GB 310 Midterm Exam Study Guide

Business Intelligence

(outside info) information collected from multiple sources, such as suppliers, customers, competitors, partners, and industry experts

Management Information System

a business function which moves information about people, products, and processes across the company to facilitate decision-making and problem solving

System

a collection of parts that link to achieve a common purpose

Business Process Model

a graphic description of a process, showing the sequence of process tasks

Information Systems

computer-based systems that capture, store, and retrieve data associated with process activities

Process Level Information

concerned with purchasing process on overall level, across multiple instances (requisitions)

Instance Level Information

concerned with the status of an order in the process being executed

Key Performance Indicator

current state of the process is measured against these

Information

data converted into useful/meaningful context

Operational Planning and Control

deals with the day-day procedures for performing work

Master Data

define the key entities with whom an organization interacts with (Ex: Customer #s & Addresses)

Transaction Data

reflect day-day operations of company (Ex: Who, What, Where and How Much)

Middleware

several different types of software that sit in the middle and provide connectivity between 2 or more software applications

Radio Frequency Identification

technologies that use active or passive tags that can store unique identifiers and relay this information to electronic readers

Value-Added

term used to describe the difference between the cost of inputs and the value of price outputs

Supply Chain Visibility

the ability to view all areas up and down the supply chain

Business Process Modeling

the activity of creating a detailed flow chart or process map of a work process showing its inputs, tasks, and activities

Extended ERP Components

the extra components that meet organizational needs not covered by the core components and primarily focus on external operations

Business Facing Processes

("Back End") invisible to the external customer but essential to effective management of the business

Supplier Relationship Management

manage overall relationships with materials, suppliers, quotation, and contracts processes

Customer Facing Processes

("Front End") result in a product or service received by an organization's external customers

Product Life Cycle Management

help companies administer the processes of research, design, and product management

Procurement Process

a series of steps that a company takes to obtain raw materials

Business Process

a standardized set of activities that accomplish a specific task

Systems Thinking

a way of monitoring the entire system by viewing multiple inputs being processed to produce outputs while getting feedback

Supply Chain

all parties involved, directly and indirectly in obtaining raw materials or a product

Business Process Reengineering

analysis and redesign of workflow within and between enterprises

Continuous Process Improvement Model

attempts to understand and measure current process and make performance improvements accordingly

Supply Chain Execution Software

automates the different steps and stages of the supply chain

Competitive Advantage

feature of a product/service on which customers place a greater value than the competitors' offerings

Tactical Planning

focuses on producing goods and services as efficiently as possible within the strategic plan

Demand Planning Software

generates demand forecasts using statistical tools and forecasting techniques

Enterprise Systems

help the organization coordinate work across functions

Feedback

information that returns to its original transmitter and modifies the transmitter's actions

Enterprise Resource Planning

integrates all departments and functions throughout an organization into a single IT system

Business Process Management

integrates all of an organization's business process to make the individual process more efficient

Customer Relationship Management

involves managing all aspects of a customer's relationship within an organization to increase customer loyalty/retention an organizational profitability

Business Strategy

leadership plan that achieves a specific set of goals/objectives

Product Differentiation

occurs when a company develops unique differences in its products/services to influence demand

Bullwhip Effect

occurs when distorted product demand information passes from one entity to the next through the supply chain

Functional Structure

organizations divided into functions (debts) with each responsible for a set of closely related activities

Free On Board

point at which ownership of the material in the shipment legally transfers from 1 company to another

Competitive Intelligence

process of gathering information about competitive environment

Production

process where a business takes raw materials and converts them into goods/services

Global Inventory Management System

provides the ability to locate, track, and predict the movement of every component anywhere upstream or downstream

Data

raw facts that describe the characteristics of an event/object

Supply Chain Management

the management of information flows between and among activities in a supply chain to maximize total supply chain effectiveness and corporate profitability

Scalability

the number of users or the volume of operations that a given hardware/software can manage

Productivity

the rate at which goods/services are produced based on total outputs and inputs

Knowledge

the skills, experience, and expertise coupled with information and intelligence that creates a person's intellectual resources

Workflow

the tasks, activities, and responsibilities required to execute each step in a business process

Core ERP Components

the traditional components included in most ERP systems and primarily focus on internal operations

Materials Requirement Planning

use sales forecasts to make sure that needed parts and materials are available at right time and place

Organizational Data

used to define organizational structure of the business and rarely changes over time (Ex: Company Plant #s)

Supply Chain Planning Software

uses advanced mathematical algorithms to improve flow and efficiency of supply chain while reducing inventory

Value Chain Analysis

views a firm as a series of business processes that each add value to the product/service

The Silo Effect

workers complete their tasks without regard to the consequences for other components of the process