Inventory Management System - Essay Example

Inventory Management System Describe all the necessary equipment. Inventory and asset tracking means the manner in which physical assets followed. This can either be in the form of smart tags or scanned barcodes tags that are usually attached to the physical assets. On the other hand, the term inventory means the total number of goods and materials that are in the factories’ store any particular time. There is the need of the store owners to have the prior knowledge of the goods that are in the store. This is very important because they are able to control losses and can effectively place orders for new goods. Describe all the necessary equipment. Computer: The term computer means an electronic device that is capable of accepting information which is the form of data and thereby converting it to the desired out come based on the set of instructions handed over (DeMarco, 2005). Also, a program may be used to influence the desired out. However, the main purpose of a computer comes down to storing of useful information which may include records on inventory. Printer: this is an output hardware that is capable of printing documents in an alphanumeric or graphic way. In this case, the printer will be used in printing out daily and sales reports. This is very important since it is a source of backing up documents for future use. Bar code scanner: this is a special device that scans the bar codes and interprets the information therein (DeMarco, 2005). There is the need of using it when making a sale so as to prevent any mistakes from happening. Therefore, the moment it captures the data, the system automatically subtracts the bought item from the available stock. Furniture: this comprises of a chair and computer desk that will facilitate the smooth running of the company during sales. Explain the costs involved in the creation of the system. Labor: This includes the money which will be used on the system analysts and programmers which is inclusive of tax. Material: these are funds which will be used for purchasing the necessary materials. The materials are necessary for the general running of the system and the include printers, computers and furniture. Operating Expenses: these are finances that are to be used on a daily basis for the development of the system. Describe the ongoing maintenance that will be required. Adaptive maintenance: these are improvements which are done so as to adopt the ever varying working procedures. Corrective maintenance: these are current improvements made which ensure that the bugs are fixed which guarantees that systems are capable of achieving its user requirements. Perfective Maintenance: this is the procedure that is administered which improves the system in that it becomes more refined and at the same time more efficient. Predictive Maintenance: these are premeditated changes that are made in expectation to working practices or technology change in the near future. Provide a workflow diagram in Visio or equivalent software to illustrate how the system will work. Description of the flowchart Initial, a retail business gets the products reorder reports. They key in the data they have collected from the above reports onto a computer. In doing so they create a record that is easily retrievable. The records are taken and stored in different files. The retail company in question gets the receiving report. The data from the report is then placed onto the computer. The data available is then printed so that it appears in the form of records. The printed records are stored in different files where it adds onto the inventory on-hand balances (Santosus, 1997). The sales department sends a shipping report to the retail company. The data is keyed in the computer so as to create information that acts as a backup which is in the form of records. The individual records are taken and stored in separate files which are later on deducted from the list on hand balances. Later on the retail company receives purchase and credit Retail Company received credit/debit and purchase memo. The data which is returned is keyed into the computer. The available data is later on converted into useful information which is in the form of records. The available records are stored in various files which does make updates. The Purchase Transaction File, Open Purchase Order File and Merchandise Inventory Master File are usually updated the moment the quantity ordered are keyed in the inventory records (Kerner, 1999). The Merchandise Inventory Master file is then reorganized soon after the shipped quantities have been reduced from oh-second balances. Finally, only the Merchandise Inventory Master File is then updated soon when the changes are made on the on-hand balances are made to reproduce the attuned quantities (Kerner, 1999). The reports are printed on a daily basis after the information is stored and files updated. The Purchasing manager receives the Open and Overdue Purchase Orders Reports and Purchase Order document. The purpose of these reports is to help the manger in understanding which orders that are open and the ones that are overdue. This is very important because the manager is aware the orders they are yet to receive and the ones that are overdue. A report that has the whole summary of the merchandise receipts is received by the Receiving Manager. The report contains the merchandise that the company received on that particular day. Four different reports are usually received by the Inventory Management (Kerner, 1999) The Inventory Status Report shows the current status of the inventory. Also, the Inventory Usage Report shows the inventory that the company is using at the particular time. Expected Stock out Report shows what and the total amount of inventory that is expected to be sold (Santosus, 1997). Merchandise Reorder Report shows the inventory which needs to be reordered. Provide a workflow diagram in Visio or equivalent software to illustrate how the system will work. Reference DeMarco, Anthony. (2005, February). A Jewelry Store Management System can help you keep track of the enormous amount of information needed to make your operation hum. Business Information, vol. 76, Iss. 2, p.132. Kerner, Lisa. (1999, August). University Upgrades to Automated Inventory Management. Retrieved February 14, 2005, from Business Solutions,www.businesssolutionsmag.com/Articles/1999-08/990807.htm Santosus, Megan. (1997, September). Working Smart. Maximize the Payoff from Information Technology. Retrieved February. 14, 2005, from CIO Magazine, www.cio.com/archive/090197/smart.html Read More