As identified in the UMUC Haircuts Case Study, there are at several areas where Myra’s business could use improvement, including: Customer Scheduling, Employee Scheduling, Supply Management, Customer Information, and Marketing. Over time, each of these will likely have an IT solution. However, you know that if you could combine these into an enterprise system, you would be able to significantly improve the operations of UMUC Haircuts. What opportunities are being missed when each little area (scheduling, supply management, marketing, and others) has its own “stove piped” data? (Provide some examples.) What benefits will the UMUC Haircuts business realize if you implement an enterprise-wide system? Identify how Myra as the manager will benefit from having additional information available. What types of decisions that she makes as the manager would be improved if she had all this information in one place? Would it make the most sense to start with - a CRM, an SCM or an ERP system - for UMUC Haircuts and why. Keep in mind that additional systems and functionality could come later.
case study:
21UMUC Haircuts Case StudyIn 1995, UMUC Haircuts was opened by Myra Morningstar in a strip mall near the College campus. UMUC Haircuts started as a barbershop with one chair. Over the years, Myra has expanded her business to include hair styling for both men and women. Her business has grown to three barber chairs, three hair styling stations,and a shampoo station. In response to her customers’ requests, Myra would like to further expand her business by adding two stations for manicures. The small gift shop next door to her has recently come up for sale, and she is thinking about acquiring that area for manicures. When UMUC Haircuts first opened, it was the only barbershop within a ten-mile radius.It was one of the first businesses to open in the strip mall where it is located, and the number of customers has increased each year. Over the years a couple of other barbershops have opened around the area, and there is news that a Hair Cuttery (offering men’s and women’s haircuts and styling only) will open about 5 miles away. In the shopping center across the street, an expensive spa has now opened where hair styling is offered along with manicures. Just around the corner from UMUC Haircuts is a home with a sign offering manicures. While UMUC Haircuts continues to grow and profits are increasing, Myra is sure that she could improve her operation in the areas of scheduling, supplyordering, inventorymanagement, collecting customer information, and marketing.Customer and Employee Scheduling:Currently, Myra takes appointments by phone and accepts walk-in customers on an as-available basis. If there is a vacancy in the schedule,she is happy to have a walk-in customer for that time slot. As her business has expanded, Myra has found that keeping track of which employees will be working at any particular day and time, and matching that with customer appointments has become almost unmanageable. Until recently, she has been comfortable with allowing staff to decide what days and times they want to work, and most of them are part-time. So far, little effort has been made to find a substitute ifone of her employees cannot come to work. Now, Myra has recognized that she is turning away a significant number of walk-in customers, and at other times, her staff is not busy at all.It seems to Myra that she is very busy on Saturdays, and that Mondays are slow days, but she has no real data to use to make a schedule for her employees. She would like you to help her improve her process for scheduling staffand customers. Inventory Management:Now that she has employed four part-time barbers, six part-time stylists, and two part-time shampoo girls, and is contemplating adding at least two manicurists, Myra is also concerned about maintaining an adequate stock of supplies. It has become difficult for her to keep track of what supplies have been used and what needs to be ordered. She knows that if she runs out of shampoo or hairspray, for example, that she will not be able to serve her customers. She makes notes to herself and sticks them on her office message board to remind herself to place orders, but she only knows to do so when one of the employees tells her that the last container of a product has been taken from the supply cabinet. Many times, the shop is very busy and either the employee forgets to tell her, or she forgets to make a note. Myra is happy her business is growing, but the chaos of making sure there are adequate supplies is creating a great deal of stress for her.Supply Ordering: Even if Myra successfully keeps track of the supplies that have been used, she really does not have time to place orders to her suppliers. Over time, she has noticed that the prices she is paying seem to be going up quickly, but she has no way check to see if she could order supplies at a lower cost. She is wondering if she could save money by finding lower-cost suppliers, suppliers who offer free shipping, or suppliers who sell in bulk.It has become apparent that UMUC Haircuts needs an improved supply ordering process.