Customer Service Element at Bryson Motors Co - Essay Example

? Project Initiation Document: CRM for XYZ Project Summary This project is aimed at improving the service element at Bryson Motors Co. Ltd. The project consists of ten activities which are scheduled to be completed in 21 days. The project activities will basically be carried out by persons outside of the organisation. The only insiders involved will be the project manager who will coordinate activities, the financial controller who will prepare the budget forecast and the liaison officer who will relate with the staff and the project team. The tools that will be used to control the project include a Gantt chart and a network diagram. It is recommended that project leadership be at a high level to facilitate the successful completion of the project. Introduction Projects are a part of the ongoing activities in an organisation. Projects will facilitate the growth of Bryson Motors Co Ltd. Schwalbe (2009) indicates that a project is a temporary endeavour which aims to create a new product, service or result. This project is temporary and aims to create a new result at the company. The company already has a customer service department but this project aims to improve it so that customers’ needs can be better satisfied in an efficient and effective manner. The current situation is that there is a lack of regular updates in relation to shipping and document processing. The company does not have the staff and other resources to fully satisfy some of the needs of customers. Projects typically go through a cycle and this project is no different. The standard cycle of a project consists of four phases. They are initiation, planning, execution and closure. The main emphasis in this paper is on the initiation phase. In some cases changes will be required to the original plan and so this will therefore require adaptation. Initiation represents the first phase and during this time the scope and objectives of the project are determined and outlined. The planning stage sets out the human resource plan, the financing plan, the communication plan, and the risk management plan. In some cases there may be a need for a process of adaptation. This will be determined from the monitoring activities of the project manager. If changes are necessary then the plan will be adjusted in order to facilitate the implementation of these changes. The results of the project – in this case the implementation of a computerised system to facilitate the transportation management system. If every thing is satisfactory and objectives are achieved then closure of the project is in order. Aims and goals It has been identified that Bryson Motors Co. Ltd is having problems in the provision of quality customer service. The aim of this project is to improve customer service at the company through the implementation of transportation management system software. This will facilitate growth and development of the organisation as customers will be attracted to the quality of the company’s customer service. However, before this can be done a computerised system needs to be put in place to capture all the activities that takes place between the company and its customers as well as the company and its suppliers. The formation of goals and objectives includes a definition of the scope which indicates the actual work that needs to be done; the unique product, service or result that will be delivered as well as the result that is expected (Schwalbe 2009). Customers will be able to access information on their shipment (order) from the web instead of having to call Bryson Motors directly. This will free up sales staff to the extent that they will then be able to spend more time getting more customers and therefore earning more income for the company and for themselves. Scope of project This project will involve the work of an external contractor setting up a computerised system that will be able to incorporate transportation management system software. This will enable the tracking of shipment and documentation of motor vehicles. Transite provides transportation management solutions that can be linked to the system. Transite (2010) indicates that its My Freight Portal-Shipper ties everyone in the supply chain under one system. It automatically sends and receives electronic data interchange (EDI) with the company’s carriers with little or no work involved on the part of Bryson Motors Co. Ltd. All carriers of shipment for the company will be consolidated. This project will include a number of tasks that will lead to the implementation of a computerised accounting and sales system as well as the implementation of a transportation management system. This will involve the following: i. Collecting information of the current system ii. Designing a computerised system iii. Implementation of the computerised system iv. Testing v. Merging transportation management system into computerised system Key deliverables The key deliverables of the project is a computerised system that captures the transactions of the company and the implementation of web based tracking and notification system where customers can be informed of the status of their shipment and documentation. This is transportation management system that will provide customers with information on the exact location of their order at a particular point in time. It is important that the stakeholders of Bryson Motors are involved in the process. However, this will require an analysis of all stakeholders. Stakeholder Analysis Stakeholders are any group or individuals who are affected by or who can affect the performance of an organisation (Freeman 1984, cited in Harrison et al 1993). They are the groups, persons or organisations that must be taken into account in order to better facilitate decision making (Bryson 2004). In order to achieve success in the implementation of any plan stakeholders need to be identified. The stakeholders of Bryson Motors Co. Ltd are the customers, employees, shareholders, the creditors and suppliers. Each stakeholder group is concerned with the benefits of the proposed project. The diagram below provides an analysis of the stakeholders in Bryson Motors. Stakeholders Main Interest & Potential for Conflict Influence Power Importance Net Impact Optimal Way Forward Customers Interested in high quality products as well as excellent customer service. The potential for conflict is high if their needs are not satisfied. Therefore any changes that may reduce the level of customer will result in conflict High High High Keep them informed, engage with and influence them Employees Employees are interested in satisfactory working conditions as well as job security. Any changes that may result in redundancies can cause conflict. Moderate Moderate Moderate Monitor them and when necessary provide with information on changes and how they will benefit. Shareholders The shareholders are concerned about the return on their investment. The potential for conflict exists when the company invests in things that may not increase the return to shareholders. High Moderate Moderate Keep them informed and let them know why the changes are necessary Creditors and Suppliers Creditors want to be assured that they will be paid in accordance with their credit. The potential for conflict exists when the company cannot make these payments on time but instead seeks to invest in things that are not beneficial to them Moderate High Moderate Keep them informed and let them know how the changes will benefit them Figure 1 Initial Analysis of Stakeholders of Bryson Motors Co. Ltd The customer group is one of the most important groups in this analysis. The analysis indicates that the customers influence and power is high. They are extremely important to the business and that their net impact is also high. The future growth and viability of the business depends on its customers. If there are no customers there is no business and therefore the need for managers and other employees would not exist. The customer is interested in the fulfilment of needs and so the necessary steps should be taken to ensure that this is done. Customers should be informed of the need to implement the system that will increase and improve customer satisfaction. This new system will be beneficial in that they will be able to track their purchases if and when they want to. The employees who are affected by any changes may want to ensure that they will not lose their jobs as a result of the implementation of this software. The analysis in Figure 1 indicates that their influence and power is moderate, they are of moderate importance and that their net impact is also moderate. The new software will free them from having to deal with past sales on an ongoing basis and allow them to deal with new or returning customers. Therefore they will have more time to generate more income for themselves and for the company. The influence of the shareholders as well as their importance and net impact is moderate. They may vote to have the management removed if necessary. The shareholders of Bryson Motors are keen to ensure that the benefits will exceed the costs to be incurred on the project. The implementation of transportation management software will allow customers to track their orders for themselves instead of relying on sales staff to provide this information. This will allow management to focus their attention on generating new business for the company. The creditors and suppliers of Bryson Motors are very important as they help to fund the business. If the suppliers do not supply goods to the company then there will be nothing to sell to customers. Therefore, Figure 1 indicates that they have moderate influence and power. They are of high importance; however, their net impact is moderate. The project plan Roberts (2009) indicates that there are ten essential elements of a project plan. They are as follows. Aim - The aims and objectives of the project need to be clear to all stakeholders involved and should conform to the SMART Criteria which requires it to be specific, measurable, attainable, relevant and time-based. Output - The output at every stage should be clearly defined. This will facilitate members’ acquisition of knowledge in relation to goal accomplishment. Quality criteria – quality is measured in accordance with whether the output from the project is fit for the purpose for which it was intended as well as the number of defects that exists. Resources – Human as well as financial resources are required for all projects. The project cannot go on without them. Management structure – The management structure should be such that it encourages and facilitates good communication among members of the team. It should indicate clear lines of authority so as to prevent confusion in respect of reporting relationships among members of the team and the purpose of communication. Milestones – Milestones are of extreme importance. The reason for this is that they represent deliverables that can assist in controlling the project. Tolerances – It is important that all team members are aware of the level of tolerance as it relates to cost, time and other resource issues that impact the project. Dependencies – The dependencies as it relates to the activities to be accomplished and the activities involved should be made clear to all members of the project team as some activities have to be completed before others are started. These matters are of extreme importance as they help to determine the success of every project. The network diagram in Figure 3 provides a clear illustration of this fact. Risks – Risk represents a normal part of all activities and so it is with project management. The project manager should be aware of all eventualities that could prevent the project from being completed in a timely manner. They include and are not limited to illness of team members, and insufficient funds. Schedule – It is important that all tasks are scheduled and that activities are appropriately allocated among team members in order to prevent overlaps in the performance of duties. These are important elements which should be included in the plan for this particular project Communication and Strategy It is important that the change in how things are done is communicated in the right manner to all stakeholders. Communication is a factor in the planning and execution phases of any project. The communication plan provides details of the communication strategy of who should be informed, in addition to how and when they should be informed. The members of the team need to be informed of all changes to the project plan so that they can accommodate them in their activities. Additionally, stakeholders need to be informed of all changes to the plan. Drinkwater (n.d.) indicates that communication is the lifeblood of a project. This is an indication of the importance of communication in facilitating a successful completion of the project. Communication is normally done by way of a progress report which as the name implies indicates what stage the project is at. Haughey (n.d.) indicates that this is a popular mechanism for communicating with stakeholders on the progress of a project. Regular communication will take place on this particular project with the relevant stakeholders as successful completion is the number one goal. Human Resource Plan All projects should have a human resource plan. This will allow for the availability of staff if necessary. This project will only require the use of two or three persons from the human resource team of the company. These persons will be designated as the project manager, financial manager, and a liaison officer. For the sake of providing information when necessary to the people engaged in setting up the system the liaison officer will be useful. However, there needs to be a schedule of the activities in order to facilitate information gathering and implementation of the system. Additionally, a budget needs to be set up based on the projected costs of the project. Management of project activities This stage of the project has to be properly managed. Therefore, the project manager has to have the necessary management skills in order to make this possible. The details of the activities to be performed are outlined in the work breakdown structure. Additionally, a network diagram and a Gantt chart have been provided of the activities of the project as it relates to the implementation of the system. When the work is broken down into several activities the project manger is better able to monitor and control project activities. The manager also needs to ensure that the project starts on time. If the project does not start on time the possibility of finishing on time without exceeding the budgeted costs is slim. Work Breakdown Structure The work breakdown structure (WBS) represents a breakdown (as the name suggest) of the different tasks and helps to ensure that all aspects of the activities needed to fulfil the project are identified. The WBS makes it easier to for the project manager to estimate the time and cost of the project. It represents the foundation of project planning (Net MBA n.d.). It can be used to determine the way in which the project is executed in terms of what activities can be done at the same time and which activities have to be completed before others can be started. In fact, IBT (1996) indicates that it shows the hierarchy of activities and their dependencies. It also makes it easier for the project manager to determine who will carry out which activities. The WBS for the computerised system at Bryson Motors Co. Ltd is shown below. Gantt chart A Gantt chart is a standard tool for illustrating activities of a project and it shows the start date and completion date of a project in the form of a calendar (Schwalbe 2009). The Gantt chart for the computerised accounting system at Bryson Motors Co. Ltd is shown below. ID Description of Activity Time (Days) 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 A Collect data B Design system C Discuss design D Make adjustments to design E Write modules F Test modules and adjust G Test run sales system H Implement sales system I Purchase and Integrate TMS software Figure 2 – Gantt chart of program activities The Gantt chart in figure two above shows the relevant start dates and end dates for the ten activities labelled A to J of the computerised systems project. The project is scheduled to take 21 days from start to completion. The network diagram will show the shortest possible time within which the project can be completed. Network Diagram A network diagram is an illustration of the activities of a project. It provides information on the earliest and latest start times, and which activities have to be completed before others can start. It also shows the earliest date that a project can be completed. This is called the critical path and shows the longest path on the network diagram (Schwalbe 2009). … Figure 3 – Network diagram of Computerised Systems Project The network diagram shows the activities involved in completing the project. There s only one path associated with this project as all previous activities are required to be completed before other are started. Cash flow forecast A cash flow forecast in relation to the project is a budget of the inflow and outflow of funds. It indicates the sources of funds and the uses that the funds will. A budget is the financial plan for the project and is communicated in quantitative terms (Horngren et al 2000). This will enable the financial controller to make plans to accommodate shortfalls in the forecast. The cash flow forecast is shown in Figure 4 on the following page. Bryson Motors Co Ltd Cash Flow Forecast for Computerised Systems Project   October November December Total   ? ? ?   Inflow:         Amount set aside in budget 2,500 0 0 2,500           Outflows:         Payment to contractor   1000 1000 2,000 Payment to Transite TMS system     500 500 Miscellaneous     150 150 Total inflow 0 1000 1650 2,650 Cash b/f 0 2500 1500 0 Net inflow/(outflow) 2,500 (1,000) (1,650) (150) Loan requirements 0 0 150 150 Cash c/f 2500 1500 0 0 Figure 4 – Cash Flow Forecast The cash flow forecast shows the inflows expected. This is the amount budgeted for the project. It also shows the projected outflows. The information suggests that there will be a budget overrun. This overrun will have to be planned for and this is on of the reasons for preparing the budget. However, there may be additional overruns if adjustments are made to the plan. Risk Assessment A risk assessment is required for all projects as all projects involve time, costs and resources. Some of the risks that impact projects are delays in completion of various phases due to unavailability of staff because of illness or other reasons. Additionally, the costs may increase between the time of obtaining a tenders and the time period to the start of the project. Additionally, changes to the plan may lead increased cost as a result of the need for the use of more human resources and time. This may lead to significant delays in project completion. Recommendations Proper project management is essential to project leadership as well as reporting on the progress of the report. This will help to prevent cost overruns as well as prevent problems in keeping to the schedule. The project manager should measure the project in an effort to prevent time and cost overruns. Mathis (n.d.) indicates that there are six ways to provide proper leadership. They include: i. Creating an atmosphere of trust, ii. Building the right team based on a careful choice of members iii. Spelling out everything upfront so that there will be no surprises iv. Monitoring and providing feedback v. Regular communication vi. Keeping the goal in focus and preventing distractions The importance of stakeholders cannot be overemphasised. Stakeholders are very powerful and influential and should be treated with the highest level of respect. Communication with all stakeholders that are affected by the project is therefore in order. References Bryson, J.M. (2004). What to do When Stakeholders Matter: A Guide to Stakeholder Identification and Analysis Techniques. Public Management Review, 6(1), p. 21 - 53 Drinkwater, A. (n.d.) Communication: The Lifeblood of a Project. Retrieved from http://www.projectsmart.co.uk/communication-the-lifeblood-of-a-project.html. [Accessed: 8th January 2013] Harrison, J; Holloway, M; Jenkins, T; Martin, F; Mills, G. 1993, Management and Strategy. 1994 Ed., Certified Accountants Educational Projects, UK Haughey, D (n.d.). Project Planning a Step by Step Guide. Retrieved from http://www.projectsmart.co.uk/project-planning-step-by-step.html. [Accessed: 8th January 2013] Horngren, C.T., Foster, G and Datar, S.M. (2000). Cost Accounting: A Managerial Emphasis. Tenth Edition. USA, Prentice Hall. Imago Business Transformation (IBT) (1996). Glossary of Project Management. Retrieved from http://www.ibt.co.uk/transformation/pmg/gloss.html. [Accessed: 8th January 2013] Mathis, K. (n.d.). Six Ways to Give Proper Project Leadership. Retrieved from http://www.projectsmart.co.uk/six-ways-to-give-proper-project-leadership.html. [Accessed on 9th January 2013] Net MBA. (n.d.) Work Breakdown Structure. Retrieved from http://www.netmba.com/operations/project/wbs/. [Accessed: 9th January 2013] Project Management Docs. (n.d.) Measuring Project Performance. Retrieved from http://www.projectmanagementdocs.com/articles/measuring-project-performance.html. [Accessed: 8th January 2013] Project Management Institute (2008). A Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge. Fourth Edition. USA, Project Management institute, Inc. Roberts, T (2009). Project Plans: 10 Essential Elements. Retrieved from http://www.projectsmart.co.uk/project-plans-10-essential-elements.html. [Accessed: 9th January 2013] Schwalbe, K. (2009). Information Technology Project Management. Sixth Edition. USA, Cengage Learning Transite (2010). My Freight Portal. Retrieved from http://www.transite.com/content/shippers-my-freight-portal-transportation-management-system. [Accessed 7th January 2013] Read More