This project discusses the system examination of MedAMore Management System. The simple description of case study and existing system is detailed based on the study. We analyze the potential problems in the existing system by using Wetherbe's Items Problem-Solving Platform. Finally, we suggested the possible recommendation intending to be better improvement of MAM system in MedAMore drug store.
1. Introduction
MedAMore is a medication store string in U. S. In 1960, it started to change as a local chain. In1995, it carried out MedAManage (MAM) progressive software system to handle daily operations better. MAM system is made up of three programs. The machine is versatile, and communication among three programs is reliable when transferring the files in one location to some other. However, MedAMore purchased three regional chains and expanded its business in 2000. As a result of expansion, MedAMore experienced the issues in 2002.
In order to analyze the MedAMore's problems, opportunities and directives, Wetherbe's Portions Problem-Solving Framework is determined and applied. Preferably, this project end result may be ideal for the improvement of MedAMore Management System.
2. Information of Existing System
MAM software system consists of three modules as following:
2. 1 MAM/Store
MAM/Store module operates on drugstore's small computer. Inventory lists are required to be supported in different regions to be able to establish sufficient control over inventory on order and inventory in stock. The right amount of daily sales from different drug stores is required to be reported to the home office. Besides, different insurance policies are transferred to different parts. Daily operating bills at different stores are necessary to be educated to the house office. The local features are performed in this component.
2. 2 MAM/Warehouse
MAM/Warehouse module works on a local warehouse's server. It is acquired to get the different ways of orders from the several retail stores. In addition, it is necessary to supply the different procedures of requests from the wholesalers.
2. 3 MAM/Home
MAM/Home module runs on the home office's large server. This component coordinates among drugstores, regional warehouses, geographic office buildings, and home office. Files are sent to the home office to get up-to-date sales and inventory information.
3. Problems and Opportunities
After describing the prevailing system of MedAMore in the previous section, we will categorize the machine issues by applying the Parts problem-solving construction. This framework was developed by Wayne Wetherbe to focus on the genuine work of doing requirements dedication (Normal, 1999). It contains six categories:
P
The need to correct or improve performance.
I
The need to correct or improve information (and data).
E
The need to improve or improve economics, control costs, or increase profits.
C
The need to improve or improve control or security.
E
The need to correct or improve efficiency of men and women and functions.
S
The need to correct or improve service to customers, suppliers, companions, employees, and so on.
The PIECES Platform for Problem Identification (Bentley & Whitten, 2008)
The following portions identify the problems using this framework in details.
3. 1 Performance
MedAMore drugstore faces the data transfer performance issues. Three programs in the complete system are mainly communicated through documents transferred from one location to some other. When stretching the levels of drugstores from 30 to 200, record transfer process cannot work well. Data copy time becomes longer, and MedAMore encounters the problem in transferring data. Flies are often delivered later part of the, and cannot reach the vacation spot on time. Because of this, response time also can take longer when being able to access the data from every one of the drugstores from different areas. This causes slow and inconvenient performance to MedAMore drug stores.
3. 1 Information
MAM/Store program will not provide effective information for MAM/Warehouse and MAM/Home office. It has the regional specialty area problems. The statistical result made by MAM/Store is often not concrete information, which in turn can cause erroneous article for the MAM/Warehouse and MAM/Home office.
MAM/Warehouse program gets information that's not a useful format. Different formats of same information are registered, stored and prepared in today's system. The retail stores from all of the regions are purchasing various ways of format. The wholesalers also supply different techniques to the retail store. This result triggers the duplication of information and human being error in every different phases of order control.
MAM/Home program does not receive the appropriate information. The data coming from 200 medication stores is not well-timed to its succeeding use. File transfer is later, sometimes lack of information, and sometimes too much information (information received multiple time). That is the primary problem for the home office to access reliable and up-to-date information, especially in the areas of sales and inventory. Due to the above problems, it is difficult to debug the system.
3. 2 Economic
MedAMore Management System cannot deal with the daily operations due to the growth of MedAMore's business. Thus, MAM system is needed to enhance; however, it is hardship to up grade the existing system because each of three modules (store, warehouse, and office at home) including MAM system is huge, and the execution and maintenance costs for every module are too expensive. This becomes the huge economic problem for MedAMore to up grade MAM system.
When it involves earning revenue, MedAMore was an industry leader previous five years back by making use of MAM innovative system. But it is currently battling to stay from the red because of still using the inflexibility of the same system. Such problem can reduce the MedAMore's income and profit.
3. 3 Control
MedAManage system cannot control over individuals errors. After extending the business, the amount of staffs is increased for the intended purpose of running the business well. The brand new staffs that's not familiar with the machine such as cashiers can make a blunder when keying in the type in to the system. It really is difficult to obtain the accurate result.
Additionally, MAM/warehouse component becomes overloaded for conditioning the amount of regional warehouses in one to four. It is troublesome to keep an eye on the processing errors when information is lost, and replicated. It could degrade the reputation of MedAMore.
3. 5 Efficiency
In MedAMore Management system, there are over 1 million lines of code per each module. It is not easy to change one function without influencing others. Furthermore, the system has an individual databases that is reached by all the functions. Changing an individual line of code can affect the rest part of the system within an unpredictable fashion. Building the software is challenging, and putting in new system triggers a great disruption. These problems take place the internal issues within the house office of MedAMore. The business enterprise side wants to obtain two more local chains, but IT side wants to transport the existing acquisitions online. It generates the division between your business part and the technical side. The business person feels that the technological area makes impossible needs whereas the business side considers IT as making business inactive.
The Main Information Official (CIO) and the exec team distrust one another. The business side supports IT in order to make every chance. The complex area forms its IT systems with little help from the business people. The business area discards many costly IT initiatives. The constant debate and distrust between business and IT impacts these efficiency and profitability of the MedAMore.
3. 6 Service
The local warehouses are attainted the receiving orders from the retail stores and the offering requests from the wholesalers. Each one of these differences must change the MAM/Warehouse module. There is merely one office at home to control 200 drug stores, four local warehouses, two geographic office buildings. In file transfer approach, posting of information files are distributed past due and sometimes multiple times. It may take quite a while to provide a customer's needs. It might be a communication barrier between the sales section and warehouse. As a result, the volume of sales will be shedding down because of late delivery or reactions.
In the office of sales and inventory, it is problematic to gain access to up-to-date financial information. Each of three parts (drug store, regional warehouse and office at home) is great, ineffective, and troublesome. This fact could possibly be the longer ready time for the company's staffs to perform their jobs. Alternatively, it can lose customers' patient, and reduce their dependability upon the business. Finally, it can effect the serious issue on service quality of MedAMore medication store.
4. Recommendation and Conclusion
We claim that MAM should upgrade its network bandwidth quickness in order to resolve the file transfer hold off problem. Network quickness can be faster than ever, and then records transferring process can run as the way in which. Still, office at home can also have the up-to-date information on time. Furthermore, the server hardware from the regional warehouse and home office should be improved. Further, MedAMore should lay down the same format for all those regions to stay down the regional field of expertise problems. Information can be documented, stored and processed with the same format in this way. It can also prevent data duplication mistakes. Subsequently, MedAMore's performance can be advanced.
In order to prevent input/output mistakes, MedAMore should provide the training related to the machine use to new staffs in advance. As a result of it, new staffs become to know how to handle the machine well, and they is capable of doing their job more effectively. So, the percentage of human errors can be reduced in this manner. The warehouses can also acquire the appropriate information regarding to the amount of orders and supplies. Thus, they can deliver the customers' order promptly. This is the way of conserving customers' reliability upon MedAMore's service. A lot more customers trust the service, the more MedAMore's revenue raises. In return for this, the volume of revenue can be increased. Moreover, the house office can also get the daily amount of deal and inventory effectively in order to calculate the sales and income amount.
In conclusion, Portions framework is a useful and cost-effective tool for classifying the possible problems. Despite the fact that the categories of the PIECES construction overlap, it is just a practical framework, not only an academic exercise (Bentley & Whitten, 2007). It can help any task team to comprehend the issues, opportunities, and directives carefully.
