Geneva Pharmaceutical Information Management Team - Case Study Example

Geneva Pharmaceuticals Challenges that affected Phase of R/3 Implementation Process Up to the year 1996, Geneva Pharmaceuticals had a wide spectrum of software programs that made its Information Systems. These software programs were characterized by various issues, specifically challenges that hindered effective operational processes, within the Company. This compelled the Company to undertake initiatives that were geared towards solving the identified challenges. This initiative was carried in five phases; however the phases were characterized by certain challenges; specifically, Phase 1 R/3 of the initiative was characterized by the following issues: To begin with, the supply process was characterized by manual modes of operations, creating time challenges with regard to operations of the Company; moreover, the manual aspect of the supply process compelled the company to apply large amount of labor resources. Another issue that faced Phase 1 of R/3 implementation process is the fact that the Macpac package that was applied to manage shop floor operations did not have capacities for simulation in order to operate alternative operational processes. Moreover, the system did not have the capacity to support formal procedures of distributing resource planning. Consequently, this phase is characterized by a scenario whereby Material Requirement Planning was supported in a partial dimension. Correction of the Issues that were experienced in Phase 1 The use of manual operational processes that were used in the previous operational systems was replaced by the use of a Macpac Package that was applied to manage and control various floor operations. The fact that the system did not support a formal operational system, did not deter the company from achieving its goals, due to the fact that it was solved by implementing a replenishment schedule that took into consideration predefined economic facets. On the other hand, the challenge facing Material Requirement Planning was solved through manual operations that basically involved physical entering of pre-planned orders. Unsolved Issues in Phase II that appeared Complex than those of Phase I Phase II of the project was conducted in October, 1998; one of the issues that was faced in the second face of the project that seem to have been more complex as compared to Phase I, is the fact that the use of MacPac and FYI Planner systems were not able to facilitate some desired changes in the second phase of the project. Specifically, the FYI Planner forecasting software was not able to facilitating forecasting on the dimension of customer by customer, as required by the company. Another complex challenge that characterized the second phase of Geneva’s operational improvement project was the fact that demand-side procedures were not able to facilitate data integration as well as supply processes undertaken on a real-time basis. Actions that Should be taken by Geneva Company To begin, marketing has shown that involvement of various stakeholders is critical to the success of any business in the sense that; it facilitates exchange of various ideas among the stakeholders. In this regard, Geneva Company should involve other experts i.e. IT experts and relationship managers in a consultative manner in order to get ideas on how they can resolve the identified issues. Another action that can be taken by the company in an effort to eliminate the challenges associated with phase two of the project is that; it should implement actions directed towards improving clientele satisfaction i.e. implementing efforts directed towards installation of effective and efficient data systems. Critical Success Factors of the Project in regard to Phase II and Phase I The critical success factors with regard to implementation of the project within Geneva majorly depended on elimination of the challenges ascribed to implementation of the project. One of the critical success factors of the company was implementing an automated or machine operated data control system rather than the manual process that were used after the Material Requirement Planning had failed. In addition, the success of the company would have been facilitated by implementation of floor operational processes that are flexible in nature in the sense that they could provide room for implementation of other alternative operational processes rather than the Macpac and the FYI planning software schedules that operated in a fixed basis. On the other hand, the success of Geneva’s program relied greatly on solving challenges associated with demand-side procedures; that is, the success factor of the project entailed application of a process that could allow data integration within the customer-support system. Another success factor of the project that could have facilitated the achievement of desired goals, is involvement of various stakeholders in a consultative manner so that they could provide ideas on how the identified challenges could have been reduced. Another success factor of the project could have been implementation of flexible and customer –oriented programs that focused majorly on solving issues faced by various clients. Consequently, the company could have succeeded in their project in the case they implemented data management systems that allowed for inclusion of other operational processes. Recommendations for Geneva in Regard to Implementation of Phase III There are various ways through, which Geneva can facilitate integration of data of unprecedented scale. To begin with, the company can undertake an initiative geared towards installation of software programs that are flexible in nature. The implementation of flexible software program is pertinent in the sense that they can allow the data management team within Geneva to integrate other pertinent information within the database. In addition, the company can seek the services of Information Technology experts in order to generate pertinent data management ideas that would allow the company succeed in relation to management of large amounts of data. There are also data management structures that have been formulated in the contemporary information technology sector. These new data management structures are designed in a manner that they allow for flexibility and accommodation of large amount of data. Geneva Company can employ these data management structures rather than the FYI planning software and the MacPac that are not flexible and cannot allow for integration of other data sources. An example of data management structure that can be installed by the Company to manage large amounts of data that has been created in the contemporary data management industry is: Quad Tree data management structure; this information technology software is designed using nodes; these nodes are allows stakeholders charged with the responsibility of managing data to keep data in a bucket of point dimension thereby allowing management of large amounts of data. In regard to data management using current data management techniques that allow for storage of unprecedented large amounts of data, the Geneva Pharmaceutical Information management team can undertake research geared towards identifying how these new technologies can be implemented and new improvements that have been made in the contemporary Information technology industry and how they can be implemented in different countries in order to facilitate management of large amounts of data. Read More