Information Systems - Essay Example

R/Way Trucking Company Affiliation The Council of Supply Chain Management Professionals (CSCMP) describes Supply Chain Management (SCM) as the integration of all the activities that a play part in logistics management, sourcing and procurement and conversion. It encompasses the collaboration and coordination with channel partners who can be suppliers, intermediaries, third-party service providers, as well as customers. It is often difficult to separate the terms; supply chain management and logistics.

It is of great importance to note that the principles of supply chain management not only apply to businesses in the manufacturing setting but also to those in the service industry such as banks, hospitals, the military, as well as the environment management(Gupta, 1998).Companies that are service oriented may be seen to distribute non-physical products, they are also involved in the distribution of decisions and activities that accompany those decisions(Edelstein, 1991). For instance, in this case R/Way Trucking Company could be involved in the distribution of freight bills to its suppliers or clients.

The company may need to maintain all the inventories held by the manufacturers of its trucks which may also include transporting the shipping documents.The idea of selecting internet based architecture would be a brilliant one for R/Way Truck Company because it will help the company keep up with the growing competitive forces in the market as well as respond to the pressures of the global marketplace. Incorporating internet based architecture will also help the company to deliver their services faster, with high quality and greater performance.

This architecture will contain software applications that range from document management systems, word processing programs to payroll management software.R/Way Truck Company should adopt the client-server architecture because it is accessible in a much easier way from various platforms in the networks. It is also an improvement of the functions of the user as well as presentation from the server to the client. Moreover, it leads to an improved system scalability and responsiveness to the user whereby changes can be made easily by upgrading the server.

Also, the company can be able to define and access its security rights when the server is being set. The client server architecture will not only bring about the efficient when it comes to sharing of information but also in the integration of services. The client server is also easily control and ensures that there is proper management of the files and easier recovery and back-up in case of some breakdown.The advantage of choosing the in-house development versus a packaged solution for the R/Way system is that the software is easier customised to fit its business needs by meeting it exact specifications.

It would also be easier to use and familiarise with thus there would be no need for much training. In addition, it is easier controlled that would be of much value to R/Way Trucking Company. The fact that the in-house software is developed by a team that will be choose be the company will help in accessing knowledge support as compared to outsourcing technicians who may not get to understand the company’s unique situation(Benda, 1998). Apart from that, selecting a packaged solution would be more expensive for the company.

On the other hand, the team that would be chosen by R/Way Trucking Company to develop the software may lack the skill and expertise to cater for the needs of the company. Moreover, lack of the proper management to develop a much sophisticated software may lead to the system being infected by bugs and virus which would be costly to the company. The in-house development often tends to lack scalability and can be troublesome when it comes to upgrading since technology is constantly evolving. This might pose a challenge to the company when adapting to new platforms on the future hence forcing it to spend more money when developing a new software.

ReferencesBenda, M. (1998, March/April). Internet Architecture: Its’ Evolution from an Industry Perspective. New York, The Guilford Press.Edelstein, A. (May 1991). Database World Targets Next-Generation Problems. Software Magazine Vol. VII, No. 6, p. 81.Gupta, C. (1998, March/April). Implementing Java Computing: Sun on Architecture and Application Development. IEEE Internet Computing, Vol. 2, No. 2,pp. 60-64.