Chapter 9
Describe the challenges of global supply chains and how Internet technology can help companies manage them better.
Challenges: - time differences - varying performance standards - foreign government regulations and cultural differences The Internet helps companies manage many aspects of global supply chains, including sourcing, transportation, communications, and international finance (ex. web-based software)
Define social CRM and explain how customer relationship management systems are using social networking.
Social CRM: Tools enabling a business to link customer conversations, data, and relationships from social networking sites to CRM processes - Using social CRM tools, businesses can better engage with their customers by, for example, analyzing their sentiments about their products and services
Describe the tools and capabilities of customer relationship management software for sales, marketing, and customer service.
(p. 356) Sales - Salesforce automation (SFA) modules in CRM systems help sales staff increase productivity by focusing sales efforts on the most profitable customers, those who are good candidates for sales and services - SFA modules enable sales, marketing, and shipping departments to share customer and prospect information easily Marketing - CRM systems support direct-marketing campaigns by providing capabilities for capturing prospect and customer data, for providing product and service information, for qualifying leads for targeted marketing, and for scheduling and tracking direct-marketing mailings or email - Marketing modules also include tools for analyzing marketing and customer data, identifying profitable and unprofitable customers, designing products and services to satisfy specific customer needs and interests, and identifying opportunities for cross-selling Customer Service - Customer service modules in CRM systems provide information and tools to increase the efficiency of call centers, help desks, and customer support staff. They have capabilities for assigning and managing customer service requests
Explain how supply chain management systems help reduce the bullwhip effect and how they provide value for a business.
Bullwhip effect: distortion of information about the demand for a product as it passes from one entity to the next across the supply chain The bullwhip effect can be tamed by reducing uncertainties about demand and supply when all members of the supply chain have accurate and up-to-date information. Supply chain management systems provide the kind of information that helps members of the supply chain make better purchasing and scheduling decisions.
Define customer relationship management and explain why customer relationships are so important today.
Customer relationship management: business and technology discipline that uses information systems to coordinate all of the business processes surrounding the firm's interactions with its customers in sales, marketing, and service Because competitive advantage based on an innovative new product or service is often very short-lived, companies are realizing that their most enduring competitive strength may be their relationships with their customers.
Distinguish between a push-based and a pull-based model of supply chain management and explain how contemporary supply chain management systems facilitate a pull-based model.
Push-based: production master schedules are based on forecasts or best guesses of demand for products, and products are pushed to customers Pull-based: also known as a demand-driven or build-to-order model, actual customer orders or purchases trigger events in the supply chain With new flows of information made possible by web-based tools, supply chain management more easily follows a pull-based model. Enterprise systems make it easier for the different departments to see all the data it needs in real-time. This means that the managers can see in real-time when they need a product and can order it.
Describe how enterprise applications are taking advantage of cloud computing and business intelligence.
- Enterprise application vendors are delivering more value by becoming more flexible, user-friendly, web-enabled, mobile, and capable of integration with other systems - Enterprise application vendors have added business intelligence features to help managers obtain more meaningful information from the massive amounts of data these systems generate, including data from the Internet of Things (IoT)
List and describe the challenges enterprise applications pose.
- Enterprise applications involve complex pieces of software that are very expensive to purchase and implement. - Enterprise applications require not only deep-seated technological changes but also fundamental changes in the way the business operates. For example: changes to business processes, new job functions and responsibilities, and organizational learning. - SCM systems require multiple organizations to share information and business processes. Each participant in the system may have to change some of its processes and the way it uses information to create a system that best serves the supply chain as a whole.
Explain how these challenges can be addressed.
- Enterprise software vendors are addressing these problems by offering pared-down versions of their software and fast-start programs for small and medium-sized businesses and best-practice guidelines for larger companies. - Companies are achieving more flexibility by using cloud applications for functions not addressed by the basic enterprise software so that they are not constrained by a single do-it-all type of system. - Companies adopting enterprise applications can also save time and money by keeping customizations to a minimum.
Describe how enterprise systems provide value for a business.
- Enterprise systems provide value by both increasing operational efficiency and providing firmwide information to help managers make better decisions. - Large companies with many operating units in different locations have used enterprise systems to enforce standard practices and data so that everyone does business. - Enterprise systems help firms respond rapidly to customer requests for information or products. - Enterprise systems allow senior management to find out easily at any moment how a particular organizational unit is performing, determine which products are most or least profitable, and calculate costs for the company as a whole.
Distinguish between operational and analytical CRM.
Operational CRM: includes customer-facing applications, such as tools for sales force automation, call center and customer service support, and marketing automation Analytical CRM: includes applications that analyze customer data generated by operational CRM applications to provide information for improving business performance
Describe how partner relationship management (PRM) and employee relationship management (ERM) are related to customer relationship management (CRM).
PRM: automation of the firm's relationships with its selling partners using customer data and analytical tools to improve coordination and customer sales - uses many of the same data, tools, and systems as customer relationship management to enhance collaboration between a company and its selling partners ERM: software dealing with employee issues that are closely related to CRM, such as setting objectives, employee performance management, performance-based compensation, and employee training
Define an enterprise system and explain how enterprise software works.
Enterprise systems: integrated enterprise-wide information systems that coordinate key internal processes of the firm Enterprise software: set of integrated modules for applications such as sales and distribution, financial accounting, investment management, materials management, production planning, plant maintenance, and human resources that allow data to be used by multiple functions and business processes
Define and compare supply chain planning systems and supply chain execution systems.
Supply chain software is classified as either software to help businesses plan their supply chains (supply chain planning) or software to help them execute the supply chain steps (supply chain execution). Supply chain planning systems: systems that enable a firm to generate demand forecasts for a product and to develop sourcing and manufacturing plans for that product Supply chain execution systems: systems to manage the flow of products through distribution centers and warehouses to ensure that products are delivered to the right locations in the most efficient manner
Define a supply chain and identify each of its components.
Supply chain: network of organizations and business processes for procuring materials, transforming raw materials into intermediate and finished products, and distributing the finished products to customers Upstream portion: - the company's suppliers - the suppliers' suppliers - the processes for managing relationships with them Downstream portion: - the organizations and processes for distributing and delivering products to the final customers
