Reporting Systems

 

Transaction Processing Systems

Online vs batch

Staff use vs customer use

General requirements -- speed, accuracy, high volume, large storage, high reliability, simplicity

            Examples – Point of sale – grocery stores, tollway speed pass

 

Management Systems

 

Decision Support Systems

Definition - Quantitative Models to assist in correct and consistent decision-making

Examples:

·        Supply chain/ logistics systems to support manufacturing – KC makes a diaper

·        Credit Evaluation

 

Executive Systems

 

General characteristics:

    Internal data – cash flow, receivables, sales, expenses, productivity – plan vs actual

    External data – benchmarks, competitive intelligence, economic and political forecasts

 

Format – monthly reports (Schneider blackbook) and/or balanced scorecard

 

Weaknesses of current EIS (from Peter Drucker)

 

Good IT should provide executives with:

 

1.      Activity-based costing (includes cost of machine downtime, cost of waiting for a part, cost of inventory waiting to be shipped, cost of scrapping a defective part…)

 

2.      Cost of entire economic chain (e.g. cost of production, shipping, service, training…)

 

3.      Price-led costing vs cost-led pricing

 

4.      Productivity information (benchmarking, economic value-added analysis (profits must be greater than the cost of capital))

 

5.      Competence information (measured by unexpected successes and failures, innovation levels compared to competitors (why do the others guys have all the new products?))

 

6.      Resource allocation Information (review of ROI and payback period and discounted present value), people performance (against set any known standards)

 

7.      Business intelligence –knowledge about actual and potential competitors worldwide.