RESIT Coursework for BS2011 & BS2054 To be completed by one individual
Submit: 29 August 2007
THE GARDEN FURNITURE COMPANY Overview The business was started about 2 years ago with an interactive website and a small capital outlay. However, sales of furniture were so successful that this enabled a store to be opened in London within the first year. A rapid expansion programme followed with 5 further branches being opened around the country to bring the total to the current 6. The average turnover for a branch is about £2,000,000 per annum. With the direct sales continuing from the website (now the company Head Office which is based in Leicester) the company now has an average annual turnover of £20,000,000. It is hoped to continue at this pace for the foreseeable future. The current electronic system is under great strain because of this rapid expansion. In particular the company is looking to stop any more increase in the staff numbers at Head Office. Also, it would be extremely helpful if reliable Management Reports could be produced. The company would like to upgrade its present computer system to one that is more centralised and the following outlines the structure of the business. The Structure of the Garden Furniture Company The operation is run by the Managing Director (MD) who is advised by the following departments:1. 2. Accounts Department: with a manager and 10 staff dealing with customer accounts, and authorising wage payments etc. Buying Department: run by the Chief Buyer with a staff of 5. It is responsible for choosing lines to be sold and deciding which branches to send them to. They also analyse the weekly stock request from branches. Stock Control: run by the Stock Control Manager and 6 staff. They are responsible for checking in goods from outside suppliers. The goods are then repacked and sent to the various branches according to the decision by the Chief Buyer. Customer Service Department: Run by Customer Service Manager and 3 staff taking customer telephone orders. Dispatch and Warehouse Department: Run by the Dispatch Manager and 15 staff who pack and dispatch telephone and web orders. They also deal with returns from customers as these have to be checked and returned to stock. The 6 Branches: each run by a Branch Manager and an average of 3 sales assistants. The actual number of staff will depend on branch turnover and is controlled by Head Office.
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Stock Circulation The MD has realised that customers making telephone or web orders often order stock that is actually not available. The customers pays for the item only to be advised that it is out of stock at a later date and this is a great cause of customer dissatisfaction.
At the end of the week a “stock list” is taken around the shelves of the warehouse and also at the branches. A check made to see how many of any item is left. These sheets are then analysed at Head Office. Once a week a new batch of goods is delivered to each branch. The Branch Manager checks this new stock against a delivery note and, if the goods are in good condition, they are assigned to the appropriate shelves. If not they are returned to Head Office for the Buying Dept to return to the supplier. Stock Circulation – Head Office Goods are ordered from outside suppliers by the Buying Dept which files an internal copy of the order before sending it. Documentation is attached to indicate how many of the goods ordered are to go to each branch. When the goods arrive at Head Office, the warehouseman gets a copy of the order and checks the goods to make sure they are correct and in good condition. He also checks and signs off the invoice that has arrived with the goods to see if it actually matches what has been sent. If there is a problem then the invoice is marked “do not pay” and a note is sent to the supplier. All invoices are sent to the Accounts Dept. If the delivery is “short” then the Stock Control Manager decides how to distribute the remaining goods amongst the branches. On Thursdays, the goods allocated for each branch are listed on a Delivery Note and then delivered to the branches. Orders Also, on Thursdays, the branch manager makes up a list of stock that he/she thinks will be required for the following week and sends this to Head Office. These lists are analysed by the Chief Buyer who then sends orders to the various suppliers. An internal copy is sent to the Dispatch Dept. There is always a frantic rush to get the orders made up at the end of the week and a huge amount of time is spent updating the stock list as items are bought in or sold. The process is error prone and labour intensive. The chief buyer needs to know the current “running total” of stock levels at any given time but this is often incorrect at present. He would also like to have centralised the Branch stock information to enable him to organise stock to be moved between sites. Accounts Supplier invoices are sent from the despatch dept and entered in a Day Book before transferring them to the relevant account. The accounts are paid monthly on receipt of a statement from the supplier. Goods in the branches are sold for cash so there are no account customers at present. At the end of each day each branch totals its Till by “cashing up” and the money is banked locally. The amount banked is advised to Head Office by fax. The most important reports produced by the Accounts Dept are the weekly and monthly sales and stock level figures showing a stock to sales ratio but these reports are becoming impossible to prepare with the business expanding so rapidly.
Personnel Records of personnel are kept both locally and at Head Office. Time sheets approved by the Branch Manager are sent to Head Office and the Accounts Manager then approves the release of funds from the local Bank and wages are made up locally.
Your Task 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. Write a description of the major changes you would need to make in order to support a fully computerised system 10 Marks Give a Brief Description of each Actor and their role 10 Marks Draw a Use Case Diagram for your envisaged new information system. 15 Marks Draw a Class Diagram for your envisaged information system 15 Marks Create Scenario Statements for the customer purchasing products from the online catalogue, including shopping basket and payment. 15 Marks Create a Sequence using the Use Case Statements in (2). 15 Marks Draw an Activity Diagram to show the main flow of events for goods passing through the Garden Furniture Company 15 Marks
A further 5 marks will be given for the presentation of your documentation. NOTE Please refer to the Health Clinic Case Study example for the standard and detail required in this coursework. No other diagrams are required other than those listed above.