Assignment # 2 - Integrated Case Study. (Bandon Group, Inc.

Introduction: Bandon Group is a family own business, founded in 1953. It has four different division located in four different cities in Western US. Different divisions handle different types of tasks. The corporate headquarters located in Arizona. The company is currently attempting to discover how Information Technology can better support the overall missions, goals and objectives of the organization. Data is not currently integrated across the various divisions, which causes a duplication of effort, sub optimized effort and additional expense to the organization. (Sumner, 2005) Bandon Group, Inc. has a relatively small Information Technology department. With the range of various technical solutions that have been implemented across the divisions it has become very difficult to provide data migrations, network support, technical support and training. (Sumner, 2005) Management has also determined that technical solutions need to be implemented in order to stay competitive. Several of their competitors have implemented ERP with integrated CRM solutions. Additionally their competitors have begun to implement eBusiness solutions

which allow for web based supply ordering, service call entry and meter click reporting (Sumner, 2005). The current technological environment of Bandon Group, Inc. is severely fragmented, which makes it virtually impossible to migrate towards an eBusiness solution. (Sumner, 2005)

Step 1. Purpose and scope of the Study. Based on the situation of the company stated above, the purpose and scope of the study is to evaluate information systems and its atmosphere, evaluate problems and assess the probability of an ERP installation. ERP is stands for Enterprise Resource Planning; basically the practical name of ERP is SAP R/3. SAP R/3 maintains at the least three business areas. This requires investigation within the business and its needs, a good word about the use of SAP R/3 along with supported foundation and a comprehensible working model of SAP R/3, configured and with master data. (Sumner, 2005). These overall scope or benefit of the study was to assure that IT plans support business plans, to provide a basis for linking IT spending to the business direction, offer context for functional managers and MIS professionals can make determinations, conveys the overall direction of data use and management throughout the business, present closer integration of like systems and networks while decentralizing at the same time technology and operational activities. The offer of guidance in choosing vendors for workstation-based solutions along with network and web-based solutions to problems as well as offering framework for using IT to gain a strategic improvement. (Sumner, 2005)

Step 2. Document high-level business direction. The high level business direction as defined by executive management interviews discovered that there was a great deal to address in order to satisfy the 6,000 companies that Bandon Group served. From the management interviews it was discovered that value added approach to marketing, better understanding of the customer, integration of information-based network services and providing strategic outsourcing was needed to be improved in order to be more successful. (Sumner, 2005) The other areas that need to be addressed within the business are sales, administration and customer service. There is a great deal of opportunities within these areas of the business in order to grow revenue, reduce administration costs, and strengthen support within sales and customer service. By increasing market share, centralizing data and converting customers to long term customers along with improving invoicing and reporting.

Step 3. Identify key information needs and measures. Goals: Revenue growth from $23 M to $30 M, increase market share in network and out sourcing business, growth in market share in IT consulting business, growth in service base, network and document infrastructure consulting. Critical Success Factors: There are some factors need to address currently and in future to be success and to get the competitive advantages over the competitors.

Current issues: Accurate and timely billing and collections, Effective sales support, Inventory management, Maintaining profitable growth, Increase market competitiveness, Retention and recruitment of quality people, Implementation of new technologies; (such as: use laser prints versus traditional copies, Increase information service/network services etc.), Internal process improvements, Technological training, Communications, Information sharing, and Generating a better product of our customer outside of equipment. Future issues: Successful integration of systems consulting team into organization (Make sure we have the right vendor; controlling cost), Increasing integration of information/network service with traditional line of business, Diversity of services and solutions offered to our targeted markets, Dealing with the limitations of OMD: Inability to bill for non-copier-related services, inability to handle on-line transactions. Measures: some measures are identified as follows: ability to focus on higher-margin accounts, effective relationship building with customers, effective contact management, effective customer information gathering and utilization etc. IT needs: It is already mentioned that Bandon Group, Inc. has a relatively small Information Technology department. With the range of various technical solutions that have been implemented across the divisions it has become very difficult to provide data migrations, network support, technical support and training. Since the company is currently attempting to discover how Information Technology can better support the overall missions, goals and objectives of the organization, the IT department of the company needs to improve the following areas: a) Account profitability report, b) web-enable customer support, c) automated customer contact solution, d) sales and marketing data and marketing analysis report, e) better resources

for obtaining industry specific information, f) web-enable access to information PDA compatible solution for database access, g) customer feedback, h) billing system for information consulting service, i) web-based project tracking and reporting, j) invoicing solution that utilizes fax, e-mail, internet, and paper invoices, and k) service management report.

Step 4. Document detailed business requirements. Problems: The goal of the company is to growth the revenue from $23M to $30M and increase the market share. To meet the goal, the company needs to identify the field of opportunities. Based on the executives interviews, some opportunities are identified which are as follows: increase the field of IT consulting, network and document infrastructure consulting. Beside those there are some external opportunities indicated in the interviews, for example; High print volume, storage and retrieval etc. Those opportunities will benefit the company when the company will be able to use them effectively. To use them effectively, the company need to improve the IT department. The IT needs already mentioned in step 3, now the company need to implement a single system that can solve all the IT problems. This system will change the whole infrastructure of the company.

Step 5. Documents current IT situation Internal.

Bandon Group, Inc developed a series of database applications suing Pivotal software which are: Integration of Dun & Bradstreet and iMarket data with Pivotal software, Pivotal forecast
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analysis, Pivotal call/appointment setup, Pivotal sales lead and compensation report (e.g., automated e-mail alerts triggered on completed appointments, commission payout), Pivotal sales and marketing data (account tracking), Service management reports (response time, meter-read alerts, excess service call alerts), Customer service history reports, and Pivotal lease expiration reports.

Step 6. Documents current IT situation External.

Step 7. Determine gap between current IT situation and desired IT direction.

Step 8. Determine feasibility of an ERP system.

Step 9. Determine ERP design issues.

References Sumner, M. (2005). Enterprise Resource Planning. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall.