Riordan Manufacturing - Service Request Rm002

Riordan Manufacturing - Service Request RM002 Ð'- Rough Draft

Riordan Manufacturing, Inc. is a global leader in the field of plastic injection molding with state-of-the art design capabilities that has earned them international acclaim. Unfortunately, their dynamic research and development has failed to carry over to their IT infrastructure causing a great need for a complete redesign. With facilities in San Jose, California, Albany, Georgia, Pontiac, Michigan, and Hang Zhou, China, the changes to their IT infrastructure will need to stretch worldwide. To their advantage, with a budget of $150,000, and complete backing from Riordan Industries, their main company and a Fortune 1000 enterprise, accomplishing a successful redesign is well within reach.

Business Objectives - LAN

To begin, let us address the business objectives of Riordan Manufacturing. Riordan Manufacturing wishes to change their current Ð''plant independent' inventory management system to a central inventory management system. In the current configuration, the inventory management system is different for each plant, and is largely based upon paper transactions; numerous hand-offs between departments, and causing a great opportunity for error. By tying the receiving, manufacturing, and shipping departments together, work force can be used more efficiently, inventory management can be improved, and a lean manufacturing environment can be obtained.

For feasibility, the likelihood of finding an obtainable resolution by April 27 is very good. The financial situation of Riordan Manufacturing is extremely positive, with a generous budget of $150,000 and backing from Riordan Industries, there is little keeping the project plan from meeting the April deadline. The biggest issue we foresee is the short timeline. Although the basic principal of creating a LAN at each location is simple, there are existing systems in place that could cause complexities when designing the new system. To assist in keeping the new LAN simple and reliable, it will likely be designed to run parallel with the existing one so that neither system will be dependent upon the other. The additional CAT5 wiring that will be needed to accomplish this task will add to the budget, but when purchased in bulk the overall impact will be minimal. Although tight, the $150,000 budget is within reach.

To measure the success of the new LAN, the receiving, manufacturing, and shipping inventory systems will need to be tested under full load. Initially they will be brought live during non-normal operating hours, however, workstations will be increasingly logged into as the day progresses, and the success of the LAN can then be determined. If an issue arises that keeps the new LAN from operating, the old system will still be in place and can be brought online again while repairs to the new LAN are made.

Business Objectives Ð'- WAN

To address the business objectives of Riordan Manufacturing's WAN, their wish is to tie their current Ð''plant independent' inventory management systems to their home office in San Jose, CA. Their motive for doing so is to create a more efficient finance and accounting system that will allow the home office to track the inventory, usage, and finances of each plant. In the current configuration, the inventory management system is different for each plant, and is largely based upon paper transactions; numerous hand-offs between departments, and causing a great opportunity for error. By tying the plants together, reporting can be made more efficient, inventory management monitoring can be improved, and the current finance and accounting issues can be resolved. The biggest finance and accounting issues that need to be addressed are as follows:

Ð'* Consolidated close of the General Ledger and subsequently the Income Statement and Balance Sheet is labor intensive and normally not completed until 15-20 days after month end.

Ð'* Audit (to include external auditors) is required each month and is costly and labor intensive.

Ð'* Compliance with new government required reporting requirements at the consolidated level is difficult at best.

For feasibility, the likelihood of finding an obtainable resolution by April 27 is very good. The financial situation of Riordan Manufacturing is extremely positive, and with a generous budget of $150,000 and backing from Riordan Industries, there is little keeping the project plan from meeting the April deadline. The biggest issue we foresee is the short timeline and the need for an international WAN. Although the basic principal of creating a WAN is quite simple, there are international IT issues that the team could face when designing the new system. To assist in keeping the new WAN simple and reliable, it will likely be designed independently of any existing systems so that no interference occurs.

To measure the success of the new WAN, the WAN will need to be tested under full load. Initially it will be brought live during non-normal operating hours, however, activity will be increase as the day progresses, and the success of the WAN can then be determined. If an issue arises that keeps the new WAN from operating, components from the old system will still be in place and can be brought online again while repairs to the new WAN are made.

To sum up the business objectives regarding both the LAN and the WAN, Riordan Enterprises finds the situation unacceptable, and has mandated a solutions(s)/alternatives be recommended by April 27.

Current Business Process/System

The current raw materials receiving department needs to be revised due to the inefficiencies in place, and the opportunities for error. The process begins when the receiving area supervisor compares shipping document against scheduled incoming orders. This is a manual visual comparison, which is inefficient and time consuming. This process can be replaced with small RF tags on each bin or item that can be randomly audited to ensure accuracy from vendors. Auditing at random will save man hours, and will teach vendors to increase accuracy from their end to prevent part shortage charge-backs. The inefficiencies continue when the receiving area team unloads the truck and moves the raw materials into the raw materials area in the factory. In the current process, the receiving area Supervisor gives the log of raw materials received during the day and associated shipping documents to the receiving clerk at the end of the day. This log should be automated and kept Ð''real-time'. Doing so would eliminate the receiving area clerk, would increase accuracy, and improve