This document provides information about an Access database created for Hawthorne Distribution. The database tracks customer, order, and vehicle information to help the company operate more efficiently. It discusses the benefits of the database, challenges of implementing it, and how calculations will be done. Screenshots show the tables, forms, and queries created in the database to organize and display the relevant information for Hawthorne Distribution's business needs.

1. 1
Co-­Founded by:
Tanner Stuewe, Ryan Spetnagel, Dylan Hawthorne, Evan Hammer

2. 2
Table of Contents
I. Company’s Needs 3
II. Benefits 3
III. Implementation Challenges 4
IV. Calculations 4
V. Access Screen Shots
a. Tables 5
b. Forms 9
c. Queries 14
d. Reports 16
e. Relationships 22
VI. Team Member Contributions 23

3. 3
Access Database Information:
Company’s Needs:
At Hawthorne Distribution we feel it is necessary to incorporate a database as part of
our business processes. We believe the addition of a database will allow Hawthorne
Distribution to maintain efficiency in daily business operations as the company moves
towards becoming a transportation logistics company in the global market.
Benefits:
The database will provide Hawthorne Distribution with several key benefits. A database
will provide the company with intangible benefits such as improving the company’s
efficiency of business processes, more accurate data, reduced time for data entry and
retrieval, and allows Hawthorne Distribution to reach an increased number of
customers. The addition of a database will also result in multiple tangible benefits such
as reduction of paper use, improved productivity of employees, increased reliability of
data, and, most notably, reduced costs for our business.
By using this database, Hawthorne Distribution will input detailed customer
information, for both current and potential customers, so that the company will always
know how to get in touch with customers for order negotiations or delivery of products.
Also, including order information will help Hawthorne Distribution to keep track of
important details for current orders, such as the pick-­up and delivery dates and
locations, weight of product, cost, and vehicle assigned to the delivery. Each order and
vehicle will be assigned an identification number so that they can be tracked in both the
“Order Information” as well as our “Vehicle ID” forms. Having these identification
values are important because, through multiple forms,
As previously mentioned, the plans for a database are to keep track of customer
information, order information, and vehicle information for Hawthorne Distribution.
Essentially, each of these categories will help the business to better operate because the
output of information will be incredibly useful. With the “Vehicle ID” form, for example,
the company can determine what vehicles are currently in-­use or available for delivery
of a product within the various regions (West, South, and East) of operation. This
information is visible across multiple forms, and the result is reduced time and effort as
well as fewer mistakes in the company’s processes.

4. 4
Implementation Challenges:
There are, of course, several benefits for incorporating a database into the business
processes. However, it is also important to analyze potential challenges of implementing
this system. For example, incorporating a new method of managing business actions
will require multiple employees across all regions of operation to be trained for proper
use of this database. This is critical because the information system would be used
across all stages of the company and would demand knowledgeable users to keep our
company operating at maximum efficiency. We recognizes there will be challenges
anytime business processes are altered. Nonetheless, we believe that incorporating this
system would ultimately provide a tremendous benefit to Hawthorne Distribution’s
growing business.
Calculations:
One of the main reasons Hawthorne Distribution would use an information system is to
properly calculate shipping costs for various orders. The order cost for services provided
by Hawthorne Distribution is calculated by multiplying the weight of the product being
shipped by the number 5. Hawthorne Distribution charges $300 for an order requiring
truck transportation and $500 for an order requiring airplane transportation. Finally,
an extra $1,000 fee is added onto the final order if there is an additional Just-­in-­Time
stipulation that requires a more exact arrival time.

5. 5
Access Database Screenshots
Tables:
Current Customers
The Current Customers table is a listing of our customers’ personal information. It contains our customers’
company names, physical addresses, email addresses, and phone numbers. It also has a drop down option on each
customer’s name that allows the databases users to see the past and current orders that that company has.
Hyperlinks are posted for the emails so that each customer can be quickly contacted.

6. 6
Order Information
The Order Information table is a listing of past and current orders that Hawthorne Distribution has on file. The
information in this table tell us each order’s Tracking ID, original customer, the date the order was originally placed,
whether or not the order has a Just-­In-­Time stipulation, the pickup and drop-­off locations and dates, the Vehicle’s ID
number, the order’s weight, the order’s cost, and whether or not the order has been completed already. This Table uses
a lookup wizard to find the pickup addresses from the Current Customers Table. It also uses numeric fields for Order
Weight and Tracking ID Number.

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Potential Customers
The Potential Customers table is a listing of customers who either contacted us or that we have contacted about doing
business, but we don't have any orders or contracts with them yet. This table contains our potential customers’
company names, physical addresses, email addresses, and phone numbers. Hyperlinks are posted for the emails so
that each customer can be quickly contacted.

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Vehicle ID
The Vehicle ID table is a listing of all of the vehicles that Hawthorne Distribution has available to them. This table lists
out each vehicle's ID number, whether that vehicle is a truck or airplane, how old that vehicle is, the next inspection
date on that vehicle, the region that that vehicle works in, and whether or not the vehicle is available to deliver
something.

9. 9
Forms:
Current and Potential Customers
The Current and Potential Customers Form is a re-­formatted listing of all of the possible customers that Hawthorne
Distribution has and could have with all of their information in one easy to read area. This form is a combination of
the Current Customers Form and the Potential Customers Form. This is considered a “Multi-­Table, Multi-­Record”
Form.

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Current Customers
The Current Customers Form is a re-­formatted listing of all of the current customers that Hawthorne Distribution has
with all of their information in one easy to read area.

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Order Information
The Order Information Form is a re-­formatted listing of all of the orders, old and new, that Hawthorne Distribution
has in one easy to read area.

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Potential Customers
The Potential Customers Form is a re-­formatted listing of all of the potential customers that Hawthorne Distribution is
talking to with all of their information in one easy to read area.

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Vehicle ID
The Vehicle ID Form is a re-­formatted listing of all of the vehicles that Hawthorne Distribution has available for
use in transporting goods.

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Queries:
Ongoing Orders for “Apple”
This query is a collection of data from the Orders Table and the Customers Table. It
shows all ongoing orders that the customer “Apple” has at the time that the person runs
the query. At the time that the query was run in this screen shot, Apple only had one on-­
going order. This is a “Multiple Criteria” Query.
Order Costs
This query is a collection of data from the Orders Table and the Vehicle ID Table. It
shows all of the factors that go into the cost to the customer for each order and then then
it calculates the actual cost to the customer. The final column is “Order Cost” which is
calculated through multiplying the Order Weight by 5, and then adding $300 for truck
transportation and $500 for airplane transportation. Finally, $1000 is added if the
order has a Just-­In-­Time stipulation. This is both a “Calculated Field” and an
“Aggregate” Query.
Overweight Orders
This query is a collection of data from the Orders Table and the Vehicle ID Table. It
shows all orders that are over the weight limit of 500 lbs. so that Hawthorne
Distribution know to take extra care with these orders as they are considered
“overweight” orders. This is an “If and Only If” Query.

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Trucks In Use in the South:
This query is a collection of data from the Vehicle ID Table and the Orders Table. It
shows the information about all of the trucks that Hawthorne Distribution has that are
being used in the Southern Service Region. This is a “Multiple Criteria” Query.
Vehicles By Service Region
This query is a collection of data straight from the Vehicle ID Table. The only difference
between the Vehicle ID Table and the Vehicles By Service Region query is the ability for
the query to section off a specific service region’s vehicles for separate analysis. This is a
“Parameter” Query.
Average Costs
This query is a collection of data from the Order Table and Order Costs Query. This
Query’s purpose is to show the average cost of an order for a customer of Hawthorne
Distribution.

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Reports:
Available Vehicles
The Available Vehicles Report tells its readers which vehicles are available by grouping
the company’s Vehicle by vehicle availability and placing the ones that can be used at the
top, and then sorting every vehicle by its service region. The report has totals based on
its grouping at the end of each subsection and at the entire report.

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Company Vehicles
The Company Vehicles Report shows its readers how many of each type of vehicle
(Truck or Airplane) the company owns, grouped by the vehicle type and sorted by the
service region. The report has totals based on its grouping at the end of each subsection
and at the entire report. It also totals the unavailable vehicles at the subsections and
end.

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Current Customers
The Current Customers Report shows its readers a formal and simplified version of the
Current Customers Table, titled Customer Information. It isn’t grouped or sorted at all
because there is no need to group or sort a random group of customers.

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Order Information
The Order Information Report shows its readers all of the orders that Hawthorne
Distribution has either completed or is about to complete. It is grouped by the Just-­In-­
Time stipulation and sorted by the Order Date. The report has totals based on its
grouping at the end of each subsection and at the entire report. It also totals the Order
Costs at the subsections and end.

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Potential Customers
The Potential Customers Report shows its readers a formal and simplified version of the
Potential Customers Table. It isn’t grouped or sorted at all because there is no need to
group or sort a random group of customers.

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Relationships:
This is the relationship web for Hawthorne Distribution. Here is where all of our tables
connect to one another. Each line is a branch connecting one table or query to another
table or query. Sometimes the effects of these relationships are minor and go almost
unnoticed, but sometimes a single line relationship can deliver a very important
function. A lot of these relationships are created so that the tables are connected in the
way that there is a dropdown menu on the primary key that allows the user to see how
these tables are directly related. For instance, on the Vehicles table, if you were to click
on the drop down menu of a vehicle that's in use, it would show the order that the
vehicle is currently delivering and all of that order’s information. This information is
pulled from the Orders Table, yet the Orders Table doesn’t even need to be opened.
Another useful function of these relationships is that in some cases, information is
pulled from one table and is directly inputted into another table. This is the case with
the pickup locations on the Orders Table. When trying to update the pickup location on
a record of the Orders Table, the possible options that the database will give you are part
of a dropdown menu that consist of Physical Addresses from the Current Customers
Table. This makes finding these Addresses extremely easy and as painless as possible.

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Team Member Contributions
Tanner Stuewe:
Tanner built the vast majority of the database because he is our company’s Access
“Expert.” Tanner helped to build the web of complex relationships that exist within our
company’s processes as well as created the calculations for determining order costs.
Tanner also wrote the scenarios for each individual table, query, and form.
_______________________
Ryan Spetnagel:
Ryan was also a primary contributor to the database. He helped to build the database for
Hawthorne Distributions by making important contributions to tables and detailing
information they should include. Ryan also wrote the “Company’s Needs”, “Benefits”,
“Implementation Challenges”, and “Calculations” sections of the database written
report.
_______________________
Evan Hammer:
Evan’s primary contribution to the database was in the formatting of the written report.
Evan also helped with significant idea contribution for various tables to be included in
the database. Evan’s time was more focused on other aspects of the company, most
notably the Global Written Plan and creating some key final deliverables.
_______________________
Dylan Hawthorne:
Dylan also helped significantly with formatting of the written report as well as idea
contributions during the initial planning stages of our database. Dylan’s contributions to
the project were more focused on the Global Written Plan as well as creating some of
our key final deliverables.
_______________________