STRATEGIC INFORMATION SYSTEMS ASSIGNMENT - Business Report

In groups of three or four, you will be required to conduct research on AIS/ERP Systems for your client, including define business processes, develop business requirements, determine the systems requirements, software selection and vendor selection. Then prepare a Business Report for the client detailing the processes of selecting an AIS/ERP to help them to make informed decision for investment in an accounting software to take their business to the next level.

The report should be about 3000 (three thousand) words and should be submitted in an MSWord format document for the client. Each group would be required to find AIS/ERP that addresses the different aspects of the clients' business especially the area of their enumerated challenges and should also ensure that the client's business requirements are addressed. You may also employ any analysis or design tool in the preparation of your report - so long as the results are suitable for presentation in the required Word document and are your own work.

Remember: this is a report intended to convince a board of directors to adopt your proposal. Your report must therefore be complete, yet concise; be clear and convincing, and professionally presented. Above all, the report must be specific to the needs of the business.

Case Study 1 - Disk4U

Disk4U is a Sydney based company which sells CDs and Vinyl Records. They are a small family-owned business with four outlets spread around the Sydney metropolis. Currently, their main business is selling to customers via their physical shop front, via mail and phone orders and also a new online channel has been introduced through Ebay. This expansion has made it really necessary to improve on their manual processes of accounting and business reporting.

Your team has been called in as accounting and business systems consultants. Disk4U wants to know how technologies could be used to improve the company's operations (especially the areas of accounting and business reporting).

The company is keen to leave your team as much open as possible - you have been told that it is a 'clean sheet' strategy but cannot consume more than $150,000. The Chief Executive, Amit Reddy, needs a report from you to give the Board a specific brief.

Case Study 2 - Sungate

Sungate Foods is a Victoria based rice and wild rice producer, milling up to 80 tons per hour at seasonal peaks. In 2013, Sungate employed a base of 100 staff in three processing/warehouse locations in Western Victoria and a marketing office in Melbourne, Victoria. Its largest milling facility encloses 125,000 square feet, 30,000 metric tons of storage.

It has its own rail spur, 250,000 square feet of blacktop, and pollution control equipment scrubbing 240,000 cubic feet of air per minute. At seasonal peaks, processing reaches 80 tons per hour and staff tops 200 on 24-hours-a-day, seven-days-a week shifts.

Sungate buys from 350 farms, then packages, distributes, and sells domestically and internationally. But its patchwork of ISs and data silos required multiple manual re-entries of each order and financial transactions some up to 10 times wasting time and creating errors. Staff worked weeks compiling financial and business reports from the patchwork of ISs and formats. In certain situations, some decisions couldn't wait for adequate information. Inventory is usually kept high to ensure complete orders.

Your team has been called in as accounting and business systems consultants. Sungate wants to know what information system could be used to improve the company's operations (especially the areas of accounting and business reporting). The company is keen to adopt a technology that would eliminate most of these problems they encounter but they have a tight budget of not more than $150,000. The board is expected to sit over this report and take a decision.