Barnaby Electronics Ltd - Feasibility Report

Transcription

1 A Barnaby Electronics Ltd - Feasibility Report A.1 Feasibility Report - Orders and Quotations Department Feasibility Report - Barnaby Electronics Ltd Quotations and Orders Department Introduction This report represents the findings of a study carried out to assess the feasibility of introducing a computer system into the Quotations and Orders department of Barnaby Electronics Limited. The report will outline the scope and limitations for the development and final usage of the new system, and well as to describe the current working system. The report will highlight any existing problems with the current system and will describe the requirements for the new system. Two proposed systems will be outlined; detailing the technical, operational and economic feasibility of each system. Finally, a comparison of the two proposals will be made and recommendations for the final system will be outlined. Terms of Reference Reason for the study The Quotations and Orders department carries out a vital function in the administration of quotes and orders obtained by the sales staff. The administration is carried out following a specific procedure using various Appendix A Barnaby Electronics Ltd 1

2 forms that are passed around the company, monitoring the progression of the order from initial contact, to quotation and finally completed order. Although the main functions of the department are carried out without problem and in an efficient way, it is becoming increasingly time-consuming to gather statistical information together which the general manager requires on a regular basis to monitor the flow of orders and quotes through the company and to predict the future trends of sales. This information is vital, and takes the sales Administrator at least three days per month to obtain and calculate. Three months ago, the department purchased the Microsoft Office Professional package. The staff has already been trained in the use of Word word processor and the Excel spreadsheet program. Since, the database program Access is part of this package, it would be the ideal time to develop a database system using Access. Other departments within the company have not yet been supplied with Microsoft Office Professional, since the Quotations and Orders department is being used as a guinea-pig site for the new software. Other departments, such as Purchasing will use Microsoft Access in another year or so. Aims and objectives of the new system The new system should continue to carry out the tasks performed by the existing system; recording initial contact details, documenting and delivering quote details, as well as monitoring and progressing customer orders. However, the new system should perform those tasks with a minimum or paperwork. Paperwork should only be required to provide an interface between the department an external areas, such the customer and the Purchasing department. The new system should also be able to provide fast access to information about the quotations and orders on the system. Scope of the new system The new system will only comprise those functions currently carried out by the Quotations and Orders department. The customer will continue to receive a quote on paper from the department, as well as an order acknowledgement on paper, when an order is sent by the customer. The customer's order will be retained within the system. The Purchasing department will continue to receive a contact sheet listing initial requirement details and will return the completed contact sheet. The Purchasing department will also receive details of the order and the matching quote for each new order as will return the completed order details as before. 2 Mastering Database Design Appendix A

3 Resources and limitations The new system will be developed in-house by the Information Systems department. The Sales Administrator has agreed to receive training on how to use the new system during the Christmas holiday period when the company closes for two weeks. This should cause minimum disruption to the working week when the department opens in the new year. The system deadline for completion is therefore the start Christmas holidays. Before the system can be used in the New Year, a large amount of existing quotation and order information must be entered onto the system. The Quotations and Orders department has agreed to employ some temporary staff the carry out this task, over the Christmas holiday period. The only data to be entered onto the system is as follows: Quotations with no matching orders, up to 3 months old Quotations with matching orders, where some or all the orders are still not completed. Quotations that are less than 3 months old, where all matched orders have been completed, but some items on the quote have not been ordered. The following data will not be entered onto the system, but will remain on file: Quotations with not matching orders older than 3 months. Quotations that have orders to match every item on the quote, and those orders are all completed. Quotations that are over 3 months old, where all matched orders have been completed, but some items on the quote have not been ordered. Appendix A Barnaby Electronics Ltd 3

4 Time scale The major phases for the development of the new system are as follows (number of people required for each task shown in the boxes): Analysis of current system 2 Design of the new system 2 1 Build the new database using Access 1 1 Build the screens and reports using Access 2 Test 3 Implement 2 Training 1 Data set-up 3 Documentation 1 Ma Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Description of Present System Objectives To record the initial requirements of the customer and, by obtaining information from the Purchasing department, to convert those into a quotation that is sent to the customer within three working days. To match any received orders from customer with previous quotes. To send an order acknowledgement to the customer and to send order and quotation information to the Purchasing department. To document any completed orders received from the Purchasing department. To provide statistical information about quotations and orders for the General Manager on a regular basis. Main outputs Customer's requirement details (for Purchasing department) Quotation (for customer) Order and quotation details (for Purchasing department) Order Acknowledgement (for customer) Statistical Information (for General Manager) Main inputs Enquiry details (from customer) Quotation details (from Purchasing department) Order (from customer) Completed order information (from Purchasing) 4 Mastering Database Design Appendix A

5 Data stores Contact Sheets (with initial customer enquiry details) Quotes Customer's Orders Problems with Present System Very difficult to extract statistical information quickly about the numbers of outstanding and completed orders and quotes there are in the system, without reading through the entire quotes file. This is carried out once a month by the Sales Administrator, taking least three days to do. When a contact sheet is filled in for a customer, if not all the customer details have been provided, such as the address, it can be time consuming to sift through previous customer contact sheets to find the missing information. The manager wants to store the telephone and fax numbers and address for each customer. Requirements of a New System Remove internal paperwork as much as possible - must keep: Quote sent to customer Order sent from customer Order acknowledgement sent to customer Quote requirement details sent to Purchasing Order details sent to Purchasing Quote and order details sent back from Purchasing (these can be discarded once recorded.) In the next phase of the system, Purchasing will have access to the system and this paper-based exchange of information will not be required. Need to hold the telephone and fax numbers, and address of each customer Appendix A Barnaby Electronics Ltd 5

6 Reports required as follows: Unordered quotes Outstanding orders Outstanding quotes Quotes provided this month Orders requested this month weekly weekly weekly monthly monthly (Since the Feasibility Study is not any area that the book goes into in depth the following parts of the Feasibility Study have not been provided as part of the Mastering Database Design appendix web site. Students can be encouraged to complete these remaining sections) Description of proposal A Description of system Technical requirements and feasibility Operational requirements and feasibility Economic Requirements and Feasibility Description of Proposal B Description of system Technical requirements and feasibility Operational requirements and feasibility Economic Requirements and Feasibility Comparison of Proposals Compare Technical, Operational and Economic Feasibility Conclusion and Recommendations Provide a conclusion about the feasibility (or not) of the project and recommendations about the proposal the author or the study would prefer with reasons. Appendices A: Cost-Benefit Analysis For each of the two proposals Show unquantifiable costs/benefits too 6 Mastering Database Design Appendix A

7 B: Outline Project plan For each of the two proposals C: Technical Configurations D: Glossary Appendix A Barnaby Electronics Ltd 7