues seem to be system ability and cost. Accenture needs to figure out which option is best so they can keep moving forward and expanding as a company while keeping their costs as limited as possible. The bottom line for Accenture is evaluating if COBIT help cover gaps in their current system and make their IT governance system more cutting edge and accurate or is it not worth spending the money on a new system that might not be as specific and tailored as the one they currently have.
Recommendation:
I believe that the best option for Accenture is to continue using their current IT system. Replacing it with COBIT would not only incur high costs in training, materials and consultants, but it could potentially create employee resistance, which could lead to lower productivity levels not just during the transition period but permanently. Accenture's current IT governance system has been working without any hiccups or glitches since 2001 and they have not had any customer related issues during that time period. Why would they want to spend additional funds (approximately $312 Million) when they do not have to? COBIT may be cutting edge and more widely accepted but it could potentially not fill as many gaps as they hope and they would be out of pocket a large sum of money for making the switch. I believe that Accenture should stay on it's current path and if they want to make a move I think the idea of applying for accreditation for their system and then potentially selling it to other companies to use might be an option to explore down the road.
The main issue for this company deals with their struggle to decided whether to continue using their legacy system, developed by Arthur Andersen, or to create a completely new IT infrastructure. This situation stemmed from the splitting and rebranding of Andersen Consulting from it's parent company Arthur Andersen in 2001. Since then Andersen Consulting has become known as Accenture. Accenture decided that after the split they were going to do a complete IT overhaul. They decided to go with one platform that housed streamlined applications. They also found new vendors/suppliers and were able to reduce their IT expense around the globe. This feat is very hard for many organization to undergo but Accenture did it very successfully for a company their size. Accenture wanted a simplified process that still allowed them to remain on the cutting edge of IT.
Currently, Accenture is considering another IT upgrade. They are looking at two options: the first is keeping their newly overhauled system and the second is the implementation of a governance system called Control Objectives for Information and Related Technologies (COBIT) to update their business standards and reporting. COBIT 5 is being highly considered due to massive amount of regulations and compliance standards Accenture has to comply with across the globe. If they switch to COBIT 5 it will help Accenture to "maintain high quality information to support business decisions, achieve strategic goals and realize business benefits through the effective and innovative use of IT, achieve operational excellence through reliable, efficient application of technology, maintaing IT-related risk at an acceptable level, optimize the cost of IT services and technology and support compliance with relevant laws, regulations, contractual agreements and policies." (Credit: http://www.isaca.org/COBIT/Pages/default.aspx?cid=1003566&Appeal=PR)
The current symptoms of the problem are a lack of sophisticated ability to measure the successfulness of IT projects, an inability to address the many regulations and compliance policy standards that must be adhered to by law.
If Accenture decided to implement COBIT 5 the scope of rebuilding/re-crafting include the re-training the staff to get their accreditation on the system, the implementation of new staff or redistribution of staff to ensure that COBIT 5 is being used correctly, and expenses related to training and tech support. Implementing this new system will affect Accenture's branches all over the world so the rollout would be massive.
List of Plausible Alternatives:
There are two alternatives for Accenture. To keep their current system or to adopt a new IT governance system - COBIT 5.
In order to make a comparison we need to look at the pros and cons of both options. Firstly, in keeping their current IT system it wouldn't cost them any additional funds, all the employees are familiar with the works on the system and one of the biggest pluses is that the system has been working since its inception in 2001. On the opposing side there are questions as to whether or not the system is all encompassing or not. Their system is not as sophisticated as COBIT therefore one could wonder how accurately it measures and evaluates risk.
If they were to adopt COBIT 5 they would not only have one of the most common used systems but it operates on a best practices used method. On the other end COBIT would cost Accenture a lot of money in re-training and certifying their employees on the new system. They may also suffer from their employees resistance to the learning the new program as well as the fact that COBIT might not be as specific and effective for their clients as their current system is.
Evaluating the Alternatives:
When looking at these two options the two biggest issues seem to be system ability and cost. Accenture needs to figure out which option is best so they can keep moving forward and expanding as a company while keeping their costs as limited as possible. The bottom line for Accenture is evaluating if COBIT help cover gaps in their current system and make their IT governance system more cutting edge and accurate or is it not worth spending the money on a new system that might not be as specific and tailored as the one they currently have.
Recommendation:
I believe that the best option for Accenture is to continue using their current IT system. Replacing it with COBIT would not only incur high costs in training, materials and consultants, but it could potentially create employee resistance, which could lead to lower productivity levels not just during the transition period but permanently. Accenture's current IT governance system has been working without any hiccups or glitches since 2001 and they have not had any customer related issues during that time period. Why would they want to spend additional funds (approximately $312 Million) when they do not have to? COBIT may be cutting edge and more widely accepted but it could potentially not fill as many gaps as they hope and they would be out of pocket a large sum of money for making the switch. I believe that Accenture should stay on it's current path and if they want to make a move I think the idea of applying for accreditation for their system and then potentially selling it to other companies to use might be an option to explore down the road.
Monday, February 24, 2014
Business Impacts of Microsoft Visio
Most companies are always looking for more efficient ways to keep their businesses growing and expanding. Microsoft Visio allows companies to prepare flow charts, diagrams and tables, which can be incorporated into presentations, employee training or company wide meetings. Charts created on other programs such as Excel or Word do not always translate visually the same way Visio allows. For example, my office is very small but Visio would be incredibly helpful in training new employees on the flow of inventory and how purchase orders are processed. Visio makes the visualization of a process much easier for a new employee to comprehend rather than just hearing a bunch of words said about it and not being able to really grasp the entire concept.
In doing hands on research with Visio I found that it has a plethora of options for companies. It allows you to create diagrams, flowcharts, data flow charts, organizational charts and network diagrams to help a company keep all its employees and clients on the same page. The program is very user friendly and it doesn't take much time to grasp the fundamentals of the workings of the program. It is also easier and much quicker than creating a diagram in Excel or Word.
For my company I don't think Visio would be a great investment. Firstly, the license costs around $150. and since my company is so small we would have very little use for it outside of new employee training. My company does not have a high turnover rate (most of the employees have been with the company for around 20 years) so to make such a pricey investment and gain so little in return would not be a sound decision. It is so much easier and far less expensive to spend a little extra time creating an organizational chart for inventory and shipping processes in Excel to show new employees.
My personal recommendation for my company would be not to purchase Visio and continue on our current path of using Excel and Word. This way we are not incurring a not so useful expense in our budget.
Zara: IT for Fashion Case Prep & Reflection
Problem/Issue Statement:
The main issue of the debate is whether or not to upgrade Zara's current POS system. Zara is the largest chain of retail stores owned by Inditex and their current POS operates on a DOS system. Xan Salgado Badas, the head of IT, and Bruno Sanchez Ocampo, the tech lead for the POS, are trying to decide if Zara should upgrade their system to Linux or Windows or keep working on DOS, which has not be supported by Microsoft since 2003.
The main issue is that all of Zara's stores across the world are using an outdated operating system. Inditex IT's tech lead created a customized POS application that runs successfully on DOS. The program has been stable, effective and easy to implement in newly opened stores without requiring much maintenance by IT or store staff.
The main question is should Zara continue to use the outdated DOS to operate their POS system or upgrade to a new system for their POS needs. Both Salgado and Sanchez are on opposing sides of the debate.
The symptoms of the problem with the current DOS system are that Zara runs a risk in continuing to run their POS on an unsupported system. They run the risk of potentially losing their system if their vendor chooses to abandon DOS in favor of a more current system. If this were to happen then new stores would not be able to install new terminals and the current terminals could potentially become buggy and unstable. Even though Zara's vendor has assured them that they won't be making any changes to the POS system there has been no written guarantee to state that.
Another symptom of the problem deals with inventory. With the current DOS based system the store managers have to do a manual inventory count each week because their system does not allow an inventory application. Each week when they need to do a re-order with corporate they must do a physical count in the store by department using PDAs rather than being able to look at what they ordered and sold on an in store computer. Another sub-issue is that the PDAs and the POS system do not communicate with each other or with other stores. So if a customer wants to know if another nearby store has a specific garment in their size in stock there is no way for their home store to check without calling the other store and asking one of their employees to check, which takes a lot of time and causes delays in the sales process.
Currently each store's computers can not communicate their daily sales to the corporate headquarters via an internet network. Each day the staff has to copy the sales on each computer to a floppy disk and at the end of the day one of the POS terminals is used to transmit the data using a dial-up modem. Also, the PDAs are used by store managers to see the new styles that are going to be available to them but in order for them to see this information they need to be linked to the dial-up modem each night to the main network in La Coruna. This process not only takes a lot of time but it is also very difficult for the managers to look at all the information on such a small screen each week.
Currently, this problem affects of all Zara's stores and their main headquarters and need to be evaluated to see if an updated system would better benefit their business.
Situation Assessment:
Since Zara grew so rapidly due to their unique business model and there has been no indication that they are slowing down anytime soon they must decide whether or not to keep their current POS supported DOS system or upgrade to a new one to keep their business going on the right track. These two courses of action are really central to the issue. On one hand Zara doesn't want to fix something that isn't broken but they also don't want to get left behind or find themselves in a compromised situation if their vendor all of a sudden decides to drop DOS. The major risk of operating on an outdated system is the possibility that one day the vendor could just drop DOS from their products and then Zara is left in a compromising position - they have to immediately find a new operating system for their terminals or risk loosing money. On the other hand the risk of implementing a new IT system is that they could be spending a lot of money on a system they don't currently need and may never require. Zara's higher-ups need to decide if they want to invest in a new operating system, a new POS system and new terminals or continue to stay with their current DOS based POS system.
List of Plausible Alternatives:
There are two courses of action for Zara:
1) To continue to employ the use of their current IT system - relying on their vendor to keep supplying them with DOS.
2) Upgrade their operating system to use Windows or Linux etc., upgrade their POS system so they don't have to manually count inventory, order new merchandise via a PDA, contact stores via telephone to find out about their inventory, connect their terminals to one main terminal by floppy disk, and upload new styles to their PDA's via a dial-up modem each night to the main store in La Coruna.
The major difference in between these two is that of cost. It will take a good deal of money to switch to a new system but since Zara's parent company does not spend much on advertising for their stores - it is roughly 0.3% of their revenue.
Evaluation of Alternatives:
Looking at these two options for Zara, the issues that seem to be the most important involve finances, potential growth in the coming years and minimized time and effort for company.
To adopt a new system it would cost money, bottom line. Finances would take a hit but we can look at a breakdown of the costs: (All costs are looked at per store - each store has an avg. of 5 terminals)
Operating System:
Licensing costs: €0-€700 (one time fee)
Annual Maintenance Fee: €125-€150
Service Contract (Linux only): €10-€150
Hardware:
POS Terminals: €5000
Wireless Router: €180
Wireless Ethernet Card: €250
Connectivity:
€240
Overall Programming:
Cost of Day of Programming Time: €450/day
Estimated hours: 20,000
(includes porting old POS system, expanding POS application, inventory evaluations and transfers)
Time Required:
Cost/day of Installation/Training Time: €2,000
Estimated hours: 32
Taking out the calculation of programming and time hours/pay we are looking at a base cost between €5,805-€6,670 per store.
On top of the financial aspect would be the idea that a new POS system would potentially facilitate future growth. If Zara were to adopt this new system they would be able to cut down on the amount of time spent taking physical inventory counts, connecting their terminals' sales reports via floppy disks, and connecting their PDA's through a modem to look at new styles and make their weekly orders. This alone would facilitate not only their in-store process but it would also help their shipment and order fulfillment process. The other option that a new software system would possibly bring to the table would be that of an e-commerce store. Right now their website is more or less akin to window-shopping but if Zara upgraded their new system might be able to be formatted to one day work well with an online shopping experience.
On the other hand the current IT system is working for Zara without any technical issues. The inventory and fulfillment process takes longer due to the slow nature of the PDA and the force of having the managers hard count their inventory is more of an inconvenience than an actual problem for the company.
Recommendation:
My recommendation for Zara is a two phase process. I think they should continue to operate on their current DOS system for the next 1-3 years and during that time frame save up additional funds and start developing a new POS system to work on their new IT system, wether it be Windows, Linux or Unix - they would have to decide which platform best suits their needs. Then after the 1-3 year time frame they should institute their new system. I believe it is highly important for them to turn to a new operating system. Continuing to use the old platform beyond the 1-3 year timeframe is parallel to standing on the edge of a cliff with a giant crack in it. At some point it is going to come tumbling down and you don't want to be on the edge when it does. I think preemptively switching to a new system will cause more room for improvement company wide down the road. Having a system that allows all terminals to communicate to each other and to the main store is highly important. It is critical for the main management to be able to track how each store is selling throughout the day not just once the store is closing for business. I think being able to track sales quicker will allow them to forecast re-orders more timely and effectively. It will also help the main team figure out cross store merchandise trades earlier than every two weeks like it is at the current system. Also, having the possibility of opening an online store in the future would be much more easily facilitated if they had a more current POS system to rely upon.
The main issue of the debate is whether or not to upgrade Zara's current POS system. Zara is the largest chain of retail stores owned by Inditex and their current POS operates on a DOS system. Xan Salgado Badas, the head of IT, and Bruno Sanchez Ocampo, the tech lead for the POS, are trying to decide if Zara should upgrade their system to Linux or Windows or keep working on DOS, which has not be supported by Microsoft since 2003.
The main issue is that all of Zara's stores across the world are using an outdated operating system. Inditex IT's tech lead created a customized POS application that runs successfully on DOS. The program has been stable, effective and easy to implement in newly opened stores without requiring much maintenance by IT or store staff.
The main question is should Zara continue to use the outdated DOS to operate their POS system or upgrade to a new system for their POS needs. Both Salgado and Sanchez are on opposing sides of the debate.
The symptoms of the problem with the current DOS system are that Zara runs a risk in continuing to run their POS on an unsupported system. They run the risk of potentially losing their system if their vendor chooses to abandon DOS in favor of a more current system. If this were to happen then new stores would not be able to install new terminals and the current terminals could potentially become buggy and unstable. Even though Zara's vendor has assured them that they won't be making any changes to the POS system there has been no written guarantee to state that.
Another symptom of the problem deals with inventory. With the current DOS based system the store managers have to do a manual inventory count each week because their system does not allow an inventory application. Each week when they need to do a re-order with corporate they must do a physical count in the store by department using PDAs rather than being able to look at what they ordered and sold on an in store computer. Another sub-issue is that the PDAs and the POS system do not communicate with each other or with other stores. So if a customer wants to know if another nearby store has a specific garment in their size in stock there is no way for their home store to check without calling the other store and asking one of their employees to check, which takes a lot of time and causes delays in the sales process.
Currently each store's computers can not communicate their daily sales to the corporate headquarters via an internet network. Each day the staff has to copy the sales on each computer to a floppy disk and at the end of the day one of the POS terminals is used to transmit the data using a dial-up modem. Also, the PDAs are used by store managers to see the new styles that are going to be available to them but in order for them to see this information they need to be linked to the dial-up modem each night to the main network in La Coruna. This process not only takes a lot of time but it is also very difficult for the managers to look at all the information on such a small screen each week.
Currently, this problem affects of all Zara's stores and their main headquarters and need to be evaluated to see if an updated system would better benefit their business.
Situation Assessment:
Since Zara grew so rapidly due to their unique business model and there has been no indication that they are slowing down anytime soon they must decide whether or not to keep their current POS supported DOS system or upgrade to a new one to keep their business going on the right track. These two courses of action are really central to the issue. On one hand Zara doesn't want to fix something that isn't broken but they also don't want to get left behind or find themselves in a compromised situation if their vendor all of a sudden decides to drop DOS. The major risk of operating on an outdated system is the possibility that one day the vendor could just drop DOS from their products and then Zara is left in a compromising position - they have to immediately find a new operating system for their terminals or risk loosing money. On the other hand the risk of implementing a new IT system is that they could be spending a lot of money on a system they don't currently need and may never require. Zara's higher-ups need to decide if they want to invest in a new operating system, a new POS system and new terminals or continue to stay with their current DOS based POS system.
List of Plausible Alternatives:
There are two courses of action for Zara:
1) To continue to employ the use of their current IT system - relying on their vendor to keep supplying them with DOS.
2) Upgrade their operating system to use Windows or Linux etc., upgrade their POS system so they don't have to manually count inventory, order new merchandise via a PDA, contact stores via telephone to find out about their inventory, connect their terminals to one main terminal by floppy disk, and upload new styles to their PDA's via a dial-up modem each night to the main store in La Coruna.
The major difference in between these two is that of cost. It will take a good deal of money to switch to a new system but since Zara's parent company does not spend much on advertising for their stores - it is roughly 0.3% of their revenue.
Evaluation of Alternatives:
Looking at these two options for Zara, the issues that seem to be the most important involve finances, potential growth in the coming years and minimized time and effort for company.
To adopt a new system it would cost money, bottom line. Finances would take a hit but we can look at a breakdown of the costs: (All costs are looked at per store - each store has an avg. of 5 terminals)
Operating System:
Licensing costs: €0-€700 (one time fee)
Annual Maintenance Fee: €125-€150
Service Contract (Linux only): €10-€150
Hardware:
POS Terminals: €5000
Wireless Router: €180
Wireless Ethernet Card: €250
Connectivity:
€240
Overall Programming:
Cost of Day of Programming Time: €450/day
Estimated hours: 20,000
(includes porting old POS system, expanding POS application, inventory evaluations and transfers)
Time Required:
Cost/day of Installation/Training Time: €2,000
Estimated hours: 32
Taking out the calculation of programming and time hours/pay we are looking at a base cost between €5,805-€6,670 per store.
On top of the financial aspect would be the idea that a new POS system would potentially facilitate future growth. If Zara were to adopt this new system they would be able to cut down on the amount of time spent taking physical inventory counts, connecting their terminals' sales reports via floppy disks, and connecting their PDA's through a modem to look at new styles and make their weekly orders. This alone would facilitate not only their in-store process but it would also help their shipment and order fulfillment process. The other option that a new software system would possibly bring to the table would be that of an e-commerce store. Right now their website is more or less akin to window-shopping but if Zara upgraded their new system might be able to be formatted to one day work well with an online shopping experience.
On the other hand the current IT system is working for Zara without any technical issues. The inventory and fulfillment process takes longer due to the slow nature of the PDA and the force of having the managers hard count their inventory is more of an inconvenience than an actual problem for the company.
Recommendation:
My recommendation for Zara is a two phase process. I think they should continue to operate on their current DOS system for the next 1-3 years and during that time frame save up additional funds and start developing a new POS system to work on their new IT system, wether it be Windows, Linux or Unix - they would have to decide which platform best suits their needs. Then after the 1-3 year time frame they should institute their new system. I believe it is highly important for them to turn to a new operating system. Continuing to use the old platform beyond the 1-3 year timeframe is parallel to standing on the edge of a cliff with a giant crack in it. At some point it is going to come tumbling down and you don't want to be on the edge when it does. I think preemptively switching to a new system will cause more room for improvement company wide down the road. Having a system that allows all terminals to communicate to each other and to the main store is highly important. It is critical for the main management to be able to track how each store is selling throughout the day not just once the store is closing for business. I think being able to track sales quicker will allow them to forecast re-orders more timely and effectively. It will also help the main team figure out cross store merchandise trades earlier than every two weeks like it is at the current system. Also, having the possibility of opening an online store in the future would be much more easily facilitated if they had a more current POS system to rely upon.
Monday, February 17, 2014
1-888-Junk-Van Case Prep & Reflection
Problem/Issue Statement:
1-888-Junk Van's current IT issue has lead to negative customer interactions. Marcus Kingo needs to find an affordable IT system that functions well for small businesses without a lot of hassle that allows him to help grow his business. The symptoms of the problem are errors in customer contact information, forgotten emails, manual calculations and billing mistakes. The biggest mistakes originated with the data clerk who accidentally sent the wrong version of the database to the morning operator, which resulted in some jobs that were already booked not showing up in the database. All of these resulted in frustrated customers. Kingo needed to find an inexpensive IT solution that he can implement as quickly as possible to help retain his customers.
Situation Assessment:
The context of the problem is that emails were sent to the drivers that were filled in with incorrect information, which only caused the customers to suffer, resulting in their wanting to switch to another waste removal provider. While the company was busy growing its business from 2008-2009 it ended up outgrowing its current email based system leading to data errors.
List of Plausible Alternative Courses of Action:
There are five possible alternatives to help Kingo solve his current IT problem. He is looking for potential options that include a few key features: a central database that can be accessed remotely so that everyone can work on it simultaneously and he also wants emails to be sent to customers automatically from the system to avoid mistakes and delays.
The first option is Microsoft Access Database. This option can be implemented in a relatively short amount of time and on a small budget. The access can be installed locally on multiple computers but it can also be installed on a centralized server to be accessed remotely through the internet and secure virtual private network (VPN). Licenses cost around $179 per computer and Kingo things he could have the system ready in a couple of weeks. The biggest downside to this option would be that the option would not allow for remote access so the database would have to be updated manually everyday. Also, Kingo would not be able to figure out how to install this program on a shared server and it would require him to either hire someone to install and monitor the system or for Kingo himself to get involved with highly technical IT work, which might still lead him to having to hire someone eventually. The latter issue was not financial feasible for him.
The second option is Custom Application. This web-based system would have someone build a customized application for Kingo's business. It would meet the requirements of having a central database, providing remote access and the system would also have very basic functionality included. On the reverse end, it would take roughly four weeks to build and the upfront cost was around $2,000. This system didn't allow for any changes or adjustments that might be required down the road. Any maintenance would incur a charge of $60 per hour per developer needed and there was no way to find out how much maintenance would be needed exactly. Another downside was that the initial quote did not cover any data migration so there was another additional charge to Kingo's bill. One of the biggest concerns with this option was the fact that a custom made software program could not be viewed beforehand to find out if it has all the options the owner would really require to make the software successful in his business. Kingo runs the risk of spending over $2,000 for a program that is not fully functional for his business with no way out.
Google Docs brings us to our third option. Google Docs would enable Kingo to create text documents, spreadsheets, slide-based presentations and forms. The form application would be the most beneficial for Kingo's business because the forms could be created quickly and shared easily with all employees. All the users could work simultaneously work on the same files without there being any disruption in the information flow. This system would also allow for email distribution, which would be very beneficial for Kingo because his staff could email a link to the form for the customer to fill out and send back to them via the internet without having any miscommunication of data or payment information. Another benefit is that Google Docs is free for up to 10 user accounts and the fee for small businesses is only $5 per user per month or $50 per user per year. Google Docs would also be quick to implement and very easy to use for all of Kingo's employees. There are a few downsides to Google Docs. One of the biggest issues is that data being input into the online spreadsheets cannot be cross-referenced , which would result in all the data being shown in a single, very large form rather than in an organized chart. Another issue is that there is no customer support and cloud computing is still rather new so many people are nervous to rely on it fully. There is also an issue with confidentiality and the thought of Google suspending or canceling the service would prove to be very problematic for their business.
Kingo's fourth option would be to use Platform as a Service (also known as PaaS). This system is delivered on a cloud-computing infrastructure. PaaS allows users to utilize common applications as well as help them build their own unique applications using a shared computing platform that was provided and hosted by a third party. Another benefit is that the vendors of PaaS offer on-site trials so business owners can get a hands on idea of how the system would work for their individual business and implementation, including data migration, would only take about three days. Some of the negatives of using this system mainly involve the cost. Packages range from $300-$600/month depending on how much storage space and how many licenses and applications are needed but if customization was required it would take more time and money as this option charged extra on an hourly basis of $180. Overall, Kingo was not completely sure he possessed the necessary IT skills this system would require.
The final option is the Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) System. This system is built around a central database that is designed to be accessed remotely and it also is designed for small to medium sized businesses that need full integration of the business process from purchasing to finance to e-commerce. Upon doing some research Kingo found that even though these options were meant for small businesses they were very expensive. The average small firm option is built to have 20-25 users and the cost for licenses would be around $2,500 per user per year. If a company had 22 users it would cost them roughly $55,000 a year. Another disadvantage for Kingo is that the various packages come with many options most of would not benefit Kingo's business model.
Evaluating the Alternatives:
It's important to evaluate all of the options and find which option covers all or most of the issues with Kingo's current system. This new IT system should be able to be accessed remotely, have a centralized database where multiple users can be working on the same documents/forms simultaneously, send emails out to clients automatically and can be set up and ready to use in a short amount of time without breaking the bank.
The logical recommendation for Kingo would to look at the pros and cons of the five different options and find the one that addresses as many of his current issues as possible, while being easy to use and cost effective.
1-888-Junk Van's current IT issue has lead to negative customer interactions. Marcus Kingo needs to find an affordable IT system that functions well for small businesses without a lot of hassle that allows him to help grow his business. The symptoms of the problem are errors in customer contact information, forgotten emails, manual calculations and billing mistakes. The biggest mistakes originated with the data clerk who accidentally sent the wrong version of the database to the morning operator, which resulted in some jobs that were already booked not showing up in the database. All of these resulted in frustrated customers. Kingo needed to find an inexpensive IT solution that he can implement as quickly as possible to help retain his customers.
Situation Assessment:
The context of the problem is that emails were sent to the drivers that were filled in with incorrect information, which only caused the customers to suffer, resulting in their wanting to switch to another waste removal provider. While the company was busy growing its business from 2008-2009 it ended up outgrowing its current email based system leading to data errors.
List of Plausible Alternative Courses of Action:
There are five possible alternatives to help Kingo solve his current IT problem. He is looking for potential options that include a few key features: a central database that can be accessed remotely so that everyone can work on it simultaneously and he also wants emails to be sent to customers automatically from the system to avoid mistakes and delays.
The first option is Microsoft Access Database. This option can be implemented in a relatively short amount of time and on a small budget. The access can be installed locally on multiple computers but it can also be installed on a centralized server to be accessed remotely through the internet and secure virtual private network (VPN). Licenses cost around $179 per computer and Kingo things he could have the system ready in a couple of weeks. The biggest downside to this option would be that the option would not allow for remote access so the database would have to be updated manually everyday. Also, Kingo would not be able to figure out how to install this program on a shared server and it would require him to either hire someone to install and monitor the system or for Kingo himself to get involved with highly technical IT work, which might still lead him to having to hire someone eventually. The latter issue was not financial feasible for him.
The second option is Custom Application. This web-based system would have someone build a customized application for Kingo's business. It would meet the requirements of having a central database, providing remote access and the system would also have very basic functionality included. On the reverse end, it would take roughly four weeks to build and the upfront cost was around $2,000. This system didn't allow for any changes or adjustments that might be required down the road. Any maintenance would incur a charge of $60 per hour per developer needed and there was no way to find out how much maintenance would be needed exactly. Another downside was that the initial quote did not cover any data migration so there was another additional charge to Kingo's bill. One of the biggest concerns with this option was the fact that a custom made software program could not be viewed beforehand to find out if it has all the options the owner would really require to make the software successful in his business. Kingo runs the risk of spending over $2,000 for a program that is not fully functional for his business with no way out.
Google Docs brings us to our third option. Google Docs would enable Kingo to create text documents, spreadsheets, slide-based presentations and forms. The form application would be the most beneficial for Kingo's business because the forms could be created quickly and shared easily with all employees. All the users could work simultaneously work on the same files without there being any disruption in the information flow. This system would also allow for email distribution, which would be very beneficial for Kingo because his staff could email a link to the form for the customer to fill out and send back to them via the internet without having any miscommunication of data or payment information. Another benefit is that Google Docs is free for up to 10 user accounts and the fee for small businesses is only $5 per user per month or $50 per user per year. Google Docs would also be quick to implement and very easy to use for all of Kingo's employees. There are a few downsides to Google Docs. One of the biggest issues is that data being input into the online spreadsheets cannot be cross-referenced , which would result in all the data being shown in a single, very large form rather than in an organized chart. Another issue is that there is no customer support and cloud computing is still rather new so many people are nervous to rely on it fully. There is also an issue with confidentiality and the thought of Google suspending or canceling the service would prove to be very problematic for their business.
Kingo's fourth option would be to use Platform as a Service (also known as PaaS). This system is delivered on a cloud-computing infrastructure. PaaS allows users to utilize common applications as well as help them build their own unique applications using a shared computing platform that was provided and hosted by a third party. Another benefit is that the vendors of PaaS offer on-site trials so business owners can get a hands on idea of how the system would work for their individual business and implementation, including data migration, would only take about three days. Some of the negatives of using this system mainly involve the cost. Packages range from $300-$600/month depending on how much storage space and how many licenses and applications are needed but if customization was required it would take more time and money as this option charged extra on an hourly basis of $180. Overall, Kingo was not completely sure he possessed the necessary IT skills this system would require.
The final option is the Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) System. This system is built around a central database that is designed to be accessed remotely and it also is designed for small to medium sized businesses that need full integration of the business process from purchasing to finance to e-commerce. Upon doing some research Kingo found that even though these options were meant for small businesses they were very expensive. The average small firm option is built to have 20-25 users and the cost for licenses would be around $2,500 per user per year. If a company had 22 users it would cost them roughly $55,000 a year. Another disadvantage for Kingo is that the various packages come with many options most of would not benefit Kingo's business model.
Evaluating the Alternatives:
It's important to evaluate all of the options and find which option covers all or most of the issues with Kingo's current system. This new IT system should be able to be accessed remotely, have a centralized database where multiple users can be working on the same documents/forms simultaneously, send emails out to clients automatically and can be set up and ready to use in a short amount of time without breaking the bank.
The logical recommendation for Kingo would to look at the pros and cons of the five different options and find the one that addresses as many of his current issues as possible, while being easy to use and cost effective.
Recommendation:
After hearing the consultant's presentation on the various options we
have at our disposal, as a board member I am left feeling a twinge of doubt as
the validity and solving power these alternatives have for our company. I
think we need to implement a multi step solution to our problem in order to
expedite a system change while maintaining fiscal responsibility. Right now we
have a current IT issue that needs to be solved almost immediately. Looking at
all the options on the table I feel that Google Docs will be the quickest and
easiest to implement as a temporary solution to our problem. It allows us to
create and share forms quickly with multiple users, all of the employees could
work simultaneously on the same file in the collaborative system environment
and Google Docs allows us to set different user profiles so that we can limit
each individuals access to specific documents. Email distribution is also
supported on this feature, which is another key issue for us currently. This
option is also fiscally responsible on the short term. It is free to up to ten
users and there is a small $50 fee per user per year. I think this would help us cut down on data
errors and doing double work with our drivers as well. Now I am suggesting this
as a short-term solution only because we do not know how long this service is
going to be around for. It could go down next month or next year but at the end
of every week one designated employee could download all the files being stored
on Google Docs to their computer as back up just in case something should
happen over night so we do not loose all of our documents in a snap.
Looking forward I think our company needs to have a long-term solution
to this problem as well. The best fit in my mind would be Platform as a Service
(PaaS). It allows us to continue our business on the cloud-computing infrastructure
route as well as utilize both common and custom applications. Also, since this
platform would be provided and hosted by a third party it would take some of the
burden of providing it off of our shoulders, which would benefit us greatly
since we as a company are not tech savvy enough to handle that burden this
early on. Since we have already reached out to a vendor and received an on-site
trial we know much more about how the service works. Mr. Kingo believes he can
build the forms etc. himself, which would be perfect since Mr. Kingo knows
exactly what he is looking for in these various forms and charts. Packages
range from $300-$600 a month but since there is no contract we could
essentially start on the $300 end and work our way up as we continue to
progress as a company to using all the features of the Cadillac package at $600
a month. Initially if we go the $300 route it will cost us $3,600 for the year.
There may also be isolated costs for customization and other IT issues that
will cost us an hourly rate but those are variable and will again only be one-time
fees. I believe this option would be the
best for us in the long run because it allows us to customize as much as we
want while still running on a cloud infrastructure, it doesn’t completely break
the bank so to speak and it would help us to continue growing as a company.
So my final recommendation would be to institute Google Docs as a
temporary solution while we set aside funds to make the transition to a more
permanent solution of using PaaS. I
think this will give us the best shot at keeping our data errors to a minimum,
making sure our clients stay happy, finding time to recruit new clients and allowing
all of our employees to work together more cohesively. Implementing a two step
solution will also allow us to have enough time to set aside funds for our long
term goal while we start wiping the slate clean of errors and double work.
Saturday, February 15, 2014
P&G: Electronic Data Capture and Clinical Trial Management
Problem/Issue Statement:
The main issue is that Proctor & Gamble’s
health care division is facing delays in its Clinical Data Management
Process. P&G needs to brainstorm new ideas to help diminish the
time it takes to complete the process for clinical trials of prescription
drugs. Right now the process can take up to several years before the
prescription makes into the market. There is a claim that for "each day of
delay in market entry for the product costs the sponsor roughly $1M in lost
sales" (Harvard Business Review, Huckman & Cotteleer, 2006). This
means that the faster P&G can get their product on the market the faster
they can begin to turn a profit.
Currently, P&G relies on a paper-based
system for collecting all clinical patient information. This
paper system is the main cause of the delay issue. This process
actually causes patient information to be entered, checked and double checked
numerous times over varying time frames, which causes inaccuracies and
human errors to potentially go unchecked for weeks, leading to various delays.
And this is all before the trial has even been completed. Once all the data is
verified in the database it is locked and can no longer be edited or reviewed.
The time frame for the period between the data lock and the last
patient visit falls between 8-12 weeks. Having potentially incorrect data
sitting there for 8-12 weeks without the ability to modify causes long delays
in the entire process because of the freeze out of potential corrections
in the system. These delays and usage of additional manpower and time to
make corrections affects the entire clinical data management process and
it needs to be examined to help find ways to reduce the length of time and the
inconsistencies with the process.
Situation Assessment:
The main issue is with the paper-based system. This
portion of the system requires that all patient information is stored in hard
copy form. This process moves very slowly because it requires human entry on
both the hard copy and digital form for each page. The time it takes to enter
each page twice causes delays in time and costs more money. P&G needs
to find alternative solutions to help cut down wasted time and money. If they
find a way to create a system that avoids as many inaccurate data inputs and
revisions not only will it help cut down on the length of time the process
takes but it will also limit many hours and additional funds it takes to have
people fixing these mistakes. Plus, having a system that is efficient and
available to all divisions will help cut down on the time it takes to review
patient files and correct any mistakes by hand as well. On boarding the
Electronic Data Capture (EDC) is one option to reduce the number of errors and
lower the period of time to takes for the process to occur but a number of
other concerns must be addressed before P&G can total implement this
process.
List of Plausible Alternative Courses of Action:
There are three viable alternatives that can be
used to address the current ineffective process:
The first would be Improving the paper-based
system, which would include the use of express mail shipment from
investigator sites on a daily basis and it would also add extra man power to
perform system monitoring and the verification of data to help hurry
the process along. But this process only seems to deal with one aspect of
the problem, that of the time delays.
The second alternative would be the Digital Imaging
Process. This process essentially uses the same paper based system but it
would allow the transmit of data to be done through the use of faxes
rather than mail service. These faxes would then be stored and the data entry
would comprise of digital images rather than keeping hard copy forms in patient
binders. This option reduces the time spent on delivering and receiving hard
copy forms to various sites. The main issue that this process faces is the
availability and reliability of fax machines and the people working with
them.
The last option is Electronic Data Capture (EDC).
This process allows the data to be directly input into the electronic
system direct from the investigator site. This process would also allow
the site to create specific, clear-cut requirements that would be self-checked
by the database constantly to weed out patients that are not eligible
or pick-up on human entry errors. This would also allow the data to viewed
almost immediately after it has been entered allowing the time that
would have been taken to view these files by the checkers to be cut
drastically. This system seems to address all areas of the problem:
fixing the paper based system, cutting down on errors, the
physical movement of hard copy files, the double entry and manual double
checking issues all of which help reduce the total time of the process.
Assessment:
After reading the case my current assessment would
be to have P&G adopt of the EDC process because it seems to focus on
correcting and eliminating all the facets of the problem. Once the company and
its employees understand the system I believe it will make their whole process
run much smoother and will help eliminate double work.
Reflection:
As a response to the consultant presentation held last week to review
P&G's current system and explore other alternatives to help
improve system efficiency, cut down on cost and shorten the amount of time it
takes to enter the data lock phase I have analyzed each option on it's
ability to cure all aspects of our current issue. My recommendation is that
P&G should adopt the EDC method to help us eliminate both time and money
waste. At this point in the world I think being on the forefront of the Internet
and the use of electronic data capturing is going to help revolutionize our
business. Not only were the initial EDC trials successful but it showed a
reduction in errors in human data entry, it eliminate the time consuming
issue of double entry and it showed the amount of time taken between the
last patient visit and the data lock period cut in half. Since EDC would allow
us to work with more accurate patient data, enable a quicker time line and cut
down on unnecessary expense I find that this solution covers all of our bases
and allows us to be on the cutting edge of modernization and
technology.
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