Kudler’s the warehouse and the circle starts again.

Kudler’s the warehouse and the circle starts again.

Kudler’s Fine Foods This paper will discuss how an information system is critical to the business process of an organization and how the information has impacted the organization’s structure. Company Overview Kudler’s Fine Foods has been in business for over 15 years.

Staying in business in this economy is impressive. Kudler’s has done everything necessary to grow and continue to be a productive company in the last 15 years. The products and merchandise that Kudler’s sells are perishable food and wine products that continually need to be monitored and inventoried to make sure that the product is always fresh.

Kudler’s stakeholders are the staff, customers, suppliers, banks and the owner herself. System Implementation “There is a definite focus in Information Systems (IS) research that is based around the identification of variables that measure the factors that influence IS success in small business. Identification of measures is of importance to the individuals running those businesses as well as researchers seeking to enunciate the value of IS.

” (Armstrong 2007) With all of the technology out there, many still don’t use it to their advantage.In today’s world many companies need to be able to do things that weren’t needed to compete in the past. In many cases, the lack of using technology can mean the death to a company. In the business world today things change rapidly, and companies need to be able to adapt to all of the changes. Computer systems today are far more advanced, but they are much more automated and easier to use than the labor intensive systems of the past. Not using the proper information system can mean the difference between success and failure.

Information systems are costly, but the costs incurred by not having such as system can be detrimental.The world’s largest retailer, Wal-Mart, uses the Smart Inventory System in its business dealings. (Walmart 2011) Walmart’s system uses the bar code scanner to enter an item as it is enters the warehouse; as it leaves the warehouse to go to the shelf; as it leaves the shelf through purchase. These three steps are all recorded. When shelf items are depleted, a message is sent to the warehouse for replenishing. When the inventory is low in the warehouse from replenishing, the system sends a message to the vendor advising that more product is needed.

The item is delivered to the warehouse and the circle starts again. Information system’s like this are very beneficial to Kudler’s Fine Foods, because of the perishable product that Kudler’s deals with it is imperative for Kudler’s to have a system in place that can keep track of the inventory to help keep it fresh. By implementing the right tracking system Kudler’s can track sales versus the time of year so that there company can more accurately order the correct quantities from year to year and location to location. We don’t believe this is a significant risk. This is labor intensive. Through the implementation of an Inventory Tracking System, Kudler’s will save money, time, and they will be better organized. How the process works Many of Kudler’s items are gourmet items from gourmet vendors.

Much like Wal-Mart, all items have bar codes on the packaging. At each step of the process items will be scanned into the system upon arrival and expiration date. The items will be scanned when they arrive at the warehouse, when they are put on the shelf, when they are sold, and when they are pulled from the shelf because of possible expiration.A daily printout can be kept of each day’s activity; the report will show what was sold, what product is close to expiration and what products need to be reordered for each store. This system will make the process simple, as one scan advises of sales, inventory and expiration.

The initial cost of such a system may be costly, but the cost of not having such as system could be tremendous. Impacts “Treating Decision Criteria as a uni-dimensional construct may mask the possibility that there are recognizable clusters of variables that count in the decision process (i. .

, that it is really a multi-dimensional construct). ” (Armstrong, 2007) What does this advice of? It advises that when a decision is made, it affects many. Kudler’s has staff, students, experts working at all three stores all performing the same tasks.

The company has stated “While the work environment is not stressful, whenever someone quits or is fired, the whole store has to pick up the effort while a new person is hired and trained. With the new system if someone quits or is fired, it will not affect the business in the same way, training will be minimal as the system does the majority of the work. If someone is fired or quits, it might be in the company’s best interest not to fill the vacant position as the system does the majority of the work. Regarding Kudler’s customers, the company states “Clerks are encouraged to keep track of comments or requests, and share them with Kathy when she comes into the store. If a customer requests a product, we see if it is feasible for us to stock that item.If we can’t, we offer to special order it.

We take complaints about product or service very seriously and try to address any and all problems quickly. ” The system will be able to track this information and notify the customer when the product has arrived via text message or email. Opportunities By implementing such a system opportunities are vast. Kudler’s will have more time to spend with their customers, they will be able to focus more on products and advertising, they will be able to take more time on other aspects of running a successful business, and less time in the back office.The company will save more money because less time and man hours will be needed maintaining proper inventory levels. The customer will be happy, as they too have busy lives and a text message advising a product is in stock could expand the consumer base.

This system can be connected to the Kudler’s current website for ordering purposes, similar to many websites that take orders online. The online system will advise the Inventory System of the order and the system will advise the warehouse staff of the order.When the order is shipped, the system will log it as sold and in need of replenishment. Conclusion Utilizing today’s technology is crucial. A small business like Kudler’s needs an Inventory System to stay competitive and having the system will allow the owners and staff more time to concentrate on what is most important, and that is the customer. Opportunities are vast and limitations are small.

For the business to continue to grow and be productive and profitable, Kudler’s will have to implement this system to help meet customer needs and demands.The client comes first and their needs can be easily monitored through the Inventory System. It would be foolish not to implement such a system in this day and age. References: Armstrong, B, Fogarty, G, Dingsdag, D 2007, ‘Scales Measuring Characteristics of Small Business Information Systems, retrieved from the internet on April 25,2011 from http://works. bepress.

com/bruce_armstrong/4/ Walmart (2011) Official Website, retrieved from the worldwide web on April 25, 2011 from www. walmart. com