Aalsmeer Flower Auction in the Netherlands offers planetary agriculturists, jobbers and exporters a cardinal market place in which to merchandise flowers and workss. It gives them entree to a scope of selling channels and fiscal information, storage and logistics installations. Within the floricultural value concatenation, agriculturists are the initial providers. Demand comes from exporters, importers, jobbers, hard currency and carry shops, and retail merchants. Within this concatenation, auctions play a mediation function – they bring together providers and purchasers and so determine monetary values. Sometimes these are universe monetary values, since many parties throughout the universe use them as monetary value indexs. Another function is to increase efficiency by interrupting big cargos from agriculturists into smaller sums for purchasers.
This concatenation was originally dominated by agriculturists who were able to sell what they produced in a steadily turning market. The auction was able to find how to carry on concern and took a reasonably inactive function. Three developments threatened that comfy place.
The outgrowth of alternate, electronically driven flower markets.
The auction met the demands of agriculturists, but non those of retail merchants. To fulfill altering consumer tastes the retail merchants asked for freshman merchandises, more assortments, smaller measures and multiple bringings each hebdomad. They felt demand should hold more influence on supply.
Amalgamations and acquisitions among retail merchants increased their size and power. At the same clip agriculturists became more professional, which led to a more formal manner of making concern and involvement in new, possibly electronic, ways of merchandising.
The board of the Aalsmeer Flower Auction felt that they had to respond to these alterations to back up its concern procedures and to link with providers and purchasers. The initial aims of these e-business activities were to enable invention, redefine the value concatenation cut down dealing costs, beef up the nexus with jobbers and retail merchants, and to increase market portion. The board hired an IT adviser and put up a squad to develop a new information system as portion of their endurance scheme.
Beginning: Boddy, Boonstra, Kennedy ( 2008 )
______________ __________________
Undertaking
As the IT Consultant you have been hired to urge how the usage of modern information systems and engineering might guarantee the continued success of the Aalsmeer Flower Auction.
Write a direction consultancy study that addresses the followers:
Identify and analyze the concern and information demands of the board of the Aalsmeer Flower Auction, proposing a suited information scheme which will assist them to accomplish their concern aims and guarantee competitory advantage in the industry. ( 35 % )
From your cognition of systems theory and systems development discuss an appropriate methodological analysis which would assist the Aalsmeer Flower Auction to place and develop a new information system which would assist them to get by with a altering environment. ( 35 % )
See the impact and effectivity of a new system for the administration, direction and employees. ( 25 % )
4. Your reply should be set out as a formal study and written in good concern English. Presentation should be orderly and should include appropriate tabular arraies and diagrams, a bibliography and word count. Any appendices should be minimum. ( 5 % )
Question 1
Introduction
Aalsmeer Flower Auction is the largest flower auction and the largest commercial building in the universe ( Guinness World Records, 2001 ) located in Netherlands offers planetary agriculturists, jobbers and exporters toA trade flowers and workss. ItA is a agriculturists cooperative with overA 3,500 member companies. Most of theA flowers come from the Netherlands but someA besides come from Israel, Kenya, A Zimbabwe, Zambia andA other foreign states. ( Aalsmeer, citedplantsgalore.com, 2009 ) The flowers around 20A million roots per twenty-four hours areA waiting for overA 1,000 purchasers to be bid and there are 13 auction suites available in the alone signifier of auction that is clearly Dutch.A ( Trunick P. , cited logisticstoday.com, 2007 )
1.1 Objective
From the instance survey, I have defined the current state of affairs ofA Aalsmeer Flower Auction and set up several aims that we have to accomplish in order for the company to better their direction and travel frontward.
Enable to get by with the alteration of consumer gustatory sensations
Familiarity relationship with consumer and provider
New engineerings opportunities – by developing a new modern information system and engineering within the company
Create efficiency and effectivity plants
Increase trade outside the auction
Increasing of power of retail merchants -threatsA instead than aims
Reduce dealing cost
1.2 Indentify and analyze the concern and information demands of the board of the Aalsmeer Flower Auction
Board of Directors
Representative Directors
Pull offing
Director
Operational Director
Commercial
Director
Finance
Auction
Logistic
Mediation
Selling and Gross saless
Human Resource direction
Information Technology
Figure 1 Aalsmeer Flower Auction Organization Chart
Harmonizing to instance survey, I have indentified the current layout of Aalsmeer Flower Auction and section within the organisation. From the figure 1 shows that presently there is really small day of the month shared between the sections. This has resulted communicating within organisation holding a large job that needs to be rectified which could ensue in the organisation being changed to suit a more efficient tract where information can be freely shared.
A
As illustrated in theA organisation chart, the Aalsmeer Flower auction uses two mainA channels to play its function as a go-between among agriculturists and purchasers:
Auction: by utilizing the auction clock and most of the supply fromA agriculturists is divided into smaller units to be sold by exporters and jobbers. ( Van Dantzig T andBoonstra A. , 2005: 30 )
Direct mediation: squads of go-betweens combine specific supply and demand to bring forth minutess for twenty-four hours trade and hereafters. A In this procedure, they frequently follow the auction monetary values. ( Van Dantzig T and Boonstra A. , 2005: 30 )
Breeder
Commissioner
Auction
Jobbers
Retailers
Importers
Cash and carry
Exporters
Figure 2 Flowers and Plants
Netherlands flower auctions play an of import function in the international concatenation ofA flower and works gross revenues due to Netherlands is a flower exporting state. Agriculturists areA the initial providers and demand comes from exporters, importers, jobbers, hard currency & A ; carryA and retail merchants. ( See Figure 2 )
In the organisation, auctions play aA interceding function between agriculturists and exporters buy conveying supply and demand of merchandise together. The function ofA Dutch auction is besides to increase the efficiency of minutess by interrupting upA big Numberss of unvarying merchandises from agriculturist into little sums for purchasers. ( Haak, M. , et Al, 1992 )
In the organisation, auctions play aA interceding function between agriculturists and exporters buy conveying supply and demand of merchandise together. The function ofA Dutch auction is besides to increase the efficiency of minutess by interrupting upA big Numberss of unvarying merchandises from agriculturist into little sums for purchasers. ( Haak, M. , et Al, 1992 )
1.21 Value Chain
The value concatenation theoretical account high spots specific activities in theA concern where competitory schemes can best be applied ( Porter, A 1985 ) and where information systems are most to hold a strategic impact. TheA theoretical account indentifies specific, critical purchase points where a house can utilize information engineering most efficaciously to heighten itsA competitory place. ( Laudonand Laudon, 2009: 91-92 )
Between the auction and mediation sections, there is aA cultural difference. Employees ofA both sections see each other as rivals. In the yesteryear, the accent was clearly on auctioning, while mediation was chiefly aA byproduct. Now, concern is bit by bit traveling to mediation but the mediation procedure is following the priceA scene at theA auction. ( Van DantzigT. and Boonstra A. , 2005: 31 ) A As the consequence, both channels are strongly organized, merely the cooperation of the two channels additions advantage forA agriculturists and purchasers. They can take which per centum of merchandising or purchasing they want to make in each channel and therefore they are about assured of selling or buyingA what they want.
The sections in Aalsmeer Flower Auction, such asA logistics, IT, finance and human resource direction are supplying allA sort of services toA the commercial auctioning and mediation section. TheA following are the most activities inA each section:
Support
Administration and Management
Human Resource Management ( HRM )
Procurement
Information Technology
Outbound
Logisticss
Customer
Service
Gross saless and
Selling
Operationss
Inbound
Logisticss
Mediation
Auction
Primary
Activities
Figure 3 Value Chain of Organization
Above the graph province out the primary value concatenation activities.The value concatenation concept as postulated by Porter ( 1985 ) suggests that accomplishing competitory advantage begins with an attempt to develop deeper organisational expertness in executing certain competitively critical value concatenation activities, intentionally trying to tackle those capablenesss that strengthen the house ‘s scheme and fight.
Between the auction and mediation sections, there is aA cultural difference. Employees ofA both sections see each other as rivals. In the yesteryear, the accent was clearly on auctioning, while mediation was chiefly aA byproduct. Now, concern is bit by bit traveling to mediation but the mediation procedure is following the priceA scene at theA auction. ( Van DantzigT. and Boonstra A. , 2005: 31 ) A As the consequence, both channels are strongly organised, merely the cooperation of the two channels additions advantage forA agriculturists and purchasers. They can take which per centum of merchandising or purchasing they want to make in each channel and therefore they are about assured of selling or buyingA what they want.
A
The sections in Aalsmeer Flower Auction, such asA logistics, IT, finance and human resource direction are supplying allA sort of services toA the commercial auctioning and mediation section. TheA following are the most activities inA each section:
Inbound logistics:
activities will convey input into theA organisation, such asA reception ofA good, warehousing etc.
Outbound logistics:
activities that dispatch merchandises and administer them toA clients
Operationss: activities that transform the merchandise into itsA concluding signifier, whether it is physical good or service
Selling and gross revenues:
activities concerned with placement and pulling clients forA the purchase of theA merchandise – for illustration advertisement
aˆ?
Customer service:
activities that provide service and support toA client, forA illustration care, installing etc.
aˆ?
Administration substructure:
activities that support the whole valueA concatenation, forA illustration general direction and fiscal planning etc.
aˆ?
HRM:
activities concerned with preparation, enlisting andA forces resource planning
aˆ?
Information Technology:
activities that identify and develop ways inA which machines, package and other sorts ofA engineering canA assist the house ‘s activities
( Curtis G and Cobham D. , A 2008:61 )
The rapid growing of information engineering has enabled concern toA exploit new chances toA change the nature ofA rival. The Value Chain allows an apprehension of the manner competition affects scheme and the manner information proviso, in its bend, affects competition. ( Curtis G and Cobham D. , A 2008:60 )
A
Information engineering is used to cut down theA cost of the information constituent of each activity. For illustration, inbound logistics activities use ITA to supply information on goods received and utilize this toA update stock list records. Financial planning, anA substructure activity, will utilize IT to roll up information provided by many of the house ‘s activities to bring forth prognosiss on future public presentation. ITA may besides be usedA to increase merchandise distinction forA specific client demands. For illustration, operations can utilize information engineering to command the production procedure to bring forth custom-made end product for clients
1.3 Information Scheme
From the instance survey, I will propose Porter Five ‘s Force as information scheme for Aalsmeer Flower Auction. Porter Five ‘s Force is a simple theoretical account but powerful tool for understanding where power lies in a concern state of affairs. It helps you understand both the strength of Aalsmeer Flower Auction current competitory place, and the strength of a place they are looking to travel into.
Question 2
2.0 Recommend information system Supply Chain Management Systems
Few merchandises or services exist that do non necessitate some supply concatenation direction. The more providers that are involved the more complex as Aslsmeer Flower Auction the supply concatenation direction becomes. Even if the full supply concatenation from basic natural stuffs that come from the Earth or out of the heads and actions of people, is non considered there is still a supply concatenation that must be attended and in today ‘s planetary economic system competition is turning every twenty-four hours, supply concatenation direction plays an of all time of import, strategic and spread outing function in presenting consequences one time Auction are taking to establish low cost vehicles and recognized as universe best-in-class merchandises.
From the instance survey, I will urge Supply Chain Management System ( SCM ) which would assist the Aslsmeer Flower Auction to get by with a altering environment.
The ability of a supply concatenation to vie based on cost, quality, clip,
flexibleness, and new merchandises is shaped by the strategic focal point of the
supply concatenation members. A house ‘s place on the competitory precedences is
determined by its four long-run structural determinations: installation, capacity,
engineering, and perpendicular integrating, every bit good as by its four infrastructural
determinations: work force, quality, production planning and control, and
organisation. The cumulative impact of infrastructural determinations on a
house ‘s fight is every bit of import as long-run structural determinations.
Manufacturing scheme focuses on a set of competitory precedences such
as cost, quality, clip, flexibleness, and new merchandise debut. It
classifies production processes to five major types: undertaking, occupation store,
batch, line, and uninterrupted flow. “ Make-to-stock ” , “ assemble-to-order ” ,
“ build-to-order ” and “ engineer-to-order ” are a few of the fabrication
schemes used to turn to competitory precedences to vie on the market
topographic point.
Make-to-stock involves keeping merchandises in stock list for immediate
bringing, so as to minimise client bringing times. This is in the
class of push system. Demand is forecasted and production is
scheduled before demand is at that place.
Assemble-to-order is the scheme to manage legion end-item
constellations and is an option for mass-customization. Assemble-toorder
points use standardised parts and constituents. They require
efficient and low cost production in the fiction procedure and flexibleness
in the assembly or constellation phase to fulfill individualised demand
from clients.
Build-to-order, on the other manus, produces customized merchandises in
low volume after the maker receives the orders. Build-to-order
points are normally in really little volumes and require high proficient competence, high merchandise public presentation design, and effectual due day of the month
direction.
. A
SMC systems will give Aalsmeer advantages within the organisation, suchA as:
Helps to make up one’s mind when and what to bring forth shop and travel
Quickly communicate orders
Track the position ofA orders
Check stock list handiness and proctor stock list degrees
Reduce stock list degrees, transit and repositing costs
Path cargos
Plan production based on existent client demand
Quickly communicate alterations in merchandise design
Familiarity relationship with consumer and provider
Create 24 hours exigency support
Aalsmeer can besides utilize SCM systems toA provide information to organize all of the concern processes that trade with clients in gross revenues, A selling and service to optimise gross, customerA satisfaction and client keeping. This information willA aid Aalsmeer examines client orders, mill agendas, bearer rates and handiness and transportation costs to bring forth optimum lowest-cost bringing programs. ( Laudon and Laudon, 2010: 87 ) The SCM systems can accommodate to utilize with other systems within the organisation such as the system inA the warehouse to assist trailing and commanding the flow ofA finished goods from providers to its clients etc
Question 3
3.0 Consider the impact and effectivity of a new system for the organisation, direction and employees.
SCM systems create a batch of impact and effectivity toward the Aslsmeer Flower Auction.
Below are the impact and effectivity by utilizing SCM systems:
3.1 Organization
Aalsmeer can besides utilize SCM systems toA provide information to organize all of the concern processes that trade with clients in gross revenues, A selling and service to optimise gross, customerA satisfaction and client keeping. This information willA aid Aalsmeer examines client orders, mill agendas, bearer rates and handiness and transportation costs to bring forth optimum lowest-cost bringing programs. ( Laudon and Laudon, 2010: 87 ) The SCM systems can accommodate to utilize with other systems within the organisation such as the system inA the warehouse to assist trailing and commanding the flow ofA finished goods from providers to its clients etc.
The impact of supply concatenation direction extends beyond cut downing costs ( Lambert and Cooper, 2000 ; Ellram and Liu, 2002 ; Farris and Hutchison, 2002 ) , and it has been suggested that excellence in pull offing supply ironss is straight linked to superior organisational public presentation ( D’Avanzo et al. , 2004 ; Ellramet al. , 2004 ; Christopher, 2005 ) .
Whilst the importance of supply concatenation direction is understood, its influence on organisational fiscal public presentation is less clear ( Frohlich and Westbrook, 2001 ) . There are three cardinal countries where supply concatenation direction can impact an organisation ‘s fiscal public presentation: profitableness, liquidness, and productiveness or plus use
( Christopher, 1998 )
An organisation ‘s profitableness is the excess of the gross generated from gross revenues
( monetary value ) less costs. Supply ironss can better both monetary values through increased service degrees and costs by cut downing operating outgo.
Liquid is the ability of an
organisation to run into its duties as and when they fall due. Cash-flow direction is an indispensable enabler of liquidness and supply concatenation direction can do a positive part to working capital decreases and cut downing the cash-to-cash rhythm clip through, for illustration, decreases in stock list. Productivity measures the efficaciousness of an organisation in bring forthing gross revenues from its fixed ( e.g. capital production equipment ) and current ( e.g. work-in-progress, natural stuffs ) assets. The efficient direction and deployment of assets – both fixed and current – within an organisations supply concatenation will hold a direct impact on productiveness by making more with less. We will now research the impact of supply concatenation direction on the profitableness, liquidness, and productiveness in more item.
3.2 Management
By utilizing the SCM system, SCMA systems help concerns pull off relationships with their providers. These systems provide information to helpA providers, buying houses, distributers and logistics companies portion information about orders, production, stock list degrees, and bringing ofA merchandises and services so that they can beginning, green goods and present goods and services expeditiously. ( Laudon andLaudon, 2009: 61 ) The SMCA systems will assist Aalsmeer by take downing theA costs of traveling and doing merchandises and by enabling directors to do better determinations about how to form and schedule sourcing, production and distribution.
Supply concatenation direction creates distinction “ through the client value that is
created by superior service ” ( Christopher and Peck, 2003, p. 46 ) . Furthermore, there is a positive relationship between increased degrees of service and increases in gross revenues volume and client keeping ( Parasuraman et al. , 1991 ; Mentzer et al. , 1999 ; Ray et al. , 2004 ) .
This indicates that supply concatenation betterments must hold the twin purposes of cut downing
costs without negatively impacting client service or bettering service without a
disproportional addition in costs. Initiatives that cut down the administration ‘s cost base
will besides lend to presenting a positive impact in footings of profitableness. Such
enterprises include:
Reducing the cost of goods sold through a decrease in the entire cost of sourcing of stuffs ( Ellram and Sifferd, 1998 ; Stapleton et al. , 2002 ; Zsidisin et al. , 2003 ) ;
Reducing the cost to function clients through placing client attributable costs ( Kaplan and Cooper, 1998 ; Norek and Pohlen, 2001 ) and improved client part direction ( Sabath, 2003 ) ;
Reducing stock list retention costs through improved stock list direction ( Stapleton et al. , 2002 ) ; and
Identifying and extinguishing non-value adding supply concatenation activities ( Hines and Rich, 1997 ) and their associated costs.
3.3 Employees
Supply concatenation direction requires internal teamwork. The precedence is the client and run intoing his demands. This is a level organisational position acknowledging the SCM procedure with its flow of information and merchandise. Organizations nevertheless are hierarchal and create functional silos which make internal integrating hard.
Supply concatenation direction can supply competitory advantage to those who pattern and take part in it. Companies must acknowledge the issues which can impact its effectivity.
