Reflection on 1-888- JUNK-VAN CASE

Reflection:

After going through the pros and cons of each alternative and attending the presentation given by consultants, PaaS seems to be the best option. Once Kingo works out the desired platform, it provides hardware, storage, network capacity and basic software functionality. It requires only three days for implementation along with migration of data. It doesn’t require Kingo to have a server for installation as it is managed by third party. This system provides remote access and central database which minimizes the errors and eventually increases customer satisfaction. If further customization is needed, if can easily be done for $180 per hour. And if at any time Kingo thinks this system is not fulfilling his business needs he can cancel it by giving one month notice.

As Kingo’s business expands and its operating demands grow, he can migrate the IT system to Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP). ERP is built around a central database that is remotely accessible and can integrate business processes in all departments including Purchasing, Sales, Customer Service, Finance and Human Resources. Although ERP system is more costly at $500 per license per year, it will eliminate the limitations of PaaS. Seeing continued growth of business and as revenues increase, the additional cost of ERP can be offset by the performance gain and more efficient operations in all departments.

1-888- JUNK-VAN CASE STUDY

1-888- JUNK-VAN CASE

Kingo started the junk removal business in 2008. He opted for virtual design for his business which worked brilliantly. Revenue doubled during 2008-2009 operating in three Canadian cities. Due to the increased business, Kingo felt the need of having an affordable IT system that meets his operational requirements and allows the business to grow.

Issue:

Because of the absence of reliable IT system, serious problems originated such as sending the wrong version of the database to the morning operators, losing the record of already booked orders, maintaining the manual spreadsheets, delivering the instructions through emails containing the incomplete and incorrect information, resulting in dissatisfied customers due to poor service.

Desired IT system:

Kingo knew that the company needed an IT system with following characteristics:

·         Central database

·         Remotely accessible

·         User friendly

·         Flexible and robust to handle dynamic changes in the market

Kingo had five options to choose from.

Microsoft Access Database:

Pros:

Upgrades can be done within a short time. It requires small budget. It could be installed on a centralized server to be accessed remotely through the internet using a secure virtual private network (VPN). Kingo can install it himself locally on the computers with license priced $ 179 per computer. New database can be created in a couple of weeks by working during evenings or weekends.

Cons:

This option doesn’t allow for remote installation so each instance of the database has to be installed and updated manually. The costs are unknown for hosting the shared server and for any required professional development assistance.

Custom Application:

Pros:

Customized application provides central database, remote access along with some basic functionality.

Cons:

The build time is four weeks and it is priced at $2,000. Maintenance charges are $60 per hour per developer. It doesn’t provide any changes or adjustments if required. Extra money is needed to pay data migration. The programmers may or may not understand Kingo’s requirements. Support is billed per hour.

Google Docs:

Pros:

The forms application can be quickly created and shared with employees. Users could work simultaneously on the same file in a collaborative environment. It is possible to set different limits to access the data. It is free up to 10 user accounts and small business need to pay $5 per month per user or $50 per user per year. It can be implemented in a couple of weeks.

Cons:

All data would be input into an online spreadsheet and could not be cross referenced in a way it can be in relational databases. All of the data is placed on a single form enabling employees to also access data which is not related to them. Customers are uncertain about the existence and confidentiality of this facility by Google.

Platform as a Service (PaaS):

Pros:

PaaS is delivered on cloud computing infrastructure. It provides computation resources such as hardware, storage, network capacity and some basic software functionality. Kingo can use this common application or build his own custom application using a shared computing platform that is provided and hosted by a third party. Kingo has got the successful trial. There is no long term contract required. One month notice is required for cancellation of the service.

Cons:

Software developers are required to customize PaaS. Service package cost ranges $300 to $600 per month, depending on how much storage space and how many user licenses and applications are needed. It requires three days for migration and implementation.  More customization requires extra charge at about $180 per hour.  Kingo has to work out how much of a platform he needs and how much he is willing to pay.

Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) System:

Pros:

ERP systems are built around central databases. They are accessible remotely and integrate business processes by covering every aspect of the business from purchasing, sales, and customer service, to finance, human resources and e-commerce. Several ERP packages are available for small and medium sized companies.

Cons:

In spite of their focus on small companies, ERP systems are very costly. An average small firm is expected to have 20 to 25 users and the cost for license is $500 per user per year. These systems are static focusing mainly on production and finance module which are not top priority of the company. Starting package consists of four users and it is priced at $12,000.

Recommendation:

After going through the pros and cons of each alternative, PaaS seems to be the best option. Once Kingo works out the desired platform, it provides hardware, storage, network capacity and basic software functionality. It requires only three days for implementation along with migration of data. It doesn’t require Kingo to have a server for installation as it is managed by third party. This system provides remote access and central database which minimizes the errors and eventually increases customer satisfaction. If further customization is needed, if can easily be done for $180 per hour. And if at any time Kingo thinks this system is not fulfilling his business needs he can cancel it by giving one month notice.

Presentation:

If I were presenting this case as a consultant I would describe the current issue and I would assess each alternative and describe the pros and cons of each. I would recommend the best alternative as per stated criteria of the IT system which is according to company’s needs. I would give the presentation through power point slides and would include a comparison table that would highlight each alternative.

Potential Impact of Blogging on Businesses

Potential Impact of Blogging on Businesses

There was a time of static web pages where the content did not change for months or even years. Maintaining the “What’s New” page had proved less effective in terms of introducing new ideas, products or services that a business offered. It also relied on visitors who were already familiar with the business website to read these updates. It had little or no impact on generating more sales. Advertising on the internet has always been very expensive and takes a substantial portion of the budget. But now is the time of Social Media realm and blogging introduced a revolutionary idea to advertise and market new products or ideas globally.

Blogging has now become a major tool for a business to announce what it is up to. From entrepreneurs and small businesses to large global firms, everyone is taking a keen part in blogging. It has secured its position in the market and major firms have dedicated staff just for blogging.  It has become so effective that in 2013 Yahoo paid $1.1 billion to acquire Tumblr, a blogging company that hosts 170 million blogs.

There are many free blogs such as Wordpress, Bloggers, Goolge+, etc. These free blogs can be used to introduce and advertise new products to the global market within minutes. It also raises business’ web presence and it can generate more traffic to its website.  Visitors can read the blog, post their responds, provide feedback and share it with other people. Blogging also establishes the company as an expert and authority in its area of business.

It is very simple to create and easy to maintain blogs. It is also very cost effective method to expand customer base by keeping them informed with new products. Businesses can blog on the existing platforms such as WordPress, Google+ etc. or they can also customize it and incorporate in on their own business website. Search Engine Optimization (SEO) to generate more traffic to a website relies heavily on blogs.

One of my friends is an immigration lawyer who used to work for a law firm. Two years ago, she started writing her own blog about latest immigration reforms. She was doing it as a hobby initially, but as she started getting recognized for her expertise and thousands of people were reading her blogs, she decided to start her private practice. She created her own website and incorporated her blog in it. She also became a member of lawyers.com, lawguru.com and few other such sites where she answers visitors’ questions and provides legal consultation. As her blogs gained popularity, she was recognized as an expert and 94% of the visitors to her blog decided to hire her for her services. She is now paying almost nothing to blog but generating $8,000-$10,000 monthly in new and repeat clients.

This is just one example of how blogging generated more sales for a small business. Multi-billion dollar corporations have recognized its importance and are maintaining their own blogs. With the tremendous popularity of social media, blogging has become an essential part of a company’s online profile. It is very cost effective, user friendly and promotional tool with marked improvement in company’s sales.

Procter & Gamble Case Study

Proctor & Gamble

Electronic Data Capture and Clinical Trial Management

The clinical data management in Procter & Gamble Healthcare department faces the challenge of reducing the length of time it takes to complete clinical trials for its prescription drugs. The delay in introducing the new drug in the market costs roughly $1M dollar per day in lost sales.

The clinical data management team introduced the usage of Web-enabled Electronic Data Capture (EDC). This technology enables the collection of trial data from investigator sites via internet.

Issue Description:

The clinical trial data collection and verification takes a long time to process. The Clinical Research Associate (CRA) collects the clinical trial data and performs the cursory observation to check for obvious errors in Case Report Forms (CRFs). This data is then entered into the back-end database by two different individuals. These two entries are compared and verified for any discrepancies and if any errors are found, then a third individual re-enters the data to remove the discrepancy.

Locking of final database involves many steps. In order to reduce this time lapse there are three alternatives for improving the current process.

Paper-based Process:

This is a conventional method that involves manual data entry from CRFs into the data management system. Few adjustments can be done to improve paper based process such as using express delivery to mail CRFs from the sites on a daily basis and increasing staff members to perform site monitoring and source data verification more rapidly. But conventional method of paper-based process usually takes longer any way.

Evaluation:

Since the data entry and verification is entered manually by individuals, there is little guarantee the data is 100% free of errors.

By using this method company needs to acquire more resources which is ultimately going to increase the cost along with nominal effect of time constraint.

Digital Imaging:

International Record Imaging System (IRIS) is another alternative for the improvement of the process. In this method the investigator sites fax the completed CRFs to a processing site at the sponsor. Faxes are digitally received and stored by the system. Clerks reconcile data in the same manner as in paper-based process by using a split screen with the document on one side and the data entry form on the other side.

Evaluation:

This method does not do much to reduce delay and workload. The delay occurs as the investigator sites let CRFs pile up before faxing them into the system. This method also requires significant investments in data storage facilities as there are a lot of images to store.  Reviewing the data takes same amount of time as in the paper-based process.

Web-enabled EDC:

The usage of Electronic Data Capture (EDC) is the third alternative. This method allows data to be entered into the data management system directly by investigative sites.

Evaluation:

This method is far more accurate and faster since data is entered directly at the investigative sites and error-prone paper-based forms are eliminated. Predefined data validation rules are applied to each record to avoid potential errors during initial data entry. These records are immediately available to the sponsors for monitoring the trial and conducting preliminary analysis on blinded data.

Presentation:

If I were the consultant of P & G, I would present the case through PowerPoint slides, Visio flow-charts, tables and graphs. I would calculate the cost of all three alternatives, weigh their pros and cons and would use the alternative with the best cost-to-profit ratio. I would also provide training and technical support to the investigator sites in order to facilitate the new system in the company.

Reflection:

Consultants presented their case to us and described the benefits and weaknesses of each method. After discussing with C- level members and thoroughly evaluating these methods, we concluded that EDC benefits outweigh its weaknesses and it is faster, more cost effective and more accurate than other methods. The conventional Paper based process had worked in P & G for years and employees are already familiar with this process and do not require any training. On the other hand, this method takes much longer to validate data and resolve errors.

In comparison, EDC rectified the errors and reduced operating costs. CRAs needed to make fewer visits to sites for the verification of data. Software does not need on-site support as it does not reside at investigative site. The resistance to use web interface is low because it resembles the paper-based forms and most of the employees are already familiar with using the internet and would not require extensive training. The data entry cost was $6-$9 per CFR page entered manually but EDC reduced it to $3-$4 per page. The cost of purchasing laptops ($1200 each) for participating sites is offset by the profit earned through deduction in data entry costs as well as by introducing the new drug in the market sooner than its competitors. It generated $1M dollar sales per day on average and results in increased profits. Being the first one to implement this method, it will boost the company image in front of shareholders. The stock price P & G rose to 20 percent from 2000 to 2001 after using EDC.