Group Assignment: Post # 3

Try any one of these decision support systems and describe two examples of decisions which they may help to support. For each decision, describe whether the decision would be made by operational, middle or senior management levels :
Break-even Calculator
Online Customer Lifetime Value Calculator (from Harvard Business School)
Hong Kong Yellow Pages Online Map
HSBC Mortgage Planner

Answer:

1. Hong Kong Yellow Pages Online Map

This system provided a lot of information to us, such us:
a. Buildings, Streets
b. Business address (e.g. Bank address, Cinema Address)
c. MTR Station, Bus stop

Senior Management makes decisions based on internal business information but also external industry and society changes; decisions affect long-term and strategic goals and the firm’s objectives.
And you can found that the YP pages information can get the customer information thought the data-base while the users are doing searching on YP pages.

2. Next, try out the different modules within the OpenBravo ERP demo. After you've familiarized yourself with these tools, identify which module can be used to handle each step within the Order-to-Cash business process below:
- Accept/Enter Order
- Order Acknowledgement
- Purchase Materials
- Receive Materials
- Production
- Packing
- Shipping
- Invoicing and Collection

Answer:
Below module can used to handle each step within order to cash under ERP system:

Accept / Enter Order - Sale management
Order Acknowledgement - Sale management
Purchases Materials - Procurement management
Receive Materials - Procurement management
Production - Production
Packing - Warehouse management
Shipping - Warehouse management
Invoicing and Collection - Financial management

3. Which departments need to coordinate from start to finish of the Order-to-Cash business process ? Describe how the ERP software makes their work easier. Also explain why ERP software can serve as the foundation or platform for decision support systems.

Answer:

IT department and supply chain department need to coordinate from start to finish of the Order To Cash business process because the business flow from sales order to invoice to customer lead by supply chain department and work with related department. IT department need to support and fulfill the requirement what they need in the system.

ERP – Enterprise Resource Planning is a well known term in business of today. An ERP system is used in a company to manage administration of the business such as finance, sales, distribution, human resources and manufacturing. A well integrated ERP system streamlines business processes and control costs through the entire supply chain. ERP software is automate and integrate the majority of its business processes, it can share common data and practices across the enterprise, it also allows the same data to be used by multiple functions and business processes. The result of ERP solution integration in a company should result in the following improvements and make their work easier :

1. Optimization of production planning and scheduling to improve manufacturing efficiency
2. Reduced inventory costs and better management of the supply chain and cash flow to reduce interest payments to factors for collateral borrowing.
3. More efficient distribution and tracking of customers orders, greater leverage over distribution centers and retailers.
4. Improved order fulfillment and delivery rates for higher satisfaction.
5. More accurate forecasting for improved short- and long-term planning
6. Integration of order flow and customer service information between sales and production to facilitate more effective marketing strategies and sales tactics.
7. Higher quality day-to-day information on overall business performance for better strategic decision making, particularly as related to capital and cash flows.
ERP supports integration since the business uses a common set of applications, supported by a centralized and integrated database. ERP allows real time shareing and monitoring of information across organization, so the same version of the transactions such as purchases order and sales order can see by different department, as soon as it is entered into the system. ERP systems is also offer better accessibility to data so that management can have up to the minute and provide the platform access to information for decision making and managerial control.