Case: Supply Chain Management and Application Software Packages

Info from case total revenue for last reporting = 110 million cio reviewed 3 following implementation strategies: -classic disintermediation – removal of intermediaries in a supply chain. connects supplier directly with customers -remediation-working more closely with ecisting middlemen partners. strategy could be affected by high contracting risks. -network-building alliances and partnerships with both existing and new suppliers and distributors involving a complex set of relationships. Networks tended to reduce search costs for obtaining information, products and services. selected remidiation – because it best fits the firms goal of simplifying data sharing throughout the supply chain -also had longterm and positive relationship with its primary distributors, which would ameliorate the high contracting risk. â€Å"The firm purchased stock woods from a number of producers and processed them to meet specific customer specifications. Approx. 60 percent of woodsynergy s ales were in high-end furniture† Problems 1 – Choice of implementation plan is wrong – LONG TERM -CIO chose remediation because it best fit the firm's goal of simplifying data sharing throughout the supply chain; furthermore, the CIO noted that woodsynergy had a long-term and positive relationship with its primary distributors which would ameliorate the high contracting risk issue† -the best way of simplifying data sharing is eliminating any unnecessary party that the information needs to travel to. -remove the distributors and engage the customers directly -who are we to decide how your existing distributors will feel after you amend any contracts to include any new information system to the SCM that ultimately creates more overhead for them? the business model of woodsynergy suggests that â€Å"the firm was committed to delivering information to the right people at the right time so that strategic and operational decisions were made properly and quicklyà ¢â‚¬  -benefit going national prevented by local distributors – if woodsynergy engages their end users directly it will promote better customer relationships as well as open potential national and international markets/ Causes -long-term relationships with distributors -contracts with distributors -CIO decision seems biased Alternatives choose classic intermediation -stay with remediation -choose networking Solution: Chose Classic intermediation †¢Removes the middleman †¢The middle man share shift to suppliers, Woodsynergy and to the customer, making the company more profitable and increasing the customer loyalty †¢Efficiency – instead of suppliers shipping first to the Woodsynergy and then Woodsynergy shipping the products to the customer, supplier can ship straight to the customer Implementation: (implanting the plan – find the need, develop the program, and implement it and the evaluate it) Business need †¢System investigation †¢Syst em analysis †¢System design †¢Proframming and testing †¢Implementation †¢Operation and mainenance 2 – Prototype Built – short term problem *** -â€Å"due to budget and time constraints the project team chose to build a gateway prototype without addressing problems of integrity and timeliness with the systems data. The project team decided to improve the data quality at a future date† – customers data needs to be secure. Period. For any duration no matter how short. â€Å"Two of the key drivers included in gateway design were data standardization and real-time interface† -It should be real-time interface and data integrity as aligned with Woodsynergy’s business goals. -release data standardization at a later time instead of data integrity Causes -budget -time constraint -phase 1 of prototype does not directly correlate to business goals Alternatives -cloud system from 3rd party -key drivers in phase 1 = data integrity and real-time interface/data standardization at future date/release †¢Application software packages – off the shelves. ONE MORE alt Solution: †¢Application software packages – off the shelves. oPrewritten, pre-coded application software commercially available for sale oA lot of choices, with rating/reviews from its customers/users oOther companies are already using them oSome software companies even let you try them oQuicker solution, gives the it team to work on the bigger problem or new software oIt may be cheaper than labour and resources spent building prototype that may put company`s customer`s information at risk Implementation – . Identify potential vendors 2. Determine the evaluation criteria a. Functionality of the software b. Cost and financial terms c. Vendor`s reputation – success stories/customer reviews d. System flexibility e. Security f. Required training g. Data handling h. Ease of internet interface i. User friendly 3. Evaluate ven dors and packages 4. Chose vendor and package 5. Negotiate a contract 6. Implement the software 7. Train the staff/users 3 – Project Team Questionable – Short term and Long term? *** Causes launched multiple it based supply chain management initiatives -researched how gateways are used in their business and understand the different of technology on the internet† in first few weeks – this should take a few days at most -phase 1 of prototype not aligned with business goals –decision criteria— this is what I think would be the criteria, we can discuss if you have others *** -budget – need better coaching on team goal and better planning -increase customer satisfaction -be consistent with corporate mission -Time constraint – implement fairly quickly -improve profits within acceptable risk parameters Solution – BE consistent with corporate mission Implementation †¢Be consistent with corporate mission oTrain and remind the m in every morning huddles oBefore implementing the any new plan or developing new software or making the decision to devolve a new software, correlate it with the business strategy oDelegate effectively to team members oHold them accountable – stay on top of their performance oGive the team budget – quarterly yearly or project based – so there will not be any wastages Source: /http://plato. acadiau. ca/courses/Busi/IntroBus/CASEMETHOD. html/