Operations and Information Management

Executive Summary:

Nearly every aspect of the company's operations has been examined when it comes to the issues raised.
The management of operations and personnel have received a large share of the work. This is so because
management is crucial to how businesses are run. Resources are scarce and in little supply, thus it's
important to handle them well. The management is also in charge of drafting a strategy that would
specify the company's long-term goals. The open-source program has been included in the contribution
to the online components. The organization's goal of lowering operational costs is the reason this has
been explored in length.

A medium-sized company called AlphaCo makes custom furniture. Seeing as how Betaco, a large
organization, buys it. This report summarizes my observations as a technical consultant after reviewing
AlphaCo's operational and information management procedures. Then, I modified the current business
process model of supplier management and quality. First, I analyze the SWOT analysis of Alphaco's
current situation. Based on the SWOT analysis, I discussed how more effective and efficient
management of capacity, quality, and both suppliers and customers could help AlphaCo meet its new
performance objectives. As of right now, ERPs will be used by businesses all over the world as they
transition to digital.

I talked about one of the ERPs that will enable Alpha Co. to expand its services internationally. The
business may easily choose the best alternative by comparing the many options. Finally, I talked about
cloud computing, which is a component of industry 4.0 technology, its advantages, and how it might aid
Alphaco in expanding.
 Ans. 1

AlphaCo’s SWOT Analysis (Qlutch, 2018)

Strength: Weakness:

• Alphaco sells high-quality, handmade furniture • Customers sometimes cancel orders of furniture
to mostly retail clients across the country. when delivery lead times surpass four weeks since
• AlphaCo is now a well-known, strong brand the product cycle is so lengthy and there is no
name. sufficient system in place for taking orders. A
• • The distinctiveness of Alpha Co.’s designs communication breakdown might occur if the
attracts more customers. proper order placement procedure is not used.
• Alpha Company's prices could be higher than
average due to its limited number of vendors. The
low cost of raw materials will benefit suppliers, but
it may also affect upcoming orders and attract new
customers.
• • Poor operation management makes it difficult to
keep up with the demand and Supply of their
product's raw materials

Opportunities Threats

• As the company already has established • Inflation-caused price increases make it difficult for
goodwill, it can explore merger and acquisition consumers to afford high-priced items. Risks to
opportunities to expand its reach and lower the Alpha Company's revenue could emerge if the
cost of client acquisition and market entry. company's costs aren't controlled.
• Due to the lengthy operation cycle, there is a high
 With the world rapidly moving into the possibility that purchases will be rejected, which
electronic era, Alpha Co. has a fantastic has a negative influence on sales and the brand's
opportunity to advertise its product globally by impression.
embracing the online age. This will be possible if
the company makes its activities as efficient as
possible

Ans. 2.

The company has both strengths and weaknesses, as we observed in the SWOT analysis (D., 2017). The
market share of the furniture business is expected to grow. We assume that AlphaCo must take into
account the following factors to meet new performance goals.

 Operation management problem (MD Sareeekumar, 2020):

The operation management is not very effective. As a result, they are unable to plan by the
supply and demand for their products. As the price of raw materials rises, it can also affect
production, raising the cost of the final product. One of the best recommendation is to run
the production plant in batches, one must first focus on operation management. As a result,
raw materials can be bought in large quantities and according to batch. Additionally, it may
aid in lowering the price of raw materials.

 AlphaCo has to identify additional suppliers that can boost market competition and keep
raw material costs under control, which has an impact on product pricing. It is one method
of price control over inflation. The client can buy our merchandise.

The management of suppliers is crucial for any business (Choy, April 2002) while looking
for new ones. However, due to subjective judgement and a lack of systematic analysis,
 choosing providers based on accumulated experience is neither effective nor scientific. As
a result, one of the key activities in supply chain management is regularly monitoring and
assessing supplier performance and developing an acceptable supplier selection procedure.
AphaCo should try to increase its supplier base in order to save costs.

 The production team of AlphaCo must boost its efficiency with a good strategy because
there is a problem with time-consuming tasks in the sector of manufacturing. If technology
is needed, it should be deployed as quickly as feasible to reduce the length of the
manufacturing cycle.

The manufacturing and logistics processes can be improved using the techniques below
(Kovács, June 2018). Resources (raw materials, labor, machinery, equipment, etc.) are
always finite in the production process. The AlphaCo must develop end goods that are cost-
effective and have a short lead time, which can be done by minimizing costs and increasing
effectiveness. As a result, strategies for increasing efficiency are required. For the design,
analysis, and improvement of production and logistical processes, a variety of sophisticated
instruments and techniques are available. We suggest the three approaches for AlphaCo
that are: simulation, lean manufacturing, and layout design.

 Another problem for AlphaCo is capacity management, which they can solve by using the
following tactics (Sugumaran, September 2009):
 If AlphaCo seeks assistance from a production department in which they lack expertise, its
manufacturing will be more productive and less expensive. The expansion of new
technologies should be adopted to enhance capacity management. The tools listed here are
available for AlhpaCo to employ in order to manage capacity and improve the performance
of its business operations. Outsourcing, process innovation, resource acquisition, internal
resource and technology expansion, and organizational structure realignment to meet needs
and improve business performance.
  The growing demand for furniture is a result of both the corporate and residential sectors of
the economy growing. Therefore, Alpha Co. sees itself as one of the major suppliers of
furniture goods. Therefore, the management should ensure that they are capable of leading
their team effectively and increasing productivity by analyzing their capacity and ensuring
that it is operating at a level above 90%.

One of the most important considerations for Alpha Company is demand management. It's
just a strategy for doing something. It's a tool used by businesses to anticipate consumer
demand for their products and services and then prepare accordingly. Increased
communication between marketing and operations is one result of demand management.
Because of this improved coordination, strategy, capacity, and client requirements all
benefit. Alpha Company's ability to grow and serve customers is bolstered by its ownership
of this asset.

 Keeping an impartial perspective is also crucial while assessing and honing in on efficiency
(Jesuis, May 2014). The following Recommendation for Alpha Co having an objective is a specific
desired result that is tasked with achieving to contribute to the overall success of their team,
department, or organization. These Recommendations elements are Quality, speed, dependability,
flexibility, and affordability should be a company's top five business performance goals.

 Speed: Fastness refers to how quickly an order is fulfilled for a consumer. On-time
delivery increases the likelihood that a customer will be satisfied with their purchase. If you
can provide a product or a service more quickly than the competitors without reducing the
quality, you have a leg up.

Operations theory suggests that faster service delivery due to increased speed can lead
to savings.

 Quality: Indicating how well an action serves its purpose, quality can be seen by the
outside world. It's a signal that can be counted on by both customers and workers. For a
company's bottom line, focusing on quality could mean providing higher-quality services
and goods, which could lead to a decrease in expenses over time as satisfied customers
 spend less. Each warehouse packer should pack their furniture to reduce the number of mis-
packs and increase product quality.

 Flexibility: The ability to modify a service in response to changes in demand is what we

call "flexibility." This may necessitate adjusting the business's actions or procedures to
provide a more customized experience.

There are four main causes why customers may want a refund:

 The introduction of a new or revised product often necessitates some degree of product/service
flexibility.
 Expanding the product range is an example of mix flexibility.
 Flexibility in output volume refers to the ability to create a product in a range of varied volumes.
 One definition of delivery flexibility is the ability to alter the scheduled delivery times of a good
or service.

Being flexible in the face of shifting demand, inventory levels, and shipping deadlines can provide a
business with a competitive edge.

 Dependability: Your organization has earned its customers' trust because it consistently
delivers on its promises. In certain cases, this may not affect a customer's intention to use the
services (because they've already "ingested" the goods), but it can influence whether or not they
make another purchase or recommend your business to others. It doesn't matter how fast or
cheaply a company can create the Furniture if its consumers don't trust it to finish on promises or
to the correct destination.

When it comes to the fundamentals of running a business, reliability is crucial for the consistent
distribution of services and goods.

 Cost: Price is a major consideration for AlphaCom, as they compete head-to-head on rates.
Companies that can keep their manufacturing costs low are in a better position to pass those
savings on to their customers.

It is important for businesses of all sizes, even those that don't rival on price, to maintain the
lowest possible operating costs while still delivering the sorts of services their consumers have come to
 expect. Maintaining low overhead allows more focus to be placed on developing other areas of an
organization with the same resources.

 A CRM A Key Performance Indicator (KPI) (M. Ishaq Bhatti, November 2014) is a standardized
metric for judging how well your business is meeting the needs of its customers. Key performance
indicators can be established across all of the most important tasks that contribute to the achievement of
the business's AlphaCo stated goal of customer happiness. When performance falls short of
expectations, AlphaCo management can begin investigating the root cause and implementing solutions.
Since the client chooses who companies to work with, these Metrics become crucial to customer
retention.

 Measuring the event's qualitative success is also crucial to ensuring future client pleasure
for AlphaCo. To rephrase, your team's performance may look good on paper but fall short
in the eyes of customers. For instance, your customer service might be answering calls
within three minutes or less, or not attending calls at all but yet failing badly in the views of
the customers since they are not addressing the precise issue that the customers perceive.

 The first step for AlphaCo is to implement a customer relationship management platform
that can be used for more than simply marketing and sales. There is a plethora of CRM
software to choose from, but only a select few offer comprehensive solutions at a
reasonable cost.

 The customer relationship management is that much important that Software solutions
called customer relationship management (CRM) systems encompass the breadth of
interactions a business has with its present or interested parties (Tohidi, Jan 2012). Its
features can include marketing automation, sales force automation, help desk, customer
service and support, partner management, contract development and management, project
and team mangers, Internet sales, email response strategic planning, analytics, and
excellent technological criteria.
 Ans. 3

1. Real-Time Sales Orders system

 Ans. 4.

OSS1 OSS2 COTS 1 COTS 2

ERPNext SYSPRO ME Software SAP

Criteria Customize Customize Service industry Manufacturing

Companies

Control over Integrations among Traceability Benefits from

production Cycle departments Cost efficiency
Benefits for
Reports generation Reduce time to Inventory Customer
AlphaCo
for Decision market Management Feedback
Making Measurements

 Open Source Software (OSS) (Randhawa, 2008):

Software that is freely available for anyone to use, modify, and redistribute because its source
code is made public is known as open-source software (OSS). Most computer users will never have to
interact with a program's source code, which is the section of the software that allows programmers to
alter the program's or application's behavior. Individuals who know a program's source code can modify
it in many ways, including adding new features and resolving bugs. Most free and open-source software
(OSS) comes with a license that gives developers the freedom to tailor the program to suit specific needs
and limits its distribution to only certain parties.

Most OSS will have a license for its dissemination. The rules of this license govern the software's usage,
study, modification, and, most crucially, distribution. (Opensource.com, 2022)
 o ERPNext (A, 2024)

 HR & Payroll. Manufacturing, Sales & Purchase, CRM, Projects, Helpdesk, Asset
Management.

 Commercial software (COTS) (Easter, 2010):

A software product that is commercially ready-made and available for sale, lease, or license to
the general public. E.g. ME software, SAP

ERP software assists organizations in managing their accounting, purchasing, program

management, compliance & regulatory, and supply chain activities.

To maintain a steady stock of raw materials in the production of furniture, an ERP system in the
supply-chain industry, for instance, may automatically conduct a financial analysis. This process control
makes sure that the production department is operating at full steam and that popular item is always
available.

The implementation of ERP has the following benefits for AlphaCo.

 Communicate a clear vision

 Keep everyone in the organization involved.
 Choose a high-skill team and an implementation team for specific orders of furniture.
 Document the process from sales order to dispatched Note which is mandatory internal
control in the organization.
 Solicit input from all user groups.
 Manage organizational change.
 Ans. 5.

 Industry 4.0 Technology (Shu Ing Tay, December 2018):

Industry 4.0 is having a profound effect on the production, improvement, and dissemination
processes.

o Cloud Computing (Ahmad, January 2017): Cloud infrastructures encourage

environmental responsibility by reducing paper use, optimizing energy savings, and cutting
commuting-related emissions by running on cloud computers rather than actual objects and
hardware.

Benefits of Cloud Computing: The majority of people are already making extensive use of
various cloud computing services. These programs are useful for everyone, but they are
especially useful for businesses that need to access massive amounts of data over a secure
internet connection1.

• Cost savings (Jafari, January 2014): Accessing your AlphaCo's data via the cloud is
convenient and speedy, cutting down on setup time and expenses and allowing you to
begin working on projects sooner. Implementing ERP in alphaCo allows you to save
money by improving internal processes and reducing the need for human intervention.

• Security (Stosic, January 2013) When it involves shifting their operations to the cloud,
many companies worry about their data being compromised. After all, you can't be sure
 that your data is safe if it's stored remotely instead of in a locked server room on site. All
of this is somewhat abstract; thus, we should consider some numbers.

• Flexibility: Cloud hosting provides greater overall flexibility for enterprises than local
server hosting. And if you need more bandwidth without investing in a time-consuming
and potentially costly upgrade to your IT infrastructure, a cloud service may provide it
almost immediately. More independence and adaptability can have a major impact on
how productive your business is as a whole.

• Mobility: Likewise Freelancers, remote employees, and road warriors in sales can all
take advantage of a more adaptable schedule by putting their data on the cloud, AlphaCo
also gets the same Benefits.

• Quality Controlling: Maintaining Consistency All files are stored in the same place and
format in the cloud, making it AlphaCo's team easier to monitor and control quality.
Maintaining precision, reducing the possibility of errors, and monitoring modifications
are all simplified if everyone has the same information at their disposal.

• Adversity Recovery: Although it may be hard to prevent or even forecast the disasters
that could harm AlphaCo, there is something you can do to aid in a quick recovery. When
disaster strikes, whether a natural disaster or a power outage, businesses may swiftly
recover their data using cloud-based services.

• Disaster Avoidance: If you don't back up your cloud data, you may lose everything.
However, with a fog server, all the data you've uploaded is safe and can be accessed from
any computer connected to the internet, even if your primary computer is down.

• Automated Updating of Software: Cloud-based apps automatically renew and update

themselves. The IT department of AlphaCo won't have to waste time and money on
costly outside IT consulting.
 • Competitive Edge: An advantage can be gained over competitors if you adopt a fog
solution before they do.

• Sustainability (Mulder, January 2012): Since cloud computing infrastructures run on

cloud machines rather than on actual items and hardware, they reduce paper waste, boost
energy efficiency, and cut down on emissions caused by commuting.

Conclusion:

Almost every area of managing the AlphaCo, from operations to information systems, has been
covered in this report. The information covered here is merely a road map for accomplishing the
company's goals. If these goals are achieved will depend on the strategies and plans developed. It is wise
to have short-term targets that will help you achieve your long-term ones.
References
A, R. (2024). Best Open Source Software that Rocks World Wide Web.

Ahmad, s. (January 2017). Cloud Computing . Cloud security.

Choy, K. L. (April 2002). An intelligent supplier management tool for benchmarking suppliers in outsource
manufacturing.

D., S. (2017). How to Do a SWOT Analysis of your Busienss.

https://www.wordstream.com/blog/ws/2017/12/20/swot-analysis.

Easter. (2010). Developing COMMERCIAL Software.

Jafari, S. M. (January 2014). Strategic Cost-Cutting in Information Technology: toward a Framework for
Enhancing the Business Value of IT. Iranian Journal of Management Studies 7(1):21-39.

Jesuis, K. (May 2014). Operations Performance-Costs, speed, flexibility, quality and Depedability. Research Gate.

Kovács, G. (June 2018). Methods for Efficiency Improvement of Production and Logistic Processes. Research
Papers Faculty of Materials Science and Technology Slovak University of Technology 26(42):55-61.

M. Ishaq Bhatti, H. A. (November 2014). The Key Performance indicators and their impact on overall
organizational performance. Peformance excellence.

MD Sareeekumar, :. C. (2020). Production and Operation Managment : Challegnes and trends beyond 2020. 257-
274.

Mulder, K. F. (January 2012). Perceptions, Paradoxes, and Possibilities. Publisher: Sheffield: GreenleafISBN: 978-
1-906093-50-1.

Opensource.com. (2022). Open source software. OPensource.com.

Qlutch. (2018). Analyze Competition and Perform a SWOT Analysis. https://qlutch.com/competitive-

positioning/analyze-competition-and-perform-a- swot-analysis.

Randhawa, S. (2008). Open soure SOftware and Libraries.

Shu Ing Tay, L. T. (December 2018). An Overview of Industry 4.0: Definition, Components. Journal of Advanced
Research in Dynamical and Control Systems, 14.

Stosic, L. (January 2013). Computer security and security technologies. Journal of Process Management New
Technologies 1(1):14-19.

Tohidi, H. (Jan 2012). Why CRM is important.