BURBANK BOARDS

Term Paper Title	BURBANK BOARDS
# of Words	4034
# of Pages (250 words per page double spaced)	16.14

BURBANK BOARDS

TABLE OF CONTENTS

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY     3
PROBLEM DEFINITION     4
NEW SYSTEM OBJECTIVES     6
NEW SYSTEM CONSTRAINTS     7
NEW SYSTEM PERFORMANCE CRITERIA     8
TEXAS INSTRUMENT  -  COMPOSER     9
ENTITY-RELATIONSHIP DIAGRAMS     10
ACTIVITY HIERARCHY DIAGRAMS     11
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

Introduction

Current System

New System
� objectives
� recommendation
� advantages of new system
� how it will solve problems
� implementation
� tools used to document the new system  ie.. ERD

PROBLEM DEFINITION

The main problem at Burbank Boards: Management has not continued to use an out-dated computer based system without realizing the importance of using efficient information systems to gain a competitive edge.

Symptoms of the problem at Burbank Boards:
1. Redundacy of effort
� Telemarketing operators enter order data on sales order forms and then key much of the same data into their terminals.
� Buyers fill out Purchase Order Requisition forms and then data entry operators key in the same data.
� Manufacturing orders are placed using paper forms and this data is then keyed into the computer.

2. Poor responsiveness of the system
� Customer orders are not filled as they are received.  Instead they are held until the order batches are processed by the order entry, inventory, and billing systems.
� Buyers are notified of the need of raw material replenishment the day after the computer detects that the reorder point has been reached.

3. High credit risks
� The current credit classes have resulted accepting several poor credit customers and in turn, several bad debts have been incurred.

4. Lack of production standards and controls
� Production workers often do not accurately record start and completion times for their jobs sheets.
� The production schedule prepared by production planning and control is only a close approximation to what can be expected.

5. High buyer turnover
� It is extremely difficult to train new buyers who need to be highly skilled at negotiating.  Lack of sufficient information may lead to poor purchases.
� Low morale could be contributing to the high turnover. Loss of a buyer leads to loss of valuable experience and expertise that is hard to compensate for.

6. Delayed deliveries by suppliers
� Late delivery dates have caused the company to reschedule production run. The current system does not provide enough information to choose the best suppliers (i.e those who have a clean record of delivering on time).

7. Lack of sufficient management information
� Communication has consisted of paperwork sent through the company mail system.
� Communication failures due to lost or late mail has adversely affected the production schedule time and the supplier payments.
� Though the system has sufficient data on the business activities, management information is not being generated.

8. Excessive paperwork
� Current system generates of a lot of paperwork that is often filed in the wrong files

9. Slow decision making
� A direct outcome of redundancy of efforts and a poor information system.
� Rejected orders are communicated after not communicated instataneously to the customer.
� Management reports are generated once a month and takes about two weeks to reach them.

The current system was designed several years ago to process the firm�s accounting and production tasks.  The only reports currently being produced are the income statement and balance sheet.  No attention has been given by the company in developing improved management information systems.  In our analysis of this system, we have found several corrective actions which need to be taken in order to upgrade to the proposed Advanced PRoduction and Order PrOcessing System (APROPOS).

NEW SYSTEM OBJECTIVES

Our objectives in this project deal with the existent problems of the current system and what should be accomplished to solve them.

1. Eliminate redundant effort throughout each department.
� EDI will be used to receive orders from customers and to place orders with suppliers ...

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