The company Acme Fashion Supplies provides fashion goods to retail outlets on a sale or return basis. It has annual turnover of £15.5M and plans to expand operations and embrace opportunities from the internet. The current mainly manual business processes need automated support to improve efficiency as the business grows. A feasibility study will assess options for a new IT system in phases to support sales, stock control, dispatch and other key processes while minimizing disruption to core operations.

1. Case study for Exercise
Background
The Company Acme Fashion Supplies provides fashion goods, aimed at European and traditional
UK tastes, on a sale or return basis to shops and other retail outlets. It has an annual turnover in the
region of £15.5M with plans to expand this.
The current business processes for operations have limited and ad-hoc IT systems to support them.
The processes are mainly manual and the inter-departmental communication of information is
largely paper-based. There are a number of issues with operations, recognized by the staff running
the processes that interfere with smooth running of their departments.
Board Strategy
The board has declared a strategy to expand the business's operations to embrace the internet and
the opportunities it presents. This is likely to include a website beyond the purely brochure-style
one already in place.
The strategy requires that the sales and stock operations are given automated, integrated support to
achieve efficiency gains and the ability to inter-operate with any internet opportunities to be taken
up.
The Board wants a phased implementation to realize benefits quickly and to minimize the risk of
interruption to its core operations.
Special Terminology
Customer
Acme Fashion Supplies' customers are retail outlets such as traditional high street shops and also
shops within shops (aka concessions). More recently some new customers have been gained that
operate purely as on-line shops. Acme Fashion Supplies does not sell directly to individuals.
Sale or Return
A retailer is supplied goods that, if they don’t sell, they can return and have their account credited
with the full value.
Returns Note
When a customer returns goods, the goods have to be accompanied by a multi-copy piece of
paperwork that says how many of what are being returned. The various copies are used by different
departments. This is the 'Returns Note'.
Advertising Campaign
Every month or six weeks and for seasonal pushes (see below), Acme Fashion Supplies focuses on
certain product lines and takes out advertisements on radio, television, magazines and street posters.
Most target the high street shopper but some are targeted at gaining new retail outlets / shops
Mail-shot / email shot
As part of Seasonal Pushes and Advertising Campaigns, Acme Fashion Supplies send postal mail-
shots of brochures / offers to their customer base. More recently they have been collecting email
addresses of their customers and have been sending emails to them.
Specials
When the decision has been taken to withdraw a product or product line, the remaining stock is
moved by creating special offers and discounts. These are known as 'Specials'.
Seasonal Push
In preparation for, and during the spring, summer, autumn and winter seasons, certain fashion lines
are advertised very strongly. This can also apply to the holiday festivals such as Easter and
Christmas / New Year.
Stakeholders
The following have a direct or related interest in the successful progress of this piece of work:
• Juno Howmutsch, Financial Director

2. • Seenya Cumming, Sales and Marketing Director
• Seenya obviously is keen to see improvement in the efficiency of the sales operation but is
also interested in how the work might inform aspects of what the new website (out of scope)
may and must cater for.
• Seenya is also the Project Sponsor
• Martha Henn, Personnel Manager
• Celia Parsell, Operations Staff Representative
• Pylem Hye, Stock Manager, will be Ambassador User Representative (primary
representative for helping with the analysis or arranging access to operational staff)
Acme Fashion Supplies Organisation
Juno Howmutsch - Financial Director
• Kipp Ntali - Senior Accountant
◦ Pippa Trale - Filing clerk
◦ Callum Totle - Book keeper
Seenya Cumming - Sales and Marketing Director
• Lou Skannon - Sales Operations Manager
◦ Bo Sibbutz - Sales Team Leader
◦ Cole Koller - Sales assistant
◦ Awd Artaker - Sales assistant
◦ Winnie Warmlede - Sales assistant
• Pylem Hye - Stock Manager
◦ Harry Humper - Goods In
◦ Larry Lumper - Goods In (part time)
◦ Pakam Yntite - Goods Out
◦ Celia Parsell - Goods Out

3. Mae Kitzo - Managing Director
• Martha Henn - Personnel Manager
Project Objective
To provide a feasibility report that documents:
• a high level view of the required system processes
• a high level view of the required system data
• the phasing of delivery of IT system functionality and changed business processes
..that will incrementally improve the efficiency of operational processes and provide them with the
IT systems support needed. It will do so in a manner that minimises the impact on the ability of
operations to meet their present sales targets.
At the end of this feasibility study it is expected that a full study will be carried out for the selected
Business System Option, as approved by the Board. Approval will mark the start of the next stage,
to take the project through to implementation via a number of sub-projects, sequence to be
determined, controlling each incremental business change.
In scope
 Purchasing
 Stock Control
 Sales
 Dispatch
 Goods In
 Customer sales data for marketing campaigns
Out of scope
 Accounts processes
 Marketing department, except as above
 Personnel department
 Website
 Travelling salesforce
Overview
Sales orders are taken from retail outlets (customers). The ordered goods are dispatched by courier.
A customer can return unsold goods and have their account credited with the value. Sales notify
Accounts of all sales and returns so that each customer’s account can be kept up to date.
As stock is depleted, the Stock Control department raise and send purchase orders to suppliers. The
orders are received by Goods Inward, who pass them into stock.
Accounts vet all retail outlets who want to sell Acme Fashion Supplies products for
creditworthiness and set a credit limit accordingly. The details of customers passing the checks are
given to Sales Operations.
Sales Operations pass monthly sales reports to Marketing, used in helping to plan marketing and
advertising campaigns. Sales Operations sometimes send out mailshots to customers but it is
Marketing who carry out the major campaigns including special offers and seasonal pushes.

4. As a result of (out of scope) activity by Marketing, a decision is made to carry new stock or
discontinue others. For new products, the details are passed to Sales Operations; Stock Control are
given supplier and negotiated volume discount details, too. For discontinued items a simple list is
given to both.
Name Description
Accounts The accounts department. They do all the invoicing, debt chasing, credit checking and
financial reporting.
Courier Items are usually delivered to customers via a courier service. The present service is
provided by Alacrity Courier Services
Customer Customers are retail outlets, concessions and mail order firms. Acme Fashion Supplies
doesn't sell to individuals.
Marketing
Department
The marketing department introduce new products and decide on those to be
withdrawn. They also do mailshots to customers.
Supplier Acme Fashion Supplies buys products from suppliers. They are delivered by a variety
of methods, sometimes courier, sometimes by suppliers' own delivery vans. Their are
four major suppliers and a number who supply niche items.
Travelling
Sales Team
Acme Fashion Supplies have a small travelling sales team. As part of this they bring or
phone in orders.
Elementary Process Descriptions
Process 1, Sell Product and Take Order
The sales team raise sales orders as a result of receiving customers' purchase orders (by post twice
per day), orders passed in by the travelling sales team and sales calls received or made throughout
the day. As they are received they are recorded on the sales team's master sales spreadsheet
(s/sheet), which is used to print out the multi-part sales order.
The multi-part sales order comprises:
 the sales order (filed on raising in the customer master file, together with the customer's
purchase order if one was received)
 a dispatch note (batched and passed to the stock room four times a day for picking and
packing)
 a delivery note (accompanies the dispatch note and is attached to the parcel, which is then
passed to the courier for delivery to the customer)
Priority is given to back-orders (as noted on the dispatch notes received from the stock room) and
these are reviewed against the recent deliveries part of the stock levels report from the stock control
manager (see below).
At the start of the day, the stock room pass on the previous day's returns notes and one of the sales
team update the master sales s/sheet with the info before filing them in the customer master file.
The stock room also pass on a list of products that are dangerously low on stock and those that have
been delivered into stock the previous day. For sales orders that couldn't be completely filled, the
dispatch notes for them are passed back, too, so the sales team can inform the customer and give
priority to filling them when new stock arrives.

5. Again at the start of the day, the Accounts department send through a list of customers nearing their
credit limit. Sales staff check this as they are raising orders to make sure that each customer stays
within their limit.
At the end of the day the sales team leader prepares a sales and returns report that is passed to the
accounts department. It contains deatils of the sales orders for that day and the details of yesterday's
returns, by customer. It includes the order / returns value, taking into account any returns not fit for
stock.
Every month, or sooner if requested, the sales team leader prepares a customer sales report from the
master sales s/sheet for the marketing department. The sales report includes:
 a summary of the best and poorest moving stock
 on a customer by customer basis, the value of and the products purchased.
Marketing keep sales operations updated with planned campaigns including any product pricing
changes, offers and special discounts.
On a monthly basis, or sometimes more frequently, the sales team leader emailshots all customers
with a friendly note and details of any offers etc. A primary purpose is to shift slow moving or
discontinued stock.
Every new customer is credit checked by the accounts department before being allowed to place an
order. If their application included an order, the order is put on hold until accounts have completed
the checking. Once complete, accounts pass on the customer's details and credit limit to sales
operations (accounts will have created a new file in the customer master file), together with the
order if included with their application. Major exception - if declined, sales make the call to the
customer to explain.
Process 2, Fill and Dispatch Order
The two-part dispatch and delivery note forms that are received from the Sales Team drive the
dispatch process. A Goods Out member of staff collects stock from the shelves for a customer's
parcel and ticks off the items on the dispatch note as s/he goes.
When the parcel is complete, the delivery note is attached. Completed parcels are put in the goods
out area for collection by the courier, who calls to collect four times a day.
The dispatch note is used to update the stock master file with the new stock levels; the number
filled on each order line is subtracted from the present stock level to give the new. The dispatch
note is then put on a stick pin. Once or twice a day the are handed over to stock control.
Process 3, Control Stock
This area is responsible for maintaining stock at their pre-determined levels. It must take into
account targets for marketing campaigns, including any new and discontinued products (notified by
the marketing department).
The stock manager is the one primarily who does this, although some cover is provided by other
members of the stock team (i.e. Goods In and Out staff).

6. The stock manager examines stock levels on the stock master file for those that are below or
nearing their minimum stock holding level. For those that are, he raises a purchase order, perhaps
phoning the preferred supplier first on important orders, to confirm the order can be met. If not, he
will raise the order with one of the alternatives.
He updates the stock master file record with the purchase order number to show that it is on order.
If a supplier subsequently puts an ordered product on back order, then the expected delivery date is
filled in.
During the day, Goods In pass over delivery notes from suppliers and returns notes from customers.
The stock manager uses this information to update stock holding levels on the stock master file. For
each filled order line, the purchase order number against the product on the master file is cleared.
The stock manager is given every dispatch note once the order has been filled. If any stock level
anomalies arise these can be checked. Otherwise they are filed in the customer master file. The only
exception to this is if an order line couldn't be filled. These dispatch notes are passed back to sales
operations so the customer can be notified.
At the start of the day, yesterday's returns notes are passed back to sales operations, together with a
report showing items dangerously low on stock.
Process 4, Receive Goods Into Stock
Returns from customers and purchases from suppliers are received first thing in the morning and
then, intermittently, throughout the day.
Goods In check the items into stock and update the stock levels on the stock master file. The returns
and delivery notes are passed to the stock control manager two or three times a day. If returned
items are not fit for stock this is marked on the returns note.
Process 5, Plan and Execute Advertising Campaign
The marketing department carry out marketing campaigns on monthly, seasonal or ad-hoc bases.
Campaigns are to:
1. introduce and push new product ranges
2. shift product about to be withdrawn
3. target specific customers with offers and discounts
4. move poorly performing product
They use the sales reports provided by sales operations to target the customers for 2 and 3, above. 1
and 4 tend to go to the whole customer base.
Marketing keep a mailing list database in Excel of all customers and manually select those that are
to be included in a mailshot (they use MS Word for this).
Mailshots by marketing presently are all paper-based as some or all of brochures, vouchers and
product catalogues accompany the mailshot.

7. From time to time they trawl through the entire customer master file to bring their s/sheet up to
date.
When a campaign is planned and during its execution marketing keep the stock manager updated
with targets and expected sales volumes (so that demand can be met from stock).
When a new product range is planned, marketing investigate suppliers, negotiate purchase prices
and write marketing copy (including product name and description). They then pass these to the
stock manager so that they can be entered on the stock master file.
Input / Output Descriptions
Ref From To Volumes Description
IO1 Sell
Product
and Take
Orders
Customer
Master
File
Orders, see IO6, Returns,
see IO10, Dispatch Notes,
approx 5-10 per week.
Orders and Returns. The top copy of the
sales order is filed on raising. Yesterday's
returns notes (received from the stock room)
are filed here. Dispatch notes for any back
orders are also files when fully supplied.
IO2 Sell
Product
and Take
Orders
Accounts Daily, at the end of the day Sales and Returns Report. The details of
today's sales and yesterday's returns. This
includes, for each customer, name of order-
taker, customer account number, value of
sales, value of any items put on back order,
value of items returned (discounting the
value of damaged goods)
IO3 Accounts Sell
Product
and Take
Orders
A slow, steady 3 to 5 per
week. Can be a few tens
per week during an
advertising campaign.
New Customer Details. Contains customer
account number, company / outlet name,
name of sales contact and email address (if
provided), address, credit limit. If the
customer included an order with their
application, this is included, too.
IO4 Accounts Sell
Product
and Take
Orders
Daily, first thing in the
morning.
Credit Limits. This is a list, sorted by
company name, of customers nearing their
credit limit. Each list entry consists of a
customer account number, name, credit limit
and account balance.
IO5 Sell
Product
and Take
Orders
Customer At most 1 or 2 per month. E-Mailshot. Customer email address. The
body of the message includes details of
special offers and promotions; coordinated
with marketing and used to shift slow
moving stock.
IO6 Customer Sell
Product
and Take
Orders
Approx 25 orders per day,
rising to 50 at peak times
in Spring, summer, autumn
and winter.
Sales Order. Can be by phone, received in
the post or handed over by one of the
travelling sales team.
The flow contains all details needed to raise
a sales order form. This includes the
customer's account number and details of
the items ordered.
Sometimes a customer asks about stock
levels during a sales call and this is
answered by checking the stock levels
database or the Low Stock list.

8. IO7 Customer
Master
File
Plan and
Execute
Marketing
Campaign
Approx 3 times per month. Customers for mailshot. Marketing use
various criteria to include customers,
trawling through the customer master file
each time to select them.
IO8 Plan and
Execute
Marketing
Campaign
Customers Catalogues are sent 4 times
per year with additional
pages for new items being
sent about once a month.
Offers go out around 3
times a month.
Offers / Catalogue Mailshot. Customer
name and address, brochures / catalogues /
catalogue update pages.
IO9 Fill and
Dispatch
Orders
Courier Approximately 25 per day,
rising to 50 per day in peak
times in Spring, summer,
autumn and winter.
Delivery Notes. Each parcel has the
delivery note attached. It contains a line for
each item ordered, ticked when picked or
crossed if put on back order.
IO10Customer Receive
Goods
Into Stock
Approx 500 per month Returns Note. Customer account number,
name, address, returns note number and, line
by line, the product code and quantity
returned. The stock room will have noted
any damaged goods which are not fit to
return to stock.
IO11Supplier Receive
Goods
Into Stock
Usually 4 per day, one
from each major supplier.
Each delivery note includes
approximately 20 lines.
Delivery Note. Each delivery into stock
received from suppliers is accompanied by a
delivery note. It contains one line for each
product ordered that details number ordered
and number on back order.
IO12Control
Stock
Accounts 3 or 4 per day Copy Purchase Order. When the stock
room raises a purchase order a copy is
passed to accounts so they can match
against supplier invoices when they arrive
(out of scope).
IO13Control
Stock
Customer
Master
File
Approximately 25 per day,
rising to 50 per day in peak
times in Spring, summer,
autumn and winter. Also
filled back-orders, approx
5-10 per week.
Dispatch Note. Each dispatch note is filed
after a customer's order is filled. This
doesn't include dispatch notes for orders that
couldn't be filled completely (these are
passed back to sales). A dispatch note also
accompanies filled back orders.
IO14Control
Stock
Supplier 3 or 4 per day Purchase Order. As stock levels approach
their minimum holding levels they are
added as a new line to an open purchase
order for the preferred supplier. The
Purchase order comprises supplier name and
address, purchase order number, order code,
quantity, item price and total line price.
Problems / Requirements List
Ref Raised
by
Short
description
Full description Proposed solution, if
offered
PRL1Bo Difficulty If the customer asks if we've got enough

9. Sibbuts looking up
stock levels
quickly
in stock to meet their order, we've got to
keep them hanging on for ages while we
look up stock levels. It's quite
embarassing.
PRL2Seenya
Cumming
Selecting
customers
for
mailshots
takes a long
time
Marketing spend a lot of time trawling
through the Customer Master File to
select customers appropriate to a
particular campaign. They need to do this
each time because the types of products
they buy can change from order to order.
They would like to use a version of the
master sales s/sheet as it contains a lot of
the info needed.
BS: When it's computerised it
should be dead easy to select
customer by various
demographics. They could
then be output into a
spreadsheet from where we
could copy and paste into
Outlook or Word.
PRL3Lou
Skannon
Too much
time
compiling
reports
The Sales and Returns report for the
Accounts dept. takes too much time to
put together each day.
If it could be computerised I'd save about
an half an hour a day.
LS: The master sales
spreadsheet could be changed
to hold the right information,
then the report could be
printed by a macro in it.
PRL4Pylem
Hye
Running
out of
stock.
Sometimes, especially during peak
periods, the stock levels don't get updated
properly when an order is filled. This
means we sometimes run out of stock
unexpectedly.
PRL5Pylem
Hye
Order
online.
Some of our suppliers allow online
ordering. If we could do it, it would
speed up delivery and we'd be able to fill
back orders more quickly.
PH: A pc and wireless
connection in the stock
control room would let me do
that.
PRL6Pylem
Hye
Quality
checking.
We all spend a lot of time cross checking
documents to make sure that all that has
been ordered from suppliers gets
delivered and ditto for all orders and
subsequent deliveries to customers.
PH: Any computerisation
must make this as automatic
as possible.
PRL7Pylem
Hye
Target
setting and
monitoring.
We want to be able to be more precise in
setting our targets and monitoring
performance against them.
Event Catalogue table
Ref Short Name Description and effects Handled
by
process(es)
Volumes
Ev01Details of new
customer
received from
Accounts
A customer's application has to be approved by the
Accounts Department. This establishes their initial
credit limit. Accounts will have opened a new file for
them in the Customer Master File. Sales then phone
the new customer using the info from Accounts and
take their first order. If an order was included with
their application, this will have been passed on to
sales with the other details from Accounts.
Process 1,
Sell
Product and
Take Order.
3 to 5 per
week, a few
tens per
week during
peak
periods.
Ev02Customer order
received
Customer orders arrive by phone, in the post and
from the travelling sales team. The order details are
Process 1,
Sell
Approx 25
orders per

10. recorded in the master sales spreadsheet and a
printout from it makes up the sales order, despatch
and delivery notes.
Product and
Take Order.
day, rising to
50 at peak
times.
Ev03Order filled After each order is filled, the Goods Out staff
member updates the number in stock on the stock
master file. If the new stock level is below the
minimum stock holding level, they tick the re-order
box.
Process 3,
Control
Stock
Approx 25
per day,
rising to 50
at peak
times.
Ev04Delivery
received from
supplier
Deliveries that are received from suppliers are
accompanied by a delivery note. As Goods In staff
check in the stock they tick each item on the delivery
note. They then update the number in stock in C2
Stock Master File and pass the delivery notes to
Stock Control.
Process 4,
Receive
Goods Into
Stock
Up to 5
times per
day
Ev05Order placed
with supplier
Goods Out staff tick those stock items in C2 Stock
Master File that reach their minimum stock holding
level as they fill orders throughout the day. The stock
manager trawls the stock master file at regular
inetrvals throughout the day, raising purchase orders
for those ticked. As he does so, he erases the
pencilled tick and inserts the purchase order number.
He may phone a supplier first to ensure they have the
stock to cover the order. The completed supplier
orders are posted at lunchtime and in the evening
post.
Emergency orders can be faxed through
Process 3,
Control
Stock
3 or 4 per
average day
Ev06Courier
collects parcels
for delivery to
customer
The courier collects parcels for delivery to customers
four times a day. The Goods Out staff member who
deals with the courier signs a collection receipt for
the number of parcels in the load. S/he keeps the
pink copy and files it in the dispatch log.
Process 2,
Fill and
Dispatch
Orders
4 times per
day
Ev07Goods returned
by customer
Customers are allowed to return unsold goods. They
must use one of our pre-printed returns notes, pre-
numberd. Goods are checked into stock as long as
they are in original condition. As they are checked
in, the staff member ticks off (or amends it to take
into account rejects) the items on the returns note.
They then update C2 Stock Master File to include the
returned stock.
Process 4
Receive
Goods Into
Stock
Around 15
to 20 per day
Ev08List of unfilled
Customer
orders received
from the Stock
Room
The previous day's dispatch notes, for those orders
that couldn't be filled completely, are passed to Sales
at the start of each day.
Sales phones the customer to confirm whether the
items should be put on back order and then updates
their master sales s/sheet with the outcome. They file
the dispatch notes (also updated with the outcome)
for priority attention as new stock is delivered (also
known as 'back orders').
Process 1
Sell
Product and
Take Order
Ev09Back order
cancellation
received
Sometimes, especially if items have been on back
order for a long time, the customer will write in or
phone to cancel the back order. Whoever takes the
call updates the master sales s/sheet, finds the
Process 1
Sell
Product and
Take Order
10 or 20
times per
week.

11. dispatch note that corresponds to the cancelled back
order and hand-writes the item(s) cancelled.
Non-functional Aspects
Physical security
Access to the warehouse, goods in and goods out areas is via secure doors, pin-number controlled.
Security cameras cover all entrances, exits and key points.
System security
All PCs have password protected log-ons and staff are supposed to lock their systems when left
unattended.
Audit approach
A post-in book is used to record all in-bound post. Each area counts in the number of post-items
they action and update the post-in book at the end of the day. This makes sure all items have been
dealt with.
Receipts that couriers sign when they accept the parcels for delivery to customers are tied up with
the original orders - confirming all orders in are either on back order or have been supplied. A
similar approach is used for goods in. All copies of supplier delivery notes and customer returns
gets cross checked against the originating paperwork.
Business rules
Ref Name Description of business rule
BR01Orders from
new
customers
All new customers must be vetted by accounts before any of their orders are
processed.
BR02Stock levels Unless withdrawn, no stock items are to fall to zero holding.
BR03Credit limit
checking
Customers are not allowed to exceed their credit limit. If an order would put
them over that limit a part-order can be filled. In such situations, the customer is
referred to the Accounts department.
Service level agreements
Ref Name Summary of key arrangements
SLA01Couriers
collections
Collections are made 4 times per day. Rush collections can be made (requested
by phone call) but a higher rate per Kg applies. The response time is 35 minutes,
best endeavours.
SLA02Supplier
orders
All suppliers use a mixture of their own delivery fleet and couriered post. We
have a next business-day delivery agreement with all the major suppliers for
urgent items and a 2-day service for all other orders. The clock starts ticking
from when they receive our orders but orders received after 4pm are treated as
arriving the following business day. Urgent orders usually have to be faxed to a
special number.
SLA03Terms and
conditions
of sale
The full document is held on file as paper copy in the Marketing Department's
filing system.
Targets
RefName Description of target

12. T01Time to
fill orders
All orders are to be processed on the day of receipt, either being filled and handed
over to the couriers for delivery or passed back to sales for placing on back order.
T02Back
orders
All back orders are to be filled within 10 working days of receipt of initial order.
Document retention policy
Every year, the Accounts department goes through the customer master file, removing items older
than 3 years to a document archive store in the department. Files held there are securely destroyed
after seven years.