Case 3: Henry Schein Inc.: The Business Value of a Data Warehouse

Case Study Questions:

1. What are some of the key requirements for building a good data warehouse? Use Henry Schein Inc. as an example.

2. What are the key software tools needed to construct and use a data warehouse?

3. What is the business value of a data warehouse to Henry Schein? To any company?

Solutions:
1.
a. A database management system is a set of computer programs that controls the creation, maintenance, and use of the databases of an organization. Major uses are database development, database interrogation, database maintenance, and development of application programs.
b. Key requirements would include:
• Those involved in building the data warehouse should have the right skills and experience.
• Ensure data quality.
• Determine on the front-end the information the potential business users need access to and the reports they want to see.
• Analyze the old paper reports and the condition of the data housed in the company’s core transaction system.
• Standardize transactional codes in order to produce reports needed.
• Developing and testing summary tables to make queries work faster.

2. Key software tools need would include:

• Data extraction software.
• User query and reporting software.
• Data transformation and loading software.

3. The business value would include:

• Determine the most profitable customers.
• Determine which customers to target with special promotion offers.
• Analyze the business by product category, sales territory, etc.
• Determine which customers should be included in specific direct marketing efforts.
• Ability of a user to add more fields to reports as they are using the system.

Case Study 4

Case Study Questions and Answers:
1. Do you agree with the argument made by Nick Carr to support his position that IT no longer gives companies a competitive advantage? Why or why not?

Answer:
I do not agree with Nick Carr, because I think advances in technology have unforeseen benefits in the workplace.
IT is expensive and at first difficult to understand, but if it is used in the capacity for which it was created, it can give huge returns on its investments. For example, how would Wal-Mart be able to stay on top of the market without its complex inventory technology? The use of new software has revolutionized that portion of their business. I agree with Michael Dell that, that blindly attempting to implement IT into your business is not a good strategy, but with careful use and training of a sophisticated IT department, the use of cutting edge technology is more of a necessity than an option.

2. Do you agree with the argument made by the business leaders in this case in support of the competitive advantage that IT can provide to a business? Why or why not?

Answer:
I agree with Michael Dell’s statement, that without the proper use of the equipment, it’s expense outweighs the benefits gained. This is why its so important to put people in positions that are competent in these emerging IT fields. With the advances in technology that are happening everyday, it would be an unwise choice not to capitalize on use of this new software, because when your competitor does, you will be at an obvious disadvantage.

3. What are several ways that IT could provide a competitive advantage to a business? Use some of the companies mentioned in this case as examples. Visit their websites to gather more information to help you answer.

Answer:
The major advancement that continues to help large corporate businesses is increase means of communication. The ability to spread, and share new information at a moments notices helps minimize downtime, and increase efficiency, which means larger profits in the end.

Case Study 3

1. Why do you think that Aviall failed in their implementation of an enterprise resource planning system? What could they have done differently?

Answer

Reasons why Aviall failed would include:

• The ERP system did not support adequately Aviall's business strategies.
• The ERP implemented did not improve the basic operational support system needed be Aviall to provide timely supply chain management.
• The ERP system project did not adequately address the issue of systems integration between applications.
• The implementation of the ERP failed due to inadequate consideration of the magnitude of the project.

What Aviall could have done differently would include the following:

• Project planning through the use of some form of a systematic development process.
• Analysis of the business requirements prior to making decisions about the software to acquire for the ERP system.
• Project management should have been a higher consideration of Aviall.

2. How has information technology brought new business success to Aviall? How did IT change Aviall’s business model?

Answer

How IT brought new business success for Aviall would include:

• System integrated by using common business databases managed by database software from Sybase, Inc.
• Designing the new combined system to properly access and deal with customized pricing charts for 17,000 customers who receive various types of discounts, and with an inventory of 380,000 different aerospace parts.
• Developing Aviall.com to reduce the cost per order from $9 per transaction to 39 cents.
• Customers are able to transfer their orders from an Excel spreadsheet directly to the web site.
• Customers have access to price and availability information in less thatn five seconds - a real time feature.
• Sales force spends more time developing customer relationships than processing routine orders.
• Aviall can bettermatch production to demand from the IT improvements.

How IT changed Aviall's business model would include:

• Changed Aviall from a catalogbusiness to full-scale logistics business.
• Aviall became a provider of supply chain management services through the integration of a range of Web-enabled e-business software systems.

3. How could other companies use Aviall’s approach to the use of IT to improve their business success? Give several examples.

Answer

Examples would include:

• Reposition a firm as a supply chain management services provider through Web-enabled e-business software systems.
• Redesign the customer relationship management system to minimize the routine order processing and permit the sales force to focus on product and service development efforts that will grow revenue.

Case Study 2

Case Study Questions And Answers:

1. Are many of Lufthansa’s challenges identified in the case similar to those being experienced by other businesses in today’s global economy? Explain and provide some examples.

Answer

Yes, there are many companies are also using the strategiy of the Lufthansa's company. giving an access for thier employees make thier work eiser. Because employeers can do thier work outside thier office. Communication also is very important for one company by this strategy communication are visible to them.

2. What other tangible and intangible benefits, beyond those identified by Lufthansa, might a mobile workforce enjoy as a result of deploying mobile technologies? Explain.

Answer

Tangible benefits can include issueing a laptop for thier employeers to do thier work at home and anywhere. It also benefits for the company in such of financial, no more need to pay training facilities, paper copies of training manuals, travel and teachers. Intangible benefits include the less of time working at the office andit can make for the user feel more comfortable making thier work anywhere they like.

3. Lufthansa was clearly taking a big risk with their decision to deploy notebook computers to their pilots. What steps did they take to manage that risk and what others might be needed in today’s business environment? Provide some examples.

Answer

The company should provide security network for thier own security. and they should decide who are the employees that aure very needed to deploy notebook computer to thier pilots.

Case Study

1. Could the 2004 Athens Olympics have been a success without all of the networks and backup technologies?

For me without all of the networks and backup technologies the 2004 Athens Olympics have been not successful because there are so many events that are played. For the use of the said technologies it can make their works easy and sufficient in term of recording all the data they want to record. Without this technology it can make their communication harder.

2. The 2004 Olympics is a global business. Can a business today succeed without information technology? Why or why not?

For me it will not succeed without the information technology. Because information technology can help them in their needs. In term of any information they want to know. Information technology can provide that. In terms of different strategies in a business that can make their business succeed. Information technology can provide that. In terms of any itecnologythat they can use for their business. Information technology can provide that.

3. Claude Philipps said dealing with “crazy scenarios of what might happen in every area: a network problem, staff stopped in a traffic jam, a security attack . . . everything that might happen,” was the reason for so much testing. Can you think of other businesses that would require “crazy scenario” testing? Explain.

The Automated Election Voting System is example of a crazy scenario testing. Because of many transaction and done by only one vote of a person. It begins in local such as baranggay or municipality. Then to provincial then to the higher or tha national. This scenario is very very crazy. Storing the data is also difficult to solve. It would be one server or evry counting machine have their own servere. For the Phillippines today that is the major probles that as of now they cannot solve.