Riordan
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Riordan Manufacturing
Service Request SR-rm-012
Business Systems
Organization: Riordan Manufacturing
Locations: All Plant Locations
Requestor: CEO
Description of Request:
Riordan Manufacturing has brought in Smith Systems Consulting to analyze the current business systems in place and propose solutions to bring them inline with current standards and their future goals. This proposal will take all business aspects into consideration so as to fully leverage current technology while making the transition as seamless as possible. Riordan Manufacturing has four locations with the headquarters based in San Jose, California. The other three locations are in Albany, Georgia, Pontiac, Michigan and Hangzhou, China. This proposal will provide Riordan Manufacturing the ability to facilitate business needs seamlessly and allow expansion of these systems with future locations.
Analysis:
Riordan is currently utilizing a WAN to connect Corporate Headquarters in San Jose with the Plastic Parts plant in Pontiac, Michigan, the plastic beverage plant in Albany, Georgia and with the joint venture plant in China that produces plastic fan parts. Riordan has requested Smith Systems Consulting to come up with a security system for each plant’s local area network (LAN) to combat the problem with personnel who find having to use two different passwords for the network and the host systems too complicated. Smith Systems has been asked to find a way to simplify access to the systems while maintaining security.
Finance & Accounting System
Currently all four locations use independent software to collect, analyze and output financial information for the company’s sales and revenue. This forces the company to manually generate reports, re-enter data and/or convert data to compatible formats for the corporate headquarters to digest.
Each manufacturing location makes use of similar subsystems as procurement, order entry, invoice and shipping. The invoice subsystem will need to interface with the accounts receivable component. These systems feed into the sales and purchasing history, accounts receivable and accounts payable. The procurement, accounts payable and accounts receivable then are provided to the general ledger. Payroll is a separate subsystem that connects to the general ledger.
Procurement is the obtaining of the necessary raw materials and supplies and this system needs to keep track of what is on order and in house. The order entry system records all of the customer’s orders. Order entry then provides data to the invoice system for correct billing. Accounts payable keeps tabs on making payments obtained via the procurement system while accounts receivable records customer payments on their invoices. The general ledger combines all the other subsystems along with additional income, debt payments, and expenses. Data from the general ledger will then contain the information required for financial reporting and for auditing needs. All financial reporting will also have to comply with current government reporting regulations including the Sarbanes-Oxley Act.
The Smith System’s proposal would integrate all four locations with a single software solution that will allow easy input, recording and output of financial data. The solution will incorporate a database system where data will be housed which allows reporting, analysis, data redundancy and security. While working on integrating all manufacturing plants seamlessly, corporate headquarters has additional reporting and finance needs specific to the subsystems handling EDI, Bar Code Reading and EDSS.
Smith Systems recommends using an ERP software solution from SAP to address the Finance and Accounting business system and subsystem issues. SAP R/3 includes numerous modules touching on almost every section of the business and offers a complete development environment where developers can modify existing SAP code or create their own functions. The financial Accounting module is designed for automated management and external reporting of accounts receivable, accounts payable, general ledger and other sub-ledger accounts with a user defined chart of accounts. The Financial Accounting module has eight sub-modules for further customizability.
The SAP R/3 solution will be implemented company wide, with the main storage databases housed in San Jose, California and a redundant system at the Pontiac, Michigan location. The backend configuration will consist of two HP 9000 servers running HP-UX with storage cabinets attached to each server that will be expandable if the need arises.
Internet Site
Currently, Riordan Systems has a very simple website. The site consists of one static page with very little information displayed. The coloring is bland and does not grab the attention of the visitors.
Smith Systems Consulting recommends a complete overhaul from top to bottom to create a fully dynamic web solution, utilizing an open source software package in order to keep costs low, but allow for fully customizable web pages and full integration into the SAP R/3 ERP software systems. The main web servers will be housed at the corporate offices in California with a redundant system at the Michigan plant. This will allow for backup in case of an interruption at the main facilities, but also provides load balancing in case of high traffic and to handle future growth.
The main site will bring more information to the forefront; better descriptions, mission statements, company news section, sample parts section, industry information, location information and will offer the ability to upload CAD files to obtain quote. It will also offer up an e-commerce solution. This will give Riordan’s customers the ability to login, make an order and follow it to the end. This will also allow them to access company data and retrieve past ordering information. This opens the door for a new flow of customers interested in Riordan’s products. The front-end will mesh seamlessly into the ERP system, which will allow all relevant systems to access that information, thereby making reporting and accounting flawless.
With the new design and added functionality, the new website will give Riordan Manufacturing an immense online presence and provide a new stream of revenue.