1. The Mind and Body
Natural Health Product Report
Purple =
Words straight off mike’s powerpoint---follow his
advice---do what it says!
Report for: Mr Charles Garlick Chairman Mind and Body Natural Heath Product Company
Date of Report: 23rd
May 2014
By: Timothy Lam

2. Table of Contents
1.Introduction ..........................................................................................................................................1
1.1 Terms of Reference .......................................................................................................................1
2.The Application ....................................................................................................................................2
3. Stock Control........................................................................................................................................2
4. Files we need........................................................................................................................................2
5. Purchasing Function ............................................................................................................................3
6. Booking Deliveries ...............................................................................................................................3
7. Using the system .................................................................................................................................3
8. Database Report...................................................................................................................................4
9. Summary...............................................................................................................................................4
10. Implement Issue 1 ..............................................................................................................................4
11. Implement Issue 2 .............................................................................................................................5
12. Management and Responsibility ......................................................................................................5
13. More Important issue for management...............................................................................................6
14. Conclusion..........................................................................................................................................6
15. Appendixes.........................................................................................................................................6

3. 1. Introduction
The purpose of this report is to provide an overview of the database application which has been
created in order to provide a more efficient stock control system, sales order, overdue deliveries,
booking deliveries for The Mind and Body Natural Health Product Company. The reports begins
by describing the application and its functions, and then goes on to list and explain the features
of the database. The next section contains a user guide, intended to set out in clear and simple
terms how to set up and use the application.
1.1.Terms of Reference
The Mind and Body Natural Health Product Company wanted a computer system that will be
able to store customer details, products, sales and goods coming in to the system so that the
staff would be able to track the items that are coming in and going out. In addition, much of the
company’s business has moved over to mail order, and so this is where they will be able to
make their money. The database system will, therefore allow the company to modernise so
that they will be able to compete with the high street retailer. At the moment the company is
running a manual paper system which is confusing for staff, results in poor customer service
and customers complaining to staff as they cannot keep track of the items’ sales. Also, the
company currently has a turnover of £20m per annum, meaning that the manual stock control
system is no longer fit for purpose. Moreover, the company in the first twenty years had a
range of 300 products which has now increased to two thousand products. Also they used to
have six staff which has increased to 20 staff and staff are leaving because they are unhappy
with the service and customer complaints being very large. Additionally, purchasing was a
problem when the company was using the manual system because either there were not
enough popular items or there would be too much of an item that did not sell. Ordering
processing was also a problem because turnaround time was slow and many errors were
made by staff when using the manual system. Finally, customers’ data was not kept.
2. The Application
The main function of the application is to provide an efficient, up to date stock control system. In
addition, there is a function for both domestic and overseas suppliers. Finally, there is a sales
and marketing function, aimed at booking deliveries, which covers both retail and wholesale
customers.
The Database application system that will allow the company to store 2000 or more products in
the database, will also allow more staff to use the system. This will be of use as the company

4. currently has 20 staff, and with anticipated growth, more staff could also use the system. In
addition, the application will allow staff to deal with the complaints of the customers quickly and
efficiently. The application will also be able to create mail-order business and allow the company
to compete with the major high street retailers
3. Stock Control
The stock control system is at the centre of our database, recording each sale in real time as it is
made. Each transaction is captured at point of sale. In this way, sales summaries and patterns
of sales can be monitored and predicted in order to improve the efficiency of stock control. The
stock control function also has the ability to record every delivery as it is made. The stock control
function can identify product name, size, quantity, and frequency and quantity of sales.
Additionally, it details the value of the inventory, in whole or in part. All of these functions allow
for the identification of popular stock lines and slow-moving stock. It also allows for the excess
stock to be identified and monitored. The system allows the identification and restocking of
stock lines. Because we have all of these details regarding slow and quick moving lines, we will
be able to order appropriately, without the need to over order or creating a situation where stock
runs out.
4. Files we need
The stock control, sales, purchasing and warehouse files are needed for The Mind and Body
Natural Health Product Company for recording deliveries and new stock from suppliers. The
database system files will automatically keep records for purchasing files and sales files. The
sales files are important for staff to keep a record of the sales and the files are linked to the sales
order line, quantity and customer name. The second important thing for the sales files is
processing orders and to be able to answer customer complaints and queries. Another file is
stock. This is important for staff as it will help the sales department and stock control department
calculate how many items are in stock for the company and the sales department will be able to
update the stock in real time. Moreover, the purchasing file is another important file for the
company as it will be able to keep records of the customers purchasing the item, and the
purchasing department would also be able to keep a record of the deliveries that are coming in to
the stock so the purchasing department would be able to update the stock.
5. Purchasing Function
The purchasing function has four purposes. Firstly, it allows for the identification of products with

5. low stock levels. Secondly, it allows for the generation of purchase orders. Moreover, it can
identify which purchase orders are overdue, so that a member of staff can pursue these orders.
Finally, the purchasing function allows the company to predict the cash flow implications of our
forward order book.
6. Booking in deliveries
The Goods Inward function allows staff to check and book in all of the authorized deliveries from
suppliers. As with the stock control sales function, these goods are booked in in real-time,
allowing for an accurate update of stock. Sales and incoming stock can be compared to allow for
accurate stock control. This function additionally ensures prompt payment to the supplier
7. Using the system
The Mind and body natural health product database system works by having a welcome screen
and four buttons linked to other departments. These are Sales, Purchasing, Warehouse and
Accounts. General staff only have access to their department, but the senior management will be
able to have access to all the departments in the system. Each staff member will be able to login
to their department where they would find the function to do their jobs. For example, the Sales
Department staff will be able to check on which item sold the most, or the least, check orders,
enter orders from the customer, copy the sales order to the account department and check
whether the deliveries are overdue. The Purchasing Department staff will be able to update
stock. Also they would be able to order stock when stock is low. The Warehouse department
staff, also known as goods inward staff, would be able to check the deliveries, book in deliveries
and pack and dispatch orders to customers. The Sales Department staff will be able to find an on
screen form on the database system which will allow for the creation of sales orders, changing
existing sales orders and the deletion of sales orders. The Purchasing Department staff will be
able to find an on screen form on the database system which will allow them to create a new
purchase order, change existing purchase orders and delete purchase orders. The Warehouse
department will be able to find an onscreen form which will allow them to create a booking
deliveries form and change and delete existing booking deliveries.
8. Database Report
Reports can be generated to monitor sales and purchasing as the database can extract essential

6. management information and turn this into a report. Some of these are already created, but any
reports which are required can also be created. The Sales, Purchasing, Warehouse and Account
Departments will be able to produce a database report with a simple click on the menu option.
This will automatically run the database query. For example The Sales Department would be
able to produce many database reports such as the total number of products in stock altogether
or the number of sales made each month, year, and week or in a day. Another example can be
found in the Purchasing Department, which would also be able to produce database reports; for
example, the number of products that need to be re-order, the number of overdue deliveries
within the a certain date. The Warehouse Department would also be able to produce database
report; for example detailing the number of deliveries made in a day, week, month or a year.
9. Summary
The database for the Mind and Body Natural Health Product Company delivered would therefore
offer that functionality of an up to date system which provides fast and reliable customer service
that deals with complaints very quickly. Stock control would not be a problem, customer details
would be kept, and the company will be able to compete with the high street retailers and also
mail order would be improved. This is all in line with the functions requested in your terms of
reference. If in the future the company expands or changes and needs to customize the system
to accommodate this, this can be done in line with the new requirements.
10. Implement Issue 1
Training for staff
In order for the system to be used effectively and for staff to feel at ease with its use, training will
need to be organized for all staff. This must happen before the operational implementation of the
system. It is advised that Information Age consultants be contracted for this purpose, and a
period of one to two weeks would be necessary for the training. , if scheduled in quite a slack
period. In addition, a User Guide has been prepared (copy attached) which can be used for
reference and as a basis for training new staff in the future.
11. Implement Issue 2
When companies move from manual to computer based systems, problems often arise which
need to be planned for. Three possible options are available for switch over which are as
follows:

7. 1. The big bang switchover. This involves switching from manual to computer based all at
once. The information from the manual system is transferred to the database and the manual
system is no longer used from this point.
2. Phased switchover – This is similar to the big bang, but differs in that it is carried out one
department at a time
3. The final option is running both systems, manual and computer based, together for a short
period.
The Mind and Body Natural Health Product Company will not choose option 3 as it is impossible
to run both systems, but there will be a choice of option 1 or 2 so the database system would be
up and running once the company staff are trained to know how to use the system
12. Management and responsibility
The following important management responsibilities associated with a computer-based system
need to be addressed:
1. The system must be registered under the Data Protection Regulations. Failure to comply can
result in criminal proceedings
2. The database system for the Mind and Body Natural Health Product Company must have ICT
staff to manage the system so that in case anything goes wrong or a problem arises with the
database system it would be solved quickly
3. The company would need a Database administrator to manage the database systems .
4. The Mind and body Natural health product Company would also need an ICT manager if they
intend to expand the functions of the database. The manager could plan, Implement and also
manage the function if the company want to expand to compete with other retailers by including
the following functions on the database: email, internet, catalogue, online ordering
13. More important issue for Management
The Database system for The Mind and Body Natural Health Product Company would need a
security policy for ICT assets. This will include hardware, software and data. This is to be put in
place for staff using the Database system. Additionally the Database system would need a
backup policy and procedure for the data to be backed up on to a memory stick or cloud. This
back up policy should be put in place so the backup would happen every Friday when the system
closes. This is for any problems the database system may encounter, like a virus or data loss,
then the company would have a backup in place to use. The company would need a plan just in

8. case something happens to the database, like a company building fire. They would need all their
information stored in one place and kept safe. Also the company would need to have some
advice and recommendation for security policy, backup policy etc.
The back-up policy is as follows: the company would need to back-up their database system
regularly this is to avoid loss of data, back up will allow the company to restore the database also
when the company make a mistake on the database the undo command often can fix it but
sometime and this is when the back-up will be useful, as the database is active and the data is
frequently changing the database should be backed up on a regular schedule. There will be a
back-up policy in the appendix
In the event that the database is lost, it you can attempt to recover it by have a backup copy of
the database, recover database means that replacing the database file that is damaged, had a
problem with the data or missing altogether there will a plan for disaster recovery in the appendix
1. Back-up policy and procedures
2. Plans for disaster recovery YOU HAVEN’T DONE THESE LAST
TWO
14. Conclusion
The Mind and Body Natural Health Product Company would gain business benefit and
appreciate that the delivery of the software would be the first step for them to improve on their
system. The benefits the database system offers are: improving customer service; this would
enable the company to keep track of customer complaints; track regular customers and new
customer buying their products. The stock control function would enable the company to keep
track of the items that are popular; and the purchasing function would enable the company to
keep records of how many items the company are buying from the supplier etc. This will enable
business for The Mind and Body Natural Health Product Company to grow in the challenging
times ahead
15. Appendixes
These contain the technical details of the applications that we have created, which will be required for
future maintenance
List of files
File structures

9. Dataflow diagrams for the whole system
Specifications for all reports and associated database queries
A copy of the User Guide is also appended

10. Dataflow diagrams for the whole system
Specifications for all reports and associated database queries
A copy of the User Guide is also appended