1-888-JunkVan - case analysis

Problem/Issue Statement

· 1-888-JunkVan is a fast growing junk removal business that needs a database to keep up with its needs. Currently they are using MS Works to track all of their commitments, invoices, and payroll. All of the information is input into the system manually by either the drivers, call center operators, or the data clerk and there was only one copy of the data base that was shared electronically between people. If there was an error in the database they would have to suspend reservations until they could locate and fix the issue within the database. Also, if there are issues with the data they could have missed appointments resulting in loss of revenue and damage to their reputation.

Situation Assessment

· This problem could affect the success of the company overtime. Since there are many options for the consumer and such a high level of price sensitivity JunkVan needs to offer superior customer service to set itself apart from the consumers. To cut back on such issues and errors with the information that needs to work with a system that fills many needs. The system needs to be easy to use for everyone at the company, it needs to be accessed remotely since there is no central location, it would need to be inexpensive to keep overall costs low, vendor support would need to be included since there is no JunkVan IT team, and overall it would need to help them cut down on the potential for errors.

List of Plausible Alternative Courses of Action

· The alternative courses of action for JunkVan are to implement MS Access, a Custom Application, Google Docs, Platform as a Service (PaaS), or an Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) System. Each of these options will address the problem in slightly different ways depending on the level of service and investment required by each option.

Evaluation of Alternatives

· The first option is MS Access. This is similar to MS Works that they are using now so it would involve a quick installation. However, it does not allow for remote access unless it is installed on a server which would involve a higher level of IT knowledge and support that JunkVan currently does not have. This option might reduce some errors over time, but doesn't meet all of the needs that JunkVan is looking for.

· The second option is to create a Custom Application. However, where JunkVan currently is in their overall structure this really isn't an option at all. There would be a high cost involved, it would take a long time to build/implement, and since it is a custom application there would be no additional vendor support which is important to the company.

· The third option is to use Google Docs. This requires little to no implementation time besides just transferring the data and has a low cost of use overtime. It is cloud based so it can be accessed remotely by multiple users at a time without causing issues with the data. The negatives are it would just be one giant worksheet with all the data and they wouldn't be able to manipulate the data the way they are used to and there is no back up option if one day Google just decides to stop running this program.

· The fourth option is Platform as a Service (PaaS). This is an affordable option that is easy to use and customize. There was hesitation, but after seeing a trial and seeing how easy it is to make edits based on your needs this could be a viable option. JunkVan would need to do some leg work developing SOPs and really analyzing the processes that are in place to see how to optimize PaaS.

· The fifth and final option would be to implement an Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) system. This has an extremely high cost to implement and maintain licenses overtime. The cost includes services that JunkVan doesn't need to utilize so essentially they would be paying for a system that they wouldn't be using to its full potential. Plus it is a very static system and couldn't adjust to the changing business needs as JunkVan continues to grow.

Recommendation

Of these alternatives the option that makes the most sense is Platform as a Service (PaaS). This is the most affordable option that JunkVan will be able to optimize and use over time. They will receive vendor support when needed and the platform will be able to change and grow to match the needs of the evolving organization. This is the logically recommendation because it fits most of the criteria for making a decision at an affordable pricing option.

P & G - reflection

After our presentation last week to the senior management team at P&G they raised some interesting points and valid issues as far as the implementation of web enabled EDC. After taking their concerns into consideration I still believe that implementation of the web enabled EDC is the way to go if they plan on growing their health care business.

A main concern, of course, is the cost of implementation. There is a significant upfront investment with the software itself, hardware needed at certain investigator sites, and different levels of training needed as well, however I think this cost will be repaid time and time again. Once EDC is in use you can save about $300,000 per clinical trial by not dealing with as many issues as you would have with the paper based method. Not to mention the increased revenue you would make by getting a new drug to market over 30% faster than you would have with the paper based method.

Another serious concern was the effect this would have on investigator sites and employees as far as ease of use compared to the paper based method. People might be hesitant at first to the change, but the software itself is very easy to use and mimics many other web enable programs. Since the use of computers, both personally and professionally, and the internet is so widely spread at this point I think overall training costs and issues will be kept to a minimum.

Where P&G is currently, I think they need to get complete buy in from the organization, especially senior management and than put a team together to work through the SOPs and evaluate vendors based on their needs. They have the option to either rent or buy the software, but that decision can only be made once the team puts together a more in depth requirements list from what was presented and vendors are evaluated equally on these criteria.

Ubuntu - Tech Tools

Ubuntu is an open source operating system from Linux. This is a platform similar to Microsoft Office with the exception that it is free and an organization has the opportunity to edit the code to make the OS work best for them.

I see the ability to edit the code of Ubuntu as a great advantage over other operating systems because you can make it fit exactly what your needs are as an organization. Since it is also available free of charge it could be a great alternative for new and small businesses that don't have a lot of money to spend. Saving the money on working with and implementing Microsoft Office could be invested more directly in the functions of the business.

With Ubuntu, whether it's a new business or an established business that has a vision beyond the capabilities of Microsoft, you would have the flexibility to make it what you need. I think this is a strong benefit for most organizations where the sky is the limit in terms of creativity and possibilities.

Ubuntu is free, safe, and secure. The supporting software is also free. So where with Office you would be spending money on the initial purchase you will also incur cost on maintenance, support, and upgrades that you wouldn't have to worry about with Ubuntu.

Accenture Reflection

In this case we were discussing Accenture and their IT structure. Accenture as an organization helps other companies build themselves into a world class organization. However, since they broke away from Arthur Anderson, Accenture needs to build itself into a world class organization starting with a strong IT structure as its base.

The consultants presented the idea of the ITIL framework. This framework is widely accepted and will provide a standardized way of working with activities, processes, functions, standards, and guidelines. This will help Accenture focus on continuous service improvement so they can take their company to the next level.

In the evaluation of Accenture based on the ITIL framework they had relatively high scores. They landed mostly in the A/B range unless the consultants needed more information in that area to be able to evaluate them. Some of the initial feedback in class took the perspective of "well we are already doing so well so why go down this road?" Which is a valid point, however this is a dangerous point of view.

I believe it would be essential for Accenture to implement this framework so as an organization they can focus on their own continuous improvement. While Accenture is strong now, they wouldn't want to become stagnant and complacent because this would lead to them eventually falling behind in the industry.

This article http://www.best-management-practice.com/Knowledge-Centre/News/ITIL-News/?DI=615335 talks about how in the current economy companies can use the ITIL framework to cut costs and transform their business to come out of the recession stronger than ever.

While the investment might not be 100% needed at this time, if Accenture wants to uphold their reputation as best in class it's a no brainer to make the investment in ITIL framework.

Microsoft Visio

Microsoft Visio is a program that allows you to create visual diagrams based on information, statistics, processes, or anything else. The program provides you with an intuitive layout, easy to use templates, connectivity to actual data, and much more. It is a simple way to visually display any process or information that may be confusing to people outside of your department or business area.

I work in marketing and we use Visio in my organization to help simplify statistics as we present them to "clients." We operate our marketing department that treats the other lines of business the way an agency would treat a client, including monthly update meetings. In these meeting, when needed, we use Visio to pull results from excel documents to display the data visually so that anyone can understand it.

We also use it to outline a new process. About a year ago my old boss was let go and instead of hiring a replacement the senior management team decided to realign our department with the business development team to form one Sales Marketing team. Once the change was implemented we needed to explain the new department to the rest of the organization. We used Visio to build a mini organization chart for our department that we could provide to the building.

This would benefit any organization because most people can understand anything better visually. It would save time and money of employees explaining information multiple times, or save money by cutting by on errors if everyone understands the direction from the first time due to a detailed visual provided by Visio.

Strategic IT Transformation at Accenture

Problem/Issue Statement

• Accenture faces an interesting, but positive "problem." Since Accenture split from Arthur Andersen in 2001 they were essentially able to start over from scratch with how they wanted to build their IT infrastructure. The problem is they had only a year to create and implement their new structure and they had to decide how they wanted to build it. They had the option of going for a "best in breed" approach, a one-platform approach,  or a combination of those options. 

Situation Assessment

• The Andersen technology, like in many long established organizations, was becoming outdated. It consisted of patchwork legacy systems, obsolete software platforms that couldn't be accessed remotely via the Internet they needed expensive private networks to access them, and over time the offices developed their own software for HR and Accounting purposes. This made it very difficult to get up to date information quickly and made what would be normal, simple processes bulky and complex. Since Accenture broke away from Andersen they could start from the ground up building exactly what would suit their needs to grow as they saw fit.

List of Plausible Alternative Courses of Action/Evaluation of Alternatives

• Accenture has a couple of options to pursue in building their system. They can pursue a "best in breed" approach, meaning they would buy the best option available for each individual application. This is good because each company will want to stay "the best" so they will work hard to maintain their reputation, however you risk the different applications not talking to each other if they are built by different developers. They could go with a one-platform approach which is good because all the applications will work together, they can access it anywhere, and they can get the information quickly, however by using one platform it may not be the top of the line option for each application. Either of these options would provide them with a top of the line system to run their business they just have to decide which approach works best for what they are trying to accomplish. 

Recommendation

• The recommendation would be to decide what works best for Accenture. Based on the information in the case it would be a combination of the options. For standard, everyday business process they should follow the one-platform approach. For example with HR it is beneficial to have an application that is universal for staffing and payroll purposes. However, I am sure there is an aspect of their business where using a best in breed application makes sense because they need the top of the line to support their business and it's reputation. These options mixed with some outsourcing where needed (for cost saving purposes) I think Accenture will be able to build a top of the line IT infrastructure that allows for consultants to work remotely, allows applications to talk to each other, and provide quick, accurate access to the data that employees  need. 

Zara Reflection

In class last Wednesday we reviewed the Zara: IT for Fast Fashion case. The main issue in this case is whether or not Zara needs to update the operating system they use to operate their point of sale (POS) terminal systems. Currently, they were running on DOS systems which, at best, can be classified as outdated. The DOS system is no longer supported by Microsoft, however their supplier verbally confirmed they are not planning on discontinuing the product anytime soon.

Theoretically, Zara can buy a supply of the DOS POS terminals to have a stock of them to support new store openings and keep operating on the outdated system. This system has run smoothly for decades and has never cause any issues. When new stores need to open all they have to do is insert a disc and they are up and running. In terms of current business process there is no need for an update. They can stick with the old saying "If it isn't broke, don't fix it."

However, if they continue to operate on the DOS systems they are truly is a race against the clock on how long their supplier will actually keep supplying this system. Currently Zara is the suppliers largest client with these systems and as time passes they have less and less clients on this system. It will only be a matter of time until Zara will be forced to update to a more current operating system.

To avoid being forced to choose they should take advantage of having time on their side and create a plan of action. They should look at all the options and pick which system best suits them. It will take a large investment upfront and increased expenses overtime (i.e. maintaining a larger IT department), but it would be beneficially. They would be able to take advantage of added benefits like online shopping.

I think the biggest decision they would need to make in the process is whether or not to covert all at once or in a roll out fashion. The benefit to rolling it out all at once is Zara wouldn't have to maintain two systems the DOS and the new system. However, the benefit to the roll out process is they would start small dealing with small hiccups and as they implement the new systems in more and more stores they would perfect the process so that it would become seamless overtime.

The question here isn't if they should upgrade, it's how should they go through the upgrade process. Eventually they will need to move away from the DOS systems they just need to figure out the best way to roll out whichever system they decide to go with.

Zara: IT for Fast Fashion Case Prep

Problem/Issue Statement
The problem in the Zara case is that all of their stores are still running on DOS systems which aren't supported anymore, but they still work fine. So they have to decide if they should keep running DOS and risk their supplier upgrading to something that isn't compatible or upgrade and risk the system having more bugs/issues than they are currently experiencing. The symptoms of the problem are that the DOS operating systems might become outdated and can't handle tasks like inventory management that a modern OS could support. The scope of the project is huge. Zara is a national retail chain with stores all over the world. To upgrade all systems would require a substantial investment in hardware, software, training, setting up data, etc.

Situation Assessment
Zara has recognized the importance of technology since the beginning, however they are at a point now where they don't know if it is worth the investment to upgrade which would disrupt their business at least for implementation and worst case if it involved bugs or issues with operations. If they follow the "if it's not broke don't fix it" mentally they will continue to fall behind modern technology and eventually risk the fact that when an  issue does arise (and it will) there might not be any one left who can assist in solving the problem. In decided what to do they need to look at what would be the best investment over time and cause the least disruption to day to day business operations.

List of Plausible Alternative Courses of Action
Their alternatives are stay the course with the current DOS POS systems and buy up extra inventory to support their needs as they expand into new stores. They could upgrade their systems completely to a modern OS which would be more widely supported and provide features that they currently have. Each option would provide Zara breathing room to continue operating comfortably with either operating system.

Evaluation of Alternatives
Either option is a viable alternative for Zara to consider however if they decided to stay the course with the DOS POS system there will come a time when they will need support or new equipment and it won't be available to them. Even if they do purchase an inventory of systems it may not really benefit them if something happens to the system and they are stuck with an inventory of systems that won't work.

Recommendation
I think the quality/logical recommendation in this case is to upgrade their POS systems to a more modern OS. I think even though it is working fine for them now that time is ticking before something goes wrong. As they have done in the past I think they could slowly move over to a new system starting with the flagship store and rolling it out from there to keep it running smoothly and keeping an eye on potential issues that could pop up.