Analyzing Business Processes for an Enterprise System

Case Description

The case sheds light on the management of a firm looking to improve on their order process by making it more efficient. The firm is fairly large having about five different production facilities which manufacture chemicals used in plastics, fibers, and coatings in the south eastern region of the United States.

The case goes in depth into the firm’s order process. When a customer faxes, mails in the order, or calls, his order is taken down by a representative who manually takes down necessary information required for the order on an order pad. The representative accesses the firm’s order entry system and checks the inventory and location for each product the customer orders. After all relevant information regarding the order is gathered, the customer is contacted by the representative who confirms the entire order before proceeding. The representative suggests a delivery date of four to five business days. If the customer would prefer an earlier delivery, the representative checks the order entry system to see the warehouse nearest in location to the customer shipping address. This check appears to be redundant as orders are generally delivered from the nearest location to the customer.

Orders which written by hand on an order pad are collected together and put manually into the order entry system. The order entry system rejects orders with missing information. Some orders are not immediately put into the system depending on their delivery date. The system performs a credit check on the customers. Customers are separated and treated differently based on the health of their credit. A report is generated and sent daily to the Credit Department and representatives.

The firm also faces a problem due to lack of standards. Different business units use different identification systems for the same products.

SWOT Analysis

Strengths

The firm appears to be strong and big. It holds fives different production facilities producing a variety of products. This advantage of variety gives them the ability to make complementary and supplementary products so that they can still keep market share and profits even when one product is doing poorly in terms of sales and distribution.

The firm has a good management who intend on improving its efficiency. The firm acknowledges that a problem exists in the order process and identification systems and it takes the first step in problem solving: identifying that a problem exists.

Since the firm deals in specialty chemicals, it is difficult for new entrants to creep into its niche market. The products which the firm produces are necessary in the production of other vital products which means that the firm’s products will always be in demand.

The firm also made it a point of duty to maintain a relationship with their profitable customers by giving credit to the customers who have good financial standing with the firm.

The geography of the firm is suitable for its market. The firm is located in the southeastern region of the United States which is known for an abundance of polymers and dyes. The firm has access to available supplies needed for production.

Weaknesses

The firm’s order process gives room for a lot of human error and redundancy. The procedures in the order process are mostly handled manually by representatives who have the ability to make mistakes in the case of large batches of orders.

The order process is also very slow. The representatives have to check back and confirm an order with the customer which takes up valuable time that can be used to serve other orders. The reports generated during the order process are sent out to the concerned personnel via physical snail mail which can cause clutter. Also, some orders are delayed from being entered into the order entry system due to their delivery date.

Valuable information is likely to get lost physically or in translation since the order process requires the representative to rewrite the order on a pad, the pad could be damaged or misplaced and this poses a huge problem.

The firm’s information systems are not visible in the early stages of the order process and it requires a middleman-the customer representative to mediate with the technology and the customer.

The firm’s identification systems are not standardized which can lead to confusion and disaster at some point.

Opportunities

The firm has the opportunity to improve its information systems. Given the increased trend in technology, the firm can look into newer technologies which can improve their business processes. Globalization has made technology more efficient at an incredible rate; the firm should look into global communities for better technology which it could implement. This may lead to increased customer loyalty who may view this move as innovative, thereby, enhancing the image of the company.

The firm has the opportunity to increase their span of products and discover new markets which they can break into. Since the firm is fairly large, it has the asset and capital to explore other markets. By expanding their products, the firm will increase their customer base which may lead to more revenue and profits. The firm can expand to more regions or it can even go global. Starting up new plants in other pats of the country or the world will give the firm more market share in the industry. This will also give the firm access to more raw materials needed for production.

Government regulations may help prevent new entrants from infiltrating the market. Government regulations which may be lobbied by existing firms in the industry may be unsuitable for new comers.

Threats

A major threat which the firm faces is its competitors. Existing competitors have the ability to take the market share of the firm by producing at cheaper rates or by cutting costs in other processes. Competitors can cut costs by improving their business processes to be more efficient of by getting their supplies at cheaper prices. Competitors can also steal the firm’s customer base by producing better and innovative products, or by improving their brand name.

The firm may run the risk of losing their customer loyalty. Without a customer base the firm has no ability to generate revenue this is why it has to avoid losing its customers to its competitors. The more substitutes there are to the firm’s products, the more likely it is that the firm has little power over its customers. Less control over