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Individual Case Study: Autosystems Arturo Chavez Villeda Walden University

Global Business in the 21st Century Professor Roman Dzuba 10/13/13

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Individual Case Study: Autosystems

When it comes to the production process, making the best decisions is fundamental to every business. When we talk about production, we must always think about optimization; and, when we talk about decision making, information is vital. In this case study analysis we see how the company, Autosystems, had to make a decision on improving its production system in order to meet both its demand and product line by implementing new software. However, making this type of decision is not an easy one, after all a wrong decision could cost millions of dollars in production, as well as lose its business partners and market share. Nonetheless; after reviewing the companys history, analyzing its current business operations, evaluating its future prospects and how the new software will meet those requirements, one can begin to acknowledge the benefits of incorporating the new software. The company Autosystems is an automotive lightning designer and manufacturer. Its operation is handled by three production plants, and it provides its products to many automotive companies like Ford, GM, Harley-Davidson, Mack Truck among others. And over the years it has continued to increase its business partners, but above that it has also decided to expand its production capabilities by stop being a manufacturer only and entering the designing field as well. This increase in work load from both its clients and production processes forced Autosystems to make a decision regarding its operating conditions. From the beginning, Autosystems was still conducting operations while using paper work. This, in itself, creates a problem for a company, especially if it is in a growing phase; after all, it will lead to delays in information gathering and slow communication within a production plant and among them, which leads to a lack in efficiency, which translates to a waste in resources. So, in order for Autosystems to reach its goal of growth in market share it needed to change the way it was conducting its operation process.

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The answer that Autosystems came to was the implementation of a new software program that would allow fast input capabilities, as well as an easy to understand output. Autosystems already counted with TRANS4M, a manufacturing planning and control software, but it was not used for floor production purposes. So the questions in this case were whether information could be placed in the software on time? If it was worth implementing it to the personnel? And better yet did it have low risks to it? As we know, it is important for information to be shared in a fast and timely manner, but it must be user friendly, otherwise it will back fire and cause the opposite results from what is expected. What Autosystems did in this case was the use of ActivEntry. This application software allows for end user, in this case both floor employees and managers, to input information about the current production status, and it discloses the output in an easy to understand manner. Thus, ActivEntry brought many benefits to the business, among them are: efficiency, ease of decision making, and innovation. The first of these is the most important since efficiency brought the initial solution to Autosystems dilemma. As stated earlier, the use of paperwork can lead to a lack of efficiency since information is not provided in a timely manner. With the use of ActivEntry it allowed for information to be provided about the production flow. Now the results of the production process can be seen almost immediately, and in turn it allowed for a better control to avoid labor and scrap problems, so now the resources can be employed in a more efficient manner and avoid waste in costs. The second benefit, ease of decision making, comes in par with efficiency. We have already stated that in order to make the best decisions managers need to be well informed. With the output provided by the ActivEntry and the TRANS4M software applications, managers can analyze the results and see where there is a problem and properly identify it in the value chain process. By enabling supervisors with the right information a better decision can be made about whether to implement a change in production or not. The third benefit, which tends to be overlooked, is innovation. Innovation can come from high management or from the production floor. As it was stated in the reading, now that employees are able to see the results of their work, they can think of

MD5AssgnChavezA ways that can help in the production process. This innovation ultimately leads to an increase in productivity and efficiency if employed in the proper way. Now that we have seen how the company used to be and how it currently is meeting with

production goals, it is time to look and prepare for what is to come ahead. Autosystems is on a growing phase and it was able to deal with the current problem of improving its production capabilities; however, the increases in work load and demand are still on the rise. To continue improving its production system, Autosystems is working on increasing the number of PCs in its floor production, as well as adding scanners and barcode printers. By increasing its PC number it will be able to provide the information trough out all of its plants, and with the use of scanners and barcode printers it will allow for data to be inputted in ActivEntry trough better ways. But personally I do not think that is enough. What Autosystems should also consider is the implementation of a mainframe computer system as well as extranets. Autosystems has a large number of business partners in the automotive industry, all of which will have many different types of order requests. Due to the high number of orders and resources that will be dealt with, it is optimal to consider the mainframe computer system as part of the production process. The second suggestion, extranets, is also a must on this type of industry. It is not enough to have an intranet that provides information about the production of all three production plants, it is equally important to have a connection with its suppliers and business clients. By being connected with its clients Autosystems will know of any changes in order requests in time to make the changes in the production process, and it will be able to provide that information to its suppliers so that the resources are available when needed. So with a computer system that will be able to store and process the high volume of data, as well as an extranet that will provide the information to all the parties involved in the production process, Autosystems will be able to further improve its future goals.

MD5AssgnChavezA In every business it is crucial to make well informed decisions, especially when we are dealing

with the production system, whether it is for a product or service. Information systems can thus help us in those cases involving reengineering. But in order to make better use of the information systems one must be able to analyze the company from its past, present and future in order to make the best decisions regarding the use of information systems.

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References Case Study. Autosystems: The Business Value of a Successful IT System for a Small Manufacturer. Introduction to Information Systems 15th Edition. McGraw Hill. Page 26