Question description
Comment 1–A business process is a collection of related activities that produce a desired outcome for the company that utilizes the process in order to deliver value to a customer. The business process that I will be using as an example is purchasing a product at Walmart.
The triggering event is a customer purchasing a product at one of Walmart’s stores. Whenever a customer purchases an item, the customer inadvertently interacts with Walmart’s POS system. That information about the product purchased is handed off to the associated Walmart supplier. This supplier produces the product, labels it, and packs it for shipping. Information about the product’s destination is then handed off to an external shipping company. In the shipping activity, there are two outcomes (Claribel Slide 10).
One outcome of the product is the shipment to a Walmart distribution center within 72 hours of ordering the good. This 72 hours could serve as a potential bottleneck. The product is received, selected, packed for shipping, and then reshipped within 48 hours of the product being received by the center. Within another 48 hours, the good is shipped, received by an individual store, and stored in preparation for selling. Eventually, it will be sold to a customer, who will start the process over. The 48-hour time limits mentioned above could prove to be potential bottlenecks. The second outcome of the shipping process is that the good is shipped directly from the manufacturer directly into storage at an individual store, where it will be sold to a customer to restart the process (Claribel Slide 10).
Variations could occur in the manufacturing activity of the process. Goods could be created with defects of other problems that could delay the rest of the process. This can be especially common in businesses that Walmart deals with, as one of Walmart’s business rules is to partner with manufacturers that can produce a good at the lowest possible cost. Variations could also occur in shipping, where a good may not reach the correct destination and delaying the process. The cost of this process is generally very low overall. Walmart is able to use its leverage as a large company to pressure suppliers into producing for minimal profit and at high volumes, potentially causing capacity restrictions.
Work Cited
Mason, Claribel. “Cmpm A00267ppmmJun93G- 1 – Wal-Mart: Supply Chain Management Background Business Process Redesign: Process, IT Implications: Process, IT.” http://slideplayer.com/slide/5911183/. Modified over 2 years ago. Web. Accessed 5/24/2018
2#Comment 3-
Business Process: Freshmen student registration.
Since freshmen are new to the system at Widener University, there are several steps that must happen to ensure that the students are in the correct courses, in the correct sequence for progression. The School of Nursing (SON) curriculum is very rigid and does not have any free electives so there is no room for error. If a student takes a course that does not count for a required pre-requisite or general education requirement, they will be required to pay out of pocket for the course during the summer to stay on track. In addition, there are courses that have pre-requisites or minimum SAT/ACT math and/or English (reading scores). Students cannot take those courses without meeting the pre-requisites.
Triggering events:
Major Process Activities:
Desired Outcome:
Students register for the appropriate classes.
Handoff:
Business Rules:
Capacity:
Current freshman enrollment is 860 students. There must be enough classes for all 860 students to have the required courses needed.
Bottlenecks:
Variation:
1. Students who come to Widener with AP courses or college courses, need a different schedule or a minor depending on the number of credits.
2. Students who have a math SAT score less than 530 or an ACT score less than 19, must take math 101 in the fall. Math 101 or a SAT score 530 or greater or ACT score greater than 19 are required to take chemistry. This means that the student will take Chemistry in the spring semester freshman year and then take anatomy andn physiology I in the summer to get back on track with the science progression.
Costs:
Prior to the online system, students completed paper registration with their top three choices and the registrar’s office built their schedule. On the Friday before classes started, many students changed their schedules, which required paper drop/add slips processed by the registrar’s office. The costs included paper (for forms) as well as manpower. The student’s schedules were still checked by the SON secretaries.
Since the institution of the online computer system, the registrar’s office has seen a decrease in the number of hours creating schedules and inputting drop/add forms. They do volunteer during student registration. Faculty volunteer their time to assist the students. There is the additional cost of the computer program for online registration but I do not know the actual cost