Role of MIS in Enhancing B2B Business - Research Paper Example

ROLE OF MIS IN ENHANCING B2B BUSINESSES d ROLE OF MIS IN ENHANCING B2B BUSINESSES Introduction In the world of today, businesses have evolved greatly as compared to how they were a couple of decades ago. The most substantial change was brought about by the advent of technology that made the business processes faster and more efficient. Communication means were enhanced making distances smaller and connectivity widely available (Stüber, 2002). This made the world a global village with each country connected to each other via trade and internet, making the feasibility aspect more inherent for each business. Business consolidate their processes, raw material, labor, managerial skills and manufacturing from the different parts of the world where they can be achieved at a good quality and rate, and use technology for communication, logistics and dispatch : (Magee, Copacino & Rosenfield, 1985). In this way, they are able to achieve a strategic fit between the company’s ability and the outcome expectation, increasing the efficiency rate and productivity. The use of technology alone is not a sufficient explanation of the countless possibilities and opportunities these invention pose. Their use varies from the customized machinery, sophisticated communication, swift logistics and the use of smart information systems to enhance the business processes. The strength of one or many of its key technologies can lead to them obtaining competitive advantage over the other market rivals. This brings us to the focus of this study i.e. Management Information systems. The aim of this paper is to highlight the concept and importance of MIS and how it helps B2B businesses to make their processes easier, faster, accurate and real-time. MIS- overview Businesses involve the management of an array of information that is accumulated from it various processing. For example, a simple sale has to show a decrease in the inventory, increase in the revenues and increase in the procurement order. Apart from the strictly business related processes, organizations also have to ensure that they are complete updated information of their employees, performance evaluations, compensation program briefs etc. there are several underlying areas of data underneath the title of these major ones. Managers of today have the task of using this information to gain meaningful data. They also strive to integrate their processes and link them technologically so that one change can automatically change the subsequent data that related to it. In this way managers have real-time information about the various processes at any given time. Management information systems are computerized software that enables managers to better organize the various functions under them and make use of personalized software to integrate processes (Joshi, 2013). This function could include a variety of tasks ranging from managing human resources or updating inventory levels. The implications of these information systems are countless and they can be personalized to suit single or multiple customized needs of the organizations. MIS can include people management systems for the HR department, Decision support systems for strategy level managers, Inventory management systems for procurement managers or simply databases to collect store and retain data of the organization for longer periods of time. The use of this computerized technology can and does help managers in making effective use of the resources and available date to tip the scales in their advantage. B2B businesses B2B businesses involve the trade or transaction between two companies who are not the end consumers of the goods being traded (B2B Channels - Channel Structures, 2014). This nature of such businesses may vary from being between wholesalers and retailers, manufacturers and suppliers or manufacturers to wholesalers. Since businesses interact with businesses, the scale of the transaction is significantly bigger as compared to a normal business to consumer (B2C) transaction. Businesses strive to maintain sustainable relationship with their B2B partners for many reasons like bulk discounts, future experimentation, uniform quality levels etc. the spending on each transaction is substantial, making it important for the procurement department to weigh the pros and cons of each member of the supply chain, their performance, speed etc. this is one of the reasons why the jobs of procurement officers have become so important for organizations today. By effectively managing inventory and keeping orders updated on real-time basis, managers are able to ensure that the business will only indulge in feasible transaction with known, trustworthy partners they have had a profitable relationship with. As mentioned earlier, every process has certain impacts on the data in several other departments. By keeping up to date information in the business systems, mangers are in a better position to analyze the whole situation more effectively. An example of B2B business is that of automobile manufacturers. These companies have business partners that supply them various components like tires, engines, rims, stereos etc. the automobile manufacturers procures all these components from independent vendors and uses its expertise to assemble these components expertly to form a quality vehicle that that company is known to offer. For each end product to be uniform, quality and timely, it is important that each vendor is dedicated to its business with the automobile manufacturer too. In this way a whole supply chain system is built in which business interacts with businesses for their benefit. However, many products are made for businesses and are not to be sold individually. For example, personalized software that helps organizations better manage their business. The software manufacturers, a business, transact with businesses only for the sale of its product, the software, to be consumed by the business. Role of MIS in B2B functions Management Information systems help businesses to keep their information up to date by making immediate changes in the related aspects of each transaction as soon as a change in one occurs. For example, when an item is sold, the system deducts one item from the inventory and adds another item on the order for the component with the supplier automatically. This saves the manager’s time that it would have taken for them to do this manually. Other functions that MIS help managers to do are validate and exchange data through standard protocols, converting raw data into meaningful information- textual or graphical, provide transaction insights to improve business relations and increase efficiency. MIS also help in facilitating exchange of outsourced business documents and orders through highly sophisticated connectivity platforms that integrate the backend operations of one business with the real-time end-to-end transaction at the other. Thus, not only do these systems help facilitate business processes but also enhance the effectiveness of managerial decisions, accelerate timely and accurate transactions and store historical data for analysis purpose. The countless benefits of the use of MIS in a B2B enterprise can be classified as tangible and intangible. The tangible benefits include better understanding of the end consumers, reduced costs of labor and time, increased productivity, increased market share and better customer service levels. The intangible benefits could include better co-ordination amongst partners/members, improved decision making, quality control, swift sharing of information etc. (Piotrowicz & Irani, 2010). The globalized world of today makes it imperative for businesses to seek reliable partners worldwide to make their venture more profitable and information systems also help businesses in ensuring global trade compliance through validating necessary official documents for global transactions to take place. Conclusion The use of MIS significantly enhances the productivity of organizations. The key lies in identifying the main areas that the services of such systems can enhance the organizational ability, even though the customization and implementation of such systems is a costly venture of organizations it is imperative that the benefits that can be expected be considered. For B2B business, it is important for transactions to be swift and timely along with the maintenance of a sustainable relationship with the other partners. MIS introduces automated data entry and evaluation and assists managers in making rational decisions, affecting the efficiency and productivity of every aspect of transactions, significantly. REFERENCES: Piotrowicz, W., & Irani, Z. (2010). Analysing B2B electronic procurement benefits: information systems perspective. Journal Of Enterprise Information Management, 23(4), 559--579. Stüber, G. (2002). Principles of mobile communication (1st ed.). New York: Kluwer Academic. Magee, J., Copacino, W., & Rosenfield, D. (1985). Modern logistics management (1st ed.). New York: Wiley. Joshi, G. (2013). Management information systems (1st ed.). New Delhi: Oxford University Press. B2B Channels - Channel Structures. (2014). Boundless. Retrieved from https://www.boundless.com/marketing/marketing-channels/channel-structures/b2b-channels/ Read More