Strategy in implementing MIS

raghavarama

New member
In the modern business era there has been a trend among corporations to focus attention on supply chain management in order to cut costs. This is largely due to an increase in lower cost competitive products and services within a given industry. With such a high level of competition in the market, businesses are forced to cut as many corners as they can to ensure their products have a competitive pricing level while still maintaining consumer appeal. To make this task easier and more efficient, managers have been implementing their supply chain management strategies with MIS. This allows managers to focus on the firms daily operations while MIS monitors what is happening and recommends what should be done based on various facts and figures.

Supply chain planning systems became the standard of industry. These systems “enable the firm to generate demand forecasts for a product and to develop sourcing and manufacturing plans for that product. Such systems help companies make better operating decisions, such as determining how much of a specific product to manufacture in a given time period; establishing inventory levels for raw materials, intermediate products, and finished goods; determining where to store finished goods; and identifying the transportation mode to use for products delivery.” (Laudon 388)

One such company that has started using Supply chain planning systems is Hershey Foods Corporation. As Hershey has become an international leader in chocolate and other confectionaries it has striven to make its operations more efficient using improved methods of production, packaging, and deliver. More recently the company has partnered with GENCO to establish a Six Sigma program for its supply chain to operate at even higher productivity.

“GENCO and Hershey's collaborated to develop a web ordering system sales reps use to order samples and merchandising material, as well as a software solution for inventory management and warehousing. GENCO handles distribution, order processing, and customer service, ensuring that the Hershey's reps have everything they need to meet with clients such as Safeway, Albertson's, CVS, and Wal-Mart, or to present at trade shows and conferences.” (Partridge)

After the Six Sigma program was put in place, Hershey “realized employees did not always have enough warehouse work to keep them busy, and were sometimes reassigned to customer service or cleaning chores. Seeing they were wasting productive time, Hershey's scaled back the Lebanon warehouse staff by 25 percent, or 1.5 full-time employees, a substantial reduction for a six-person team. The move saves Hershey's $45,000 per year in labor costs.” (Partridge)

In recent years, supply chain management technology has become even more useful to managers with the advent of wireless technology and GPS. Older supply chain management information systems usually involved of a handful of managers using statistical software and Microsoft Excel to tabulate what trends had taken place in a corporation during the previous periods. The implementation of wireless technology and GPS allowed managers to receive real time data with much less paperwork and manual input than previous systems.

The newest of these technologies is Machine to Machine (M2M) technology. M2M uses a network of different input devices and machinery to create a real time network of all products and processes within a supply chain. “M2M is gaining popularity because of its efficiency in data collection, robotics, remote monitoring, status tracking, offsite diagnostics and maintenance, and fleet management. M2M allows companies to perform live monitoring of every phase of manufacturing -- for example, providing a clear picture of work in progress. It also gives businesses the ability to continuously monitor vendor supply, raw materials and finished product inventory control, and carrier interface, among other processes. And unlike RFID, M2M often requires minimal capital investment and IT staffing increases.” (Inbound Logistics)
“‘M2M technology helps companies optimize supply chain flow by tying together devices and software integral to process flows within and between the links in the chain,’ […] ‘This can lead to more precise and effective process analysis, remediation, and change. As a result, companies can reduce costs, increase profits, and achieve a competitive advantage.’ ” (Inbound Logistics)

Although M2M is still in its first stages of implementation, it has great potential to become an industry stander for supply chain managers. In order to do this, however, it will require implementation into existing SCM frameworks. “ ‘M2M technology has to speak to users' desires to monitor all devices and processes within their infrastructures regardless of manufacturer,’ [...] ‘Sony's M2M technology, for example, deals with any device that 'speaks' industry standard protocols such as SNMP and XML. This helps […] meet customer demand for flexibility, which is essential considering the mix of manufacturers' devices every company has.’ While technologically speaking M2M's time has arrived, the question remains whether or not companies will bite. A lot of companies still suffer from a Y2K hangover caused by initial investments in software and implementations that proved to be less than effective. The headache is aggravated by ongoing maintenance costs and staffing commitments.” (Inbound Logistics).
 
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rosemarry2

MP Guru
In the modern business era there has been a trend among corporations to focus attention on supply chain management in order to cut costs. This is largely due to an increase in lower cost competitive products and services within a given industry. With such a high level of competition in the market, businesses are forced to cut as many corners as they can to ensure their products have a competitive pricing level while still maintaining consumer appeal. To make this task easier and more efficient, managers have been implementing their supply chain management strategies with MIS. This allows managers to focus on the firms daily operations while MIS monitors what is happening and recommends what should be done based on various facts and figures.

Supply chain planning systems became the standard of industry. These systems “enable the firm to generate demand forecasts for a product and to develop sourcing and manufacturing plans for that product. Such systems help companies make better operating decisions, such as determining how much of a specific product to manufacture in a given time period; establishing inventory levels for raw materials, intermediate products, and finished goods; determining where to store finished goods; and identifying the transportation mode to use for products delivery.” (Laudon 388)

One such company that has started using Supply chain planning systems is Hershey Foods Corporation. As Hershey has become an international leader in chocolate and other confectionaries it has striven to make its operations more efficient using improved methods of production, packaging, and deliver. More recently the company has partnered with GENCO to establish a Six Sigma program for its supply chain to operate at even higher productivity.

“GENCO and Hershey's collaborated to develop a web ordering system sales reps use to order samples and merchandising material, as well as a software solution for inventory management and warehousing. GENCO handles distribution, order processing, and customer service, ensuring that the Hershey's reps have everything they need to meet with clients such as Safeway, Albertson's, CVS, and Wal-Mart, or to present at trade shows and conferences.” (Partridge)

After the Six Sigma program was put in place, Hershey “realized employees did not always have enough warehouse work to keep them busy, and were sometimes reassigned to customer service or cleaning chores. Seeing they were wasting productive time, Hershey's scaled back the Lebanon warehouse staff by 25 percent, or 1.5 full-time employees, a substantial reduction for a six-person team. The move saves Hershey's $45,000 per year in labor costs.” (Partridge)

In recent years, supply chain management technology has become even more useful to managers with the advent of wireless technology and GPS. Older supply chain management information systems usually involved of a handful of managers using statistical software and Microsoft Excel to tabulate what trends had taken place in a corporation during the previous periods. The implementation of wireless technology and GPS allowed managers to receive real time data with much less paperwork and manual input than previous systems.

The newest of these technologies is Machine to Machine (M2M) technology. M2M uses a network of different input devices and machinery to create a real time network of all products and processes within a supply chain. “M2M is gaining popularity because of its efficiency in data collection, robotics, remote monitoring, status tracking, offsite diagnostics and maintenance, and fleet management. M2M allows companies to perform live monitoring of every phase of manufacturing -- for example, providing a clear picture of work in progress. It also gives businesses the ability to continuously monitor vendor supply, raw materials and finished product inventory control, and carrier interface, among other processes. And unlike RFID, M2M often requires minimal capital investment and IT staffing increases.” (Inbound Logistics)
“‘M2M technology helps companies optimize supply chain flow by tying together devices and software integral to process flows within and between the links in the chain,’ […] ‘This can lead to more precise and effective process analysis, remediation, and change. As a result, companies can reduce costs, increase profits, and achieve a competitive advantage.’ ” (Inbound Logistics)

Although M2M is still in its first stages of implementation, it has great potential to become an industry stander for supply chain managers. In order to do this, however, it will require implementation into existing SCM frameworks. “ ‘M2M technology has to speak to users' desires to monitor all devices and processes within their infrastructures regardless of manufacturer,’ [...] ‘Sony's M2M technology, for example, deals with any device that 'speaks' industry standard protocols such as SNMP and XML. This helps […] meet customer demand for flexibility, which is essential considering the mix of manufacturers' devices every company has.’ While technologically speaking M2M's time has arrived, the question remains whether or not companies will bite. A lot of companies still suffer from a Y2K hangover caused by initial investments in software and implementations that proved to be less than effective. The headache is aggravated by ongoing maintenance costs and staffing commitments.” (Inbound Logistics).


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Here I am sharing Strategic Management of The Information Systems Function, so please download and check it.
 

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