Problem
Consider the following scenario:
Steve's Lumber Company on the Missouri River features a large selection of materials for flooring, decks, moldings, windows, siding and roofing. It is a small family business that is looking to expand. The prices of lumber and other building materials are constantly changing. When a customer requests a quote for pre-finished wood flooring, sales representatives consult a manual price sheet and then call the supplier for the most recent price. The supplier in turn uses a manual price sheet, which has been updated each day. Often the supplier must call back Steve's reps because the supplier does not have the newest pricing information immediately on hand. Steve has hired you to assess the business impact of the situation and see what can be done for them to make this process more efficient.
I. Business Process.
i. List at least 3 issues with the current process.
ii. Explain the impact of the existing process on operational efficiency.
II. Diagram the existing Process. Using a diagramming tool (Visio, Lucidchart,PowerPoint) to create a Business Process Model of the existing process (Current State). Copy/Paste the diagram in the space below.
III. Metrics. Identify 3 metrics that could be put in place to measure the impact of the existing process on operational efficiency.
IV. Process Improvement
i. Discuss the changes that could be made to make the process more efficient.
ii. Explain how information systems could support those changes. Discuss what data the systems should capture and what decisions the system could improve