Kahuna Cleaning Supply Chapter 4 Kahuna Cleaning Supply is a family-run business
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Question
Kahuna Cleaning Supply
Chapter 4
Kahuna Cleaning Supply is a family-run business based in New Haven, Connecticut that specializes in commercial cleaning supplies and business support products for commercial, industrial, and institutional clients. Only a few computerized operations are in the business. In an effort to become more efficient and profitable, the vice president, Julia Thompson, has hired a systems analyst, Robert Hanover.
Background
Julia and Robert have made progress in the development of a strategic plan for Kahuna Cleaning Supply. Robert is anxious to define the requirements for the new system. He has gathered more information and has created the following organization chart for Kahuna Cleaning Supply.
Charles Edwards (president)
Julia Edwards (vice president)
Andrew McClean (director of operations) ----> sales rep (6) ---> cuaomer service reps (3)
Anna McNally (Director of Finance) --->Accounting/Biling Clerk (2)
Martha Seymoour ( director of operations) --->dennis martin (shipping/receiving manager) --->Gerorge Thompson (warehouse manager)
Robert: Julia, it’s time to start moving on the system investigation. The mission statement is finalized and strategic planning is well underway. I can see that the directors are beginning to think about how their departments can benefit from better information management.
Julia: You’re right! Andrew McClean found out that we lost a big order the other day because the customer was able to get the estimate much more quickly from a company in the Midwest because of their online presence. He’s wondering just how many sales we are losing because of timeliness issues. I had Anna’s group gather numbers for the directors about how many times our profit margin has been reduced because of human error somewhere along the order process. We are profitable, but could be more so by reducing error and becoming more competitive with timely information to our potential customers.
Robert: Andrew’s area of sales is a logical place to start the investigation. I need to interview sales and customer service representatives to get an idea of the requirements for the new information system. What kind of information will we include? What do we want to get out? What processes need to be managed? What are our business needs?
Julia: This will take some time, and a lot of information needs to be gathered. You should make sure you spend some time with the accounting clerks too, because they fill in for customer service representatives.
Robert: I’m ready to get started!
Tasks
Develop a fact-finding plan including interviews, documentation review, observation, questionnaires, sampling, and research.
Review the organizational model above and list the individuals you would like to interview. Prepare a list of objectives for each of the interviews you will conduct.
Prepare a list of specific questions for each individual you will interview.
Design a questionnaire that will go to a sample of Kahuna Cleaning Supply customers to find out if they were satisfied with the sales and ordering process. Your questionnaire should follow the suggestions in this chapter. Also, decide what sampling method you will use and explain the reason for your choice.
Explanation / Answer
This would ensure that all aspects of strategy to implementation phase are covered. By interviewing the top bosses I would identify the exact action items they want to be implemented and their vision on how it should be done. By interviewing the ground staff I would get insight of daily problems and understand their quick fix solutions and long term resolutions. In addition I would also interview few customers and suppliers who are dealing with the organization for long time to get their views on changing industry aspects and how Kahuna Cleaning Supply can be more beneficial to them.
Q1. What are the new initiatives planned for next couple of years?
Q2. Which all areas would they like to have more visibility on?
Q3. Any particular area they are focused on improvement in short term? Why? What solution do they have in mind?
Q4. Any plans to go digital and share transparent information with suppliers and customers?
Q5. Plans for improving the work like balance of employees?
Q1. Which is the most recurring problem area?
Q2. What are their expectations from top management?
Q3. How can they help in realizing the vision planned for next couple of years?
Q4. Where can the process be improved in terms of data visibility and information sharing/
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