ENVS 1500 Lecture 21: ENVS 1500 Lecture 21 Notes

1All of the following statements are false, except:

In a post-billing system, invoices are prepared upon acceptanceof the customer order.

In the Order Entry and Sales process, customer credit check is acontrol plan that ensures that the organization protects itsresources by dealing only with customers who have demonstrated anability to satisfy their liabilities.

None of these answers are correct.

In the Order Entry and Sales process, one-for-one checking is acontrol plan that simplifies the data entry process, and mayprevent the customer service representative from omitting data, tofill in certain fields, and reject incorrectly formatted fields toreduce input errors.

The accounts receivable master data is created as sales returns,bad debt write-offs, estimated doubtful accounts, or similaradjustments are processed.

Question 2 of 12

Which of the following statements is false?

An overall management objective is to minimize the time from thebeginning of the selling process to the end of the cash collectionprocess.

A form of fraud in which the payments made by one customer aresystematically applied to the account of another is calledlapping.

The technology that allows information on documents to beconverted into machine-readable data through a scanner is calledOCR.

None of these answers are correct.

The cash receipts process can be accelerated by using the ACHnetwork because it is a batch process.

Question 3 of 12

Which of the following statements is false?

The check and remittance advice trigger the receive paymentprocess.

From the standpoint of reducing the collector's float, acustomer check is a better payment method than a debit card.

Good funds are funds on deposit and available for use.

None of these answers are correct.

A bank lockbox provides more protection for cash than a systemwhere cash receipts are mailed to the payee company and thendeposited.

Question 4 of 12

Which of the following statements is true?

In a pre-billing system, invoices are prepared after the goodshave been shipped and the sales order notification has been matchedto the shipping's billing notification.

Of the two types of billing systems discussed in the text, thepre-billing system is appropriate in situations where there is asignificant delay between acceptance of the customer's order andthe subsequent shipment.

In a post-billing system, invoices are prepared upon acceptanceof the customer order.

None of these answers are correct.

Of the two types of billing systems discussed in the text, thepre-billing system requires the more accurate inventoryrecords.

Question 5 of 12

All of the following are part of the horizontal informationflows of the B/AR/CR process except:

Accounts receivable aging report

Customer payment

Customer invoice

None of these answers are correct

Bank deposit

There are three ways to place an order at Robatelli's: in-store,via telephone, or online. The order processing systems areillustrated in

Here's how they work:

Robatelli's Order Processing Systems In-Store Orders

In-store orders are taken by restaurant staff serving patronsdining in one of Robatelli's restaurants or walking in to place anorder. Servers manually complete an order ticket at the tablesideand input the information into the company's point of sales systemthrough computer terminals located in the food preparationstations. Walk-in orders are typically entered directly into thesystem by staff using the computer terminal located at thecounter.

Telephone Orders

Approximately two-thirds of the company's business is processedvia thetelephone. Robatelli's phone ordering system is called aone-number system, referring to the convenience of ordering througha single phone number, regardless of the restaurant locationnearest the customer. Most phone orders are received by anoperator, who enters the order directly intoa computer terminalwhile speaking with the customer. Customer phone numbers are usedto present the customer with a choice of the nearest pizzeria forpreparation and carry-out or delivery. The software in the systemreferences a street database to verify that the street addressexists. Credit card numbers are obtained from customers paying bycredit card. The customer service representative verifies the orderand credit card number before ending the call. Upon confirmation ofan order, the order is sent directly to the restaurant, whereit isprocessed through the company's transaction processing system andprinted at the appropriate food preparation station(s). Credit cardnumbers are includedin the transmission, and all credit cardtransactions are processed at the restaurants at the time the orderis received.There are several advantages of handling phone ordersthrough a customerorder center rather than at individual restaurantlocations. Above all, the reduction in background noise improvesthe accuracy of the order-taking process. In addition, thecustomer's wait time is greatly reduced. Before Robatelli'simplemented its one-number system, customers' wait time at peakcould be up to 15 minutes. The order center's average wait timegoal is now one minute or less.

Internet Orders

To place an online order, a customer must be registered.Registration is a simple process that can occur anytime duringbusiness hours. Customers are asked to provide identifyinginformation that will be retained in the system. Repeat customerswill not have to go through the registration process again.Web-based ordering is tied to the company's one-number system. Whena customer enters an order online, customer information is pulledfrom the one-number system. Identifying data such as phone numberand address do not have to be entered. Menu offerings are presentedon the screen in various drop-down boxes so that any combination ofitems can be ordered with many different nchoices of toppings oraccompaniments. A customer must answer a series of questionsregarding the order, similar to the questions that would be askedif the customer had been speaking with a telephone operator. Onlineorders also require confirmation of the menu items and restaurantlocation before the call is ended. Credit card information may beentered online, and the transaction will be processed at therestaurant filling the order (as is done for telephone orders). Twofirewalls protect the security of customer information submittedonline.

Describe how each of the following types of ordersat

Robatelli's differs from the processes–

.

a. In-store orders

b.Telephone orders

c.Internet orders

Interactive Session: Management The Mobile Pocket Office

Can you run your company out of your pocket? Perhaps not entirely, but there are many business functions today that can be performed using an iPhone, iPad, or Android mobile handheld device. The smartphone has been called the “Swiss Army knife of the digital age.” A flick of the finger turns it into a web browser, a telephone, a camera, a music or video player, an e-mail and messaging machine, and, increasingly, a gateway into corporate systems. New software applications for document sharing, collaboration, sales, order processing, inventory management, and production monitoring make these devices even more versatile business tools. Mobile pocket offices that fit into a purse or coat pocket are helping to run companies large and small.

Sonic Automotive is one of the largest automotive retailers in the United States with more than 100 dealerships in 14 states. Every year Sonic sells 250,000 new and used cars from approximately 25 different automotive brands, and it also sells auto parts and maintenance, warranty, collision, and vehicle financing services. Sonic Automotive managers and employees do much of their work on the iPhone and iPad.

Sonic developed several custom iPhone and iPad applications to speed up sales and service. Virtual Lot, a dealer inventory app, lets sales associates quickly search for vehicles held in inventory by all Sonic dealerships. They have immediate access to vehicle information, pricing, trade-in values, interest rates, special promotions, financing, and what competitors are charging for identical vehicles. The associates can quickly find the best selection for each customer and often offer far more choices than the competition. Dealers are not limited to selling only their own inventory.

A mobile app called the Sonic Inventory Management System (SIMS) has speeded up and simplified trade-in appraisals and pricing. Sonic staff use their iPhones or iPads to take photos of a car, input the vehicle identification number (VIN) and mileage, and note any issues. The data are transmitted to corporate headquarters, which can quickly appraise the car. A Service Pad app simplifies the steps in repair and warranty work. In the past, customers with cars requiring repairs had to go inside the dealership and sit at a desk with a Sonic staff member who wrote up the repair order by hand. Now the Sonic staff members go outside to the customer's vehicle and enter the repair order on an iPad on the spot.

SKF is a global engineering company headquartered in Gothenburg, Sweden, with 140 manufacturing sites in 32 countries and 48,500 employees worldwide. SKF produces bearings, seals, lubrication systems, and services used in more than 40 industries, including mining, transportation, and manufacturing. SKF has developed more than 30 custom iPhone and iPad applications for streamlining workflows and accessing critical corporate data from anywhere in the world.

For example, a virtual reality app uses the iPhone or iPad camera to identify a factory machine and produce a 3-D overlay of the SKF parts it contains. A sensor-driven app called Shaft Align is used by SKF service teams and customers in the field. Shaft Align connects via wireless Bluetooth sensors to a piece of machinery such as a motor-driven fan to ensure that the drive shaft is running in proper alignment. If not, the app generates step-by-step instructions and a 3-D rendering to show how to manually align the motor. Then it checks the work and produces a report.

A mobile app called MOST enables factory operators to monitor some SKF factory production lines. MOST links to the back-end systems running the machinery and provides operators with key pieces of data. Operators using this mobile app are able to use secure instant messaging to communicate with managers and each other, update maintenance logs, and track products in real time as they move through the factory line.

SKF's Shelf mobile app allows sales engineers and customers to access on demand more than 5,000 pieces of product literature, catalogs, product specifications, and interactive marketing materials. Sales teams can use Shelf to create custom “shelves” to organize, annotate, and share materials with customers right from their iPhones or iPads. The iPhone, iPad, and Shelf app save company sales engineers as much as 25 minutes per day on processes and paperwork, freeing them up to spend more time in the field supporting customers. This increase in productivity is equivalent to putting 200 more sales engineers in the field.

SKF auditors perform about 60 audits per year, and each audit used to take more than a month to complete. With the SKF Data Collect app, auditors are able to use their iPads to collect data and present customers with detailed reports instantly.

SKF Seals offers specifications and information about SKF's machined and injection-molded seals and plastic parts, while the Seal Select app helps users select seals and accessories using several different input parameters to find the right solution for their needs.

Case Study Questions

1. What kinds of applications are described here? What business functions do they support? How do they improve operational efficiency and decision making?