Riordan's Manufacturing Business Development Needs

Riordan's Manufacturing Business Development Needs

University of Phoenix

Computers and Information Processing

CIS/319

Otis Langford, MS

23 May 2006

Riordan Manufacturing's Business Development Needs

Riordan Manufacturing is currently in the process of undergoing a feasibility study to improve supply chain functionality. To date, Riordan has 550 individuals working at four separate locations in the United States and China (Riordan, 2006). The goal of Riordan Manufacturing's Leadership is to standardize inventory control among the locations, simplify the production-to-shipping process, and employ leading edge technology to maximize profit and customer satisfaction. Currently Riordan has no established uniform system for dealing with inventory management. The purpose of this study is to assess the benefits of standardizing inventory control and suggesting solutions to the company's technology concerns.

Primarily the shipping and receiving departments at each of Riordan's four locations will use the innovative system of inventory control and supply-chain management. The goal of the shipping and receiving departments is to receive the raw materials necessary for production and to ship manufactured goods upon completion of production. Currently Riordan has a receiving area supervisor, receiving clerk, and a receiving team responsible for the inventory control of the organization (Riordan, 2006). These individuals will be responsible for implementation of the new system when it is in place. Before execution of the new system can begin, a training program has to be undertaken to get users of the new system up to speed with system requirements and functionality.

The new system will consist of a network which will encompass all four Riordan locations, an online website for use by employees as well as customers, and a database program which will store all pertinent data. The network will provide for simplified communication between locations through real-time supply chain coordination, as well as the necessary security for Riordan's data. Each employee who will become a user of the new system will be given user identification and will be required to create a password. This allows shared information to stay secure from outside threats (i.e. hacking). The network will provide all users access to the database which itself will provide information on all aspects of Riordan's current inventory.

The database will monitor all incoming and outgoing shipments at all four facilities using Barcode and Scanner technology, as well as track goods from the moment they are received as raw materials until they become finished product at the end of the assembly line. Every box will have a barcode that can be scanned by a laser, which will immediately have the information pop up on