Using Technology to Managr Information

목차

Unlocking KeyCorp\'s Customer Datadase for Greater Profits

Business in the 21 century

APPLYING TECHNOLOGY

COMPUTER NETWORKS

Local Area Networks

Wide Area Networks

IntrAnets

concepl check

BUSINESS INFORMATION SYSTEMS

Transaction Processing systems

Management Support Systems

Information Reporting Systems

Expert Systems

Office Automation Systems

MANAGING INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY

Technology Planning

Protecitng Computers and information

ACI BENEFITS FROM IT PSANNING

Data Security Issues

MAKING ETHICAL CHOICES

THE PAIRGAIN HOAX

Privacy Concerns

CRPITALIZING ON TRENDS IN BUSINESS

Managing Knowledge Resources

End of the Personal Computer Era?

Searching for Information Talent

APPLYING THIS CHAPTER\'S TOPICS

TRY IT NOW

Preparation Pays Off

Keeping Secrets

SUMMARY OF LEARNING GOALS

PREPARING FOR TOMORROW\'S WORKPLACE

WORKING THE NET

CREATIVE THINKING CASE

VIDEO CASE

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sed bakeries in the United States and Canada. Archway produces more than one billion cookies annually.
Founding the company in 1936, Harold and Ruth Swanson "set the standard for what would become a one-of-a-kind cookie." The Swansons baked cookies that used only the finest quality ingredients and then delivered them fresh to the stores where they were sold. "Tjis commitment to traditional quality and guaranteed freshness is the foundation of Archway Cookies."
Archway Cookies is a bake-to-order company. With over 60 different varieties of Home Style, Gourmet, Fat Free, Sugar FREE, Bag, and Holiday cookies, Archway is a "bake today, ship tomorrow" manufacturing operation. Cookies are ordered by distribution, baked by the company, and shipped to distributors within 48 hours.
To "bake today" and "ship tomorrow," Archway must have accurate and timely information. Prior to 1991, the company managed its information using paper-based sales and tracking systems that were introduced in the 1930s. These system did not provide for the fastest, most effective, and most efficient flow and use of data.
Archway's management recognized the need to automate data collection, improve data flow, and create a single database. Without these information management changes, achieving the company's sales growth goals would be difficult. So in 1991 Archway Cookies began using a system of hardware and software from Intermec Technologies Corp. Key components of the system were Intermec's Norand Base Bakery database software and Norand 4410 handheld computers.
Before 1991, distributors wrote everything down in route bookes, and Archway employed people to perform manual data entry. As a result, managers had diffculty understanding, comprehending, and analyzing data on a timely basis. This changed drastically when Archway supplied its distributors with the handheld computers and began using the route accounting software designed specifically for the baking industry. With the new management information system, Archway was able to track, analyze, and adjust sales to customers at the distributor level.
According to Gene H.McKay Ⅲ, Archway's chief of finance and operations, the use of information technology has produced considerable benefits. He says that "implementation technology has saved the distributors an enormous amount of time on their routes, so the distributors have additional time for call-backs nd for soliciting nw sales." In turn, this has contributed to a 3 to 4 percent sales increase for Archway every ear since the system was installed. The system has also provided better information access and information sharing throughout the company.
Critical Thinking Questions
1. Why is timely and accurate information essential for Archway's manufacturing operations?
2. How does Archway Cookies manage information technology to its advantage?
3. Do you think Archway Cookies would be able to achieve its sales growth goals without the use of computerized information technology?

키워드

Technology,   Managr,   Information