INTRODUCTION
The information system is defined as a set of interconnected components that businesses use to collect data and store data for use in some digital transformations. In the current technologically advanced world compliance with the use of data and information systems is very essential. The present study is based on Greenleaf Organics which is a SME operating in the retail sector. The current company deals in different types of products like organic vegetables, fruits, dairy products and other packaged goods. Currently, the company is facing many different types of issues and challenges relating to the data and this impacts the working of the company to a great extent. Hence, the current presentation will include a discussion of the different business problems which the company is facing. Moreover, it will list out a proposal of the BIS solution which will be assistive to Greenleaf Organics to overcome the issue. Further, the benefits of BI and BIS will be outlined and at last, the implementation plan for the proposed BIS solution will be provided.
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MAIN BODY
Identification of business problem
The business operates in the external environment and it is very dynamic and rapidly changing. Hence, it is necessary for the business they evaluate its business strategies and working patterns so that the overall evaluation of the company and its performance can be assessed. The competition within the market is very intense and for the companies to be successful it is necessary that the overall evaluation of the business and its process is done so that the overall working can be analysed and evaluated well. With the analysis of the company's performance, it is clear that currently the growth rate of the company is 15 % and the annual revenue is £5 million. This is good for the company as it implies that the company is performing well and as a result of this the overall working is better.
With the analysis of the business, it is clear that the most common issue which Greenleaf Organics is facing is customer relationship management. It is due to the reason that currently, the company has having inefficient system for handling consumer complaints and the queries raised by the consumer. Moreover, the company does not have an adequate reporting and recording system which will store all the data relating to the purchasing pattern and the behaviour. If the company has a track record of the trends among consumer and their preferences then it is beneficial for the company to take the relevant changes and design the product and services according to the requirements of consumers. However, in the current working pattern of Greenleaf Organics, there is an issue because the CRM software and system are not effective. In the current case of Greenleaf Organics the company gets a consumer complaint but due to an ineffective CRM system, they are not able to respond to the query on time. This made the consumer angry and as a result of this, they posted some negative reviews on the website of the company. Thus, due to this ineffective CRM system, the brand impact of the company was negatively affected and also the overall working is hampered.
Further, the evaluation outlined that Greenleaf Organics is also facing issues relating to inventory management. This is a major issue because the system of inventory used by Greenleaf Organics is unable to keep track of the inventory level effectively. This improper management results in the situation of either overstock or stock-out which makes the working difficult. Further, the inventory system of Greenleaf Organics also lacks real-time visibility of the inventory based on the different channels and routes of material. The inventory is the most essential element for the success of the company in case it will not be managed well then it will impact the overall working. So currently Greenleaf Organics is facing issues in managing the inventory and resultantly the overall profitability and working are impacted. For example, Greenleaf Organics is not able to track the inventory level and in case they have to predict the inventory requirement of the next two months then they will not be in a position to predict as they do not have much previous data. Thus, there will not be any base for Greenleaf Organics to predict the future inventory requirement.
Further, Greenleaf Organics is also having problems attached to the supply chain as there are delays and errors while communicating with the suppliers. Moreover, this delay further results in the mismanagement of the whole supply chain and ultimately production and sales are also impacted. This further creates issues with the overall sales of the company as the supply is not managed and maintained on time. For example, Greenleaf Organics communicated with the supplier that they require the inventory by 15 of next month but the supplier got the mail of 16 of next month. Then in such a case, the overall inventory will come late the whole production process will be delayed and ultimately the overall final products will be delayed. Resultantly, the consumer will get the products late and they will not be happy with the working of Greenleaf Organics.
Another crucial problem faced by Greenleaf Organics is related to sales and marketing. This is also an important issue because of which the performance of the company is affected. Greenleaf Organics is having ineffective targeting as the company is lacking marketing efforts. This lack of marketing effort is present because of a lack of consumer data and as a result, the marketing strategies of the company are unable to meet the requirements of the consumers. For instance, the company is unable to effectively target the population and as a result, the consumer segmentation of the company is also not appropriate. Thus, this creates a negative impact on the working of the company as they are unable to target the right audience and consequently, the sales are hampered.
Proposed BIS solution
With the above analysis, it is clear that currently, Greenleaf Organics is facing many different types of issues and problems. Thus, there is a high requirement of implementing better solutions so that working and operational efficiency can be improved. For this compliance with Business Information System (BIS) is very mandatory. This is a concept which includes providing information relating to the company which they can use for managing the whole work effectively. This is termed as using the data to evaluate the current working and to take the appropriate decisions well. Thus, when Greenleaf Organics effectively complies with the BIS then it will assist in improving the overall efficiency of the company and the problems will be overcome. Thus, with the above analysis of the issues, it is clear that for Greenleaf Organics it is necessary to overcome the issues and for this, the proposed BIS solution is the Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP). This ERP is a type of software that streamlines and connects all the core business processes and functions together. This includes activities like the supply chain, human resources, marketing, manufacturing, finance and all the other functions altogether.
Inventory management
The major issue that Greenleaf Organics was facing was about the inventory and its appropriate management. This issue was faced as the company did not have an effective type of system for recording and keeping track of the inventory. Thus, with the application of the ERP, Greenleaf Organics can try to overcome the issues which the company is facing with the management of inventory. This ERP inventory management system is assistive in providing real-time tracking and data of the inventory which assists in updating the inventory with the actual requirement. With the real-time tracking of the inventory data, the company can upload the data and usage of inventory and this further can be used by Greenleaf Organics to predict the future requirement of the inventory for the company.
Customer issues
Another issue highlighted was related to the management of consumer data. This is necessary because when Greenleaf Organics implements the effective type of BIS, it will also be assistive in managing consumer data. With the application of ERP in Greenleaf Organics, the company is in a position to effectively record every data relating to the needs and requirements of the consumers. Thus, when the data is recorded, the overall decision-making will be improved automatically. For instance, if the company wants to make a decision relating to consumer or product changes then they can refer to the data stored with the help of ERP and according to the past trends, the decision can be taken effectively. Moreover, when the ERP is applied to the business then it will promote working well and Greenleaf Organics will be in a better position to take the decision.
Supply chain issues
Moreover, another issue was related to supply chain management and Greenleaf Organics can also apply ERP in managing the supply chain as well. Within the effective supply chain management as well the proposed BIS solution of implementing ERP was assistive in improving the working capability well. It is the reason that when effective ERP is implemented then automatically the supply chain will be enhanced. This is necessary because ERP will make the supply chain more efficient and scalable and also easy to manage. Integrating ERP into the supply chain will help Greenleaf Organics manage and maintain a better supply chain flow. This ERP system will allow the company to match the supply of the material concerning the demand of the consumers. Moreover, it will also assist the company in managing the whole procurement process and trying to communicate with the suppliers. Further, with the help of an ERP system effective monitoring is established. This monitoring is needed as it will assist the company in maintaining and measuring the performance well so that the overall efficiency is improved.
Sales
Further, another major issue that Greenleaf Organics was facing was about sales and marketing. The company was unable to evaluate the sales data and make better decisions. Hence, with the help of the implementation of the ERP Greenleaf Organics will be able to manage the data well. With the help of the ERP system, the company is in a better position to centralise all the data and consequently, it is examined well. Moreover, with the help of ERP, Greenleaf Organics can track the touchpoints and as a result of this better consumer behaviour is assessed. Thus, by the effective analysis and evaluation of the data with regards to consumers, Greenleaf Organics is in a better position to make decisions and ultimately the overall efficiency will be improved. Further, the ERP system also assists in analysing the market elasticity and accordingly makes the strategies for increasing the sales of the company and ultimately the profits of the business.
B
Further, the above evaluation of the ERP system as the proposed solution, it clear that the application of the ERP is beneficial for Greenleaf Organics. It is due to the reason that with the application of the ERP, the whole system of working is managed effectively and better and informed decisions are taken by the company. Along with this, it was also analysed that ERP is a type of business management software which is used to manage and streamline all the functions of the company better. This is because of the reason that when effective working and operations will be managed and all the decisions will be taken with the help of the software then the working will be more appropriate. Moreover, when the effective type of the working will be planned then it will increase employee engagement as well and ultimately they will be performing much better. Hence, some of the features of this system for Greenleaf Organics are as follows-
Automation
This is the most common feature of this system and this assists in automating all the repeatable tasks so that working can be improved well. This is because of the reason that when the repeated task is done with the help of the technology or the software then it will be done with more efficiency and less of errors. For instance, invoicing is an activity which needs to be performed every time the inventory comes. Thus, here the data is entered with the help of the ERP system and as the inventory comes automatically the invoice is generated. This will help the company in improving the overall working and ultimately the efficiency of the company is improved.
Tracking and visibility
This is another kind of feature which helps Greenleaf Organics in effective tracking and visibility. With the help of the appropriate use of the ERP, the company can keep a track record of all the past activities and this assists in managing the working well and providing a base for the development of the company.
Real-time data
This is another type of feature which includes making use of real-time data that further assists in managing the work well. It is due to the reason that when real-time data is preferred then automatically the overall working and decision-making is improved for Greenleaf Organics.
Benefits of BI and BIS
With the above analysis, it is clear that compliance with the BI and BIS is very important for companies to be successful. Moreover, there are different types of benefits which the companies enjoy by making use of these systems. Some of the common benefits are as follows-
Accurate reporting
This is the most common type of benefit which companies enjoy if they implement the BI and BIS into practice. When the work is done with the help of the system or the software then it improves the overall working. It is due to the reason that when the accurate work will be done then automatically accurate reporting will also be done and this will help companies in making better decisions. For example, Greenleaf Organics uses ERP then they can have reports relating to all the data well and this will be used for better decision-making.
Competitive analysis
Further, with effective compliance with BI and BIS, the companies can keep track of the competitors as well. Thus, ultimately this will help the company to make better decisions keeping in mind the market position of the other competitors as well. For instance, Greenleaf Organics have a track record of the performance of other competitors then they can easily compare their performance with the competitors and ultimately the working will be improved.
Consumer satisfaction
This is another benefit which the companies enjoy when they effectively make use of BIS and BI. The reason underlying the fact is that all the decisions are taken with the help of the software and keeping in mind the data. Thus, the requirement of the consumer is met and they are highly satisfied with the product and services of the consumers. For example, Greenleaf Organics makes use of ERP for assessing the data relating to consumer touchpoints and their buying behaviour and the product is produced based on it. Then the consumers will be highly satisfied with the performance and ultimately the overall working will be improved.
Implementation plan
For the successful working of the company, the appropriate ERP system must be implemented into Greenleaf Organics. Thus, for this the effective type of implementation stages are as follows-
Planning and organising- this is the first stage of implementation of the ERP wherein Greenleaf Organics plans and organises all the initial aspects of installing the ERP system. Here the planning relating to resource requirements, possible ROI and another related aspects will be made.
System selection- the next step for Greenleaf Organics is to select the possible system which can be used for the successful implementation of the ERP system. This includes making the best choice for the system so that a better ERP system can be established.
Installation- this is the stage in which, Greenleaf Organics will decide how the ERP system will be deployed into the company. This will provide critical knowledge relating to the way the ERP system can be installed into the working of the company.
Data migration- at this stage, all the existing data is entered into the system and this helps the company to start tracking all the related business functions with the help of this only. Here Greenleaf Organics feeds all the data relating to sales, inventory, supply chain and other aspects and further work is also managed with this only.
Training- here effective training is provided to all the employees of Greenleaf Organics so that they can easily access the ERP system. When the proper training is provided then all the employees will be fluently able to manage the system and overall working will improve.
Testing and validation- the next stage will include the testing and trial of the ERP system by Greenleaf Organics so that its proper working can be ensured. The IT department of Greenleaf Organics will conduct a trial of working on ERP and in case of any issue, the recovery strategies will be improved.
Go live- after the successful trial, Greenleaf Organics is ready to make use of the software to work more efficiently.
Ongoing improvement and feedback- at last, continuous feedback will be taken as the system works then automatically the whole system will be improved and the overall working of Greenleaf Organics will be improved well.
Timeline- the timeline for the implementation of the current plan of ERP in Greenleaf Organics will be implemented within 3-4 months.
Further, the key considerations for the successful implementation of ERP systems into Greenleaf Organics are as follows-
Objectives are clearly defined
Effective planning is done
Resources are optimally used
Clear and effective communication mediums and channels are used
The proper process of monitoring and control is maintained
CONCLUSION
At last, it is concluded that complying with the business intelligence system is very necessary as it is the latest trend in the current competitive environment. The study highlighted that Greenleaf Organics is facing different challenges relating to inventory, consumer management, supply chain and many others. So the proposed solution provided above was the implementation of the ERP system so that all these issues are eradicated. Further, the benefits of BI and BIS were highlighted which includes improved decision-making and others. At last, the implementation plan was outlined which included clear 8 stages of implementing the ERP system well.
REFERENCES
Books and Journals
Online
12 Core ERP System Features & Their Benefits. 2024. Online. Available through: <https://www.netsuite.com/portal/resource/articles/erp/erp-features.shtml>
Online. Available through: <>
7 Years | MSc
