Post#4 Supply Chain Management

Part A
FedEx Global Supply Chain Services offer various services turn supply chain management into a competitive strategy. Individual companies can outsource these services to resolve their logistic issues.

1) Critical Inventory Logistics
FedEx Critical Inventory Logistics is a comprehensive, end-to-end solution designed to optimize the management of your critical inventory and service parts distribution and returns process. It incorporates a hub-based central stocking location (CSL) and a global network of forwarding stocking locations (FSLs) integrated through extensive information capabilities.


2) Fulfillment Services
FedEx Fulfillment Services is a turnkey, modular, and scalable solution that, when integrated in your operations, provide you an end-to-end, supply chain offering designed and configured to meet your specific needs.


3) Transportation Management
FedEx Transportation Management is an outsourced solution that offers you end-to-end transportation management: optimized, multi-modal, and door-to-door. It leverages the FedEx family of companies (along with a select group of core carriers) to help you improve operational efficiencies and customer service.




4) Healthcare Shared Network
FedEx Healthcare Shared Network offers a premium, time-definite, temperature controlled delivery service to the pharmaceutical and diagnostics product industries. It operates within the US as a closed-loop network with chain of custody reporting processes and exclusive dock operators moving under a detailed schedule to and from strategically placed cross docks.

All the supply chain management programs are carefully selected matched to the requirements of individial business to gain improved supply chain performance. Services are designed to optimize availability and delivery of critical inventory and components through the network of forward stocking locations and central warehouses , to transportation management and dock services. FedEx Global Supply Chain Services supports to strengthen custodial control and optimize use of available transportation alternatives.


FedEx Global Supply Chain Services. 2009. Portfolio of Services. [Online] Available at: http://www.fedex.com/us/supplychain/services/
[Accessed 13 March 2009]


Part B
Fedex provides a numbers of systems which allows its customers to keep track on their orders.

1) Critical Inventory Logistics Login
To optimize the fulfillment and delivery of your time-sensitive parts and devices.

2) Transportation Management Order Administration
To enter, modify or cancel order information

3) Fulfillment Services Order Administration
To enter order information, view orders, inventory and shipment, status/details.

Its technology platform offers features such as:

Order administration – efficiently manage the processes associated with order fulfillment and transportation

Real time visibility – provides a view into inventory at rest and in motion throughout the supply chain

Connectivity – provides multiple access points to key members of your supply chain

FedEx Global Supply Chain Services. 2009. Online Tools. 2009. [Online]
http://www.fedex.com/us/supplychain/onlinetools/
[Accessed 13 March 2009]

Post # 5 Information Security & Ethical

Nowadays, more companies like the banks and telecommunication companies are violating privacy or ethical rights without realizing it.

First of all, we talk about why the bank may violate these. Recently, everyone is talking about Lehman Brothers. Some is wondering if this bank has violated customers’ privacy or not. The bank contains all the customers’ information, including their financial and personal one. Because of having this information, the bank uses these to cross sell the customers some investment product. In this circumstance, the bank may violate the privacy right.

To avoid violating the privacy, we have some suggestions. The bank can divide into two parts. One part is for the deposit, such as deposit or withdrawn money, exchange money etc. Another part is for the investment, including the shock or the fund. Each part is separated. The staff of the deposit department cannot see the record of investment. Another departments' staff cannot see the customers deposit record. And thus, the risk of violating the privacy can be minimized.

"六成中產指銀行侵私隱." Hong Kong Daily News 2009 22 Mar 2009 .

Moreover, the telecommunication company also may violate the privacy. There is a trend of selling products through telephone. By the considering of the customers, it may be disturbed. So customers can request opt-out service which will not get the phone selling again. But the staff of the telecommunication company will also call those having opt-out service customers. It will violate the privacy.

To prevent these, the company has to train their staff well. Before they have a phone selling, they need to check whether the customers having opt-out service or not. Let their staff know how important of the opt-out service.

"Complaint & Enquiry Cases." Privacy Commissioner for Personal Data 17jan2007 22 Mar 2009 .

As Gmail of Google, they just facing virus problem resulting their user data sharing to the public without user agreement. As a matter of fact , company really necessary to well protect their computer system with proper software to avoid violating privacy.

information from the 543th of Hitech magazine

Post #3 part 2 & 3 - OpenBravo ERP

Answer of post #3 : part 2 & 3
Different modules within OpenBravo ERP
Accept/Enter order and Order Acknowledgement : we can find these process from Sales Management module.

Purcahse Material & Receipt Material : we can find these process from Production Management module.

Production : we can find this process from Production Management module.

Packing & Shipping : we can find these process from Sales Management.

Invocing and Collection : we can also find these 2 process from Sales Management/transactions module.

Answer of post #3 : part 3

Sales, Merchanising and Account departments are requested to coordinate from start to finish of the Order-to-Cash business process. OpenBravo software makes each department working together from same platform, both departments have real-time information to benift company more efficient. According to an analysis of different module from OpenBravo, it is easier for the senior management level has clear report on each process stage, OpenBravo can serve as the foundation for decision support systems.

Post #3 Part 1 Decision Support System

Answer of question 1 : Decision Support System

Sample A : Break-even Calculator

Break-even Calculator is a very good supporting system for company easily to find out their break even unit price. You are only requested to input an variable unit cost, fixed cost, expected unit sales and price per unit, the calculator will be showed to you the tatl variable costs, all cost, total revenue and profit immediately. Also, a clear break-even unit and chart will be presented in front of you. This complement will help the Managerial Level on Budget preparation, break even analysis, setting price levels, targeting optimal variable/fixed cost combinations and determing the finanical attractiveness of different strategic options.

Sample B : Hong Kong Yellow Pages Online Map
There is a page call "Census Map", it is a very useful page for a user who would like to form a new company or shop while their product or service to be applied for specific customers. You just requested to click your ideal community demographics, the web already gather the data of the community population, age, households, marital status, income, education level and living quarters. Strategic planner has these useful data, it can help them to make more proper decision (such as company location, product or service price setting or service schedule etc) for their business.

Post #2 - Grid Reports

Grid Report #1

Grid Report #2

Grid Report #3

Post #2 Online analytical processing (OLAP)

Answer of post #2

Grid Report #1 : Internet Sales Amount by Product by Date by Customer

Content of grid report : it shows the internet sales amount of Bikes, Accessories and Clothing from the Customers in United States from year 2002 to 2005.

Insights of report : from the report, we can find the product category of Accessories and Clothing has been added from year 2003. Also, their Internet Sales Amount has been sharply increased from in year 2004. Although the sales was deeply dropped in year 2005, but from the report, we can easily find out that all categories are falling in same direction, it means that there is an normal economic status.

Grid Report #2 : Internet Gross Profit Margin and Reseller Gross Profit Margin by Date by Product by Customer

Content of grid report : it shows the profit margin comprison between different sales channel of Accessories and Clothing between year 2004 to 2005 from France and Canada customer. It is cleary showing that internet gross profit margin of accessories and clothing from both customer is 40.97% higher than reseller gross profit in these 2 years.
On the other hand, both profit margin of accessoreis is higher than clothing.

Insights of report : according to the report, we can find out 2 important issues which company has more clear direction for their business development and investment. Internet selling really save much cost and overhead resulting very good gross profit margin when compare with sales channel of resller. An other issue is that category of Accessories is more profitable than clothing, company may consider to develop and invest more similar categories in future business.

Grid Report #3 : Internet Sales Amount by Date by Product by Customer

Content of grid report : US$2,140,388.50 is the total internet sales amount from United Kingdom customer in year 2004. The report showing us a sales amount breakdown by 7 different colors, it does not difficult to find that colour Black is the most favorable color for UK customer and the 2nd priority is col Yellow, sales amount of these 2 cols already over 50% from the total while col white only sold US$548.39 (less than 0.1%)

Insights of report : according to the figure of report, not only find out which are the favorable colors of UK customer, but also knowing their buying behavior through internet. It's help company to do their further decision or forecast of purchasing for next seaons.

Benefits of users to query a data warehouse in the form of an OLAP cube through their Web browser :
1. User can interact with OLAP cubes through a Web or desktop user interface, so they can run queries and print reports interactively.
2. Easily for different department to take their useful data by OLAP cubes for data analysis.
3. Easy for management to have clearly direction to make further decision, such as above grid report #2, management can take away the unprofitable category to avoid company loss and reallocate their resource for other profitable category with proper way of development.
4. Save manpower to process different complicated grid report.
5. Easy handling.
6. Simply layout from large amounts of data.