Queensland Fruit Growers distribute fresh fruit juices throughout Australia. The systems and procedures in the company have evolved over many years. A recent Performance Audit has highlighted deficiencies in the company systems and procedures. The Board of Directors have employed a consultant to document the current systems starting with the order processing system.
The customer orders, which are all credit sales, arrive by email or phone and in the processing of an order several other documents are created.
The documents created are:
• A packing slip which is used by the warehouse to fill the order.
• A customer invoice which is sent after the fruit juice has been shipped.
• When the order is not accepted an order rejection note is forwarded to the customer.
• A receivable notice, which is a copy of the customer invoice, is forwarded to the accounting department so that the accounts receivable records can be updated.
The consultant reviewed the facts he had collected and prepared the following narrative summary:
When an order is received by the order processing clerk they check the customer's credit file to confirm credit approval and to ensure that the order amount is within the agreed credit limit. If neither of these conditions is met then the order is forwarded to the credit control department. If the order meets both conditions the order processing clerk enters the details into the system using a standard order form. This information is used to update the customer file which contains name, address and other data. The form is then put in the open order file.
When the credit department receives a rejected order the credit clerk determines why the order has been rejected. If the credit limit has been exceeded the customer is informed that their credit limit has been exceeded and that the fruit juice can only be delivered after a payment is received to bring the account back into agreed limits. If the customer does not have an agreed credit limit then a credit application is forwarded to the customer with a notification that the produce will be delivered as soon as credit is approved.
When an order is received the system checks the inventory levels to determine if the fruit juice is available. If the fruit juice is available a packing slip is prepared and sent to the warehouse.
When notification of despatch of fruit juice is received from the warehouse, an invoice is prepared. One copy is filed in the order processing department and a second copy is forwarded to the customer and a third copy is forwarded to the accounting department to update the accounts receivable. A note is placed in the customer file to confirm that an invoice has been sent.
• Requirement 1:
o From the information presented in the case above complete the following
- document flowchart for the order processing system, and
- data flow diagram DFD at Level 0 for the order processing system.
• Requirement 2:
o Identify any deficiencies in system (if any) and the information needs for effective management of the order processing system in particular and the revenue cycle in general.
• Requirement 3:
o Make recommendations and suggestions to management to make the system more efficient and/or make improvements you see as appropriate. In doing so, you should consider adopting recent (since 2008) advances in information systems in one or two (but no more than two) of the following technologies
- EDI/EDNIT
- EFT/FEDI
- RFID
- ERP
In making recommendations, you need to justify them using a literature search that must include sources outside your set text and readings such as journal articles, business press, web sites making sure you cite all references used.
• Requirement 4:
o Highlight to management the complementing features of narrative descriptions and diagramming tools.