USING MIS IN SOLVING THE

MAINTENANCE PROBLEM IN COCHIN

GLASS HOUSE (A KIRANA STORE)
FINAL PROJECT REPORT

ABSTRACT

Most Kirana shops face one major issue-maintenance of records. This

is a huge barrier and while Many maintain it handwritten, some have
done a little better and have gone on to implement excel which is still
only a minor consolation. Excel still isn’t foolproof. It becomes a bit
difficult in the face of more and more product availability. A better/easy
to use solution can help retailers to help them keep a better track of
inventories and help in the identification of losses in the face of
impending disaster. If a better solution is implemented it would make
the job of data retrieval easier and considerable amount of time will be
saved. Better quality and efficiency will be implemented through shop
wide instant messages. All these can be achieved through the
implementation of a proper MIS system presented in this paper.

GROUP 11
Aviral Ramesh MBA19015
Gaurav Gopal MBA19025
Karlin Viju MBA19032
Mukhil Vanna Srinivasan.B MBA19042
Nabil Usman MBA19043
Utpal Ravi MBA19077
Table of Contents

1) Introduction 02
2) Background 03
3) Scope of project 04
4) Application of MIS 05
5) Evaluation 08
6) Conclusion 09
7) References 09

List of Figures

1) Graph of India’s Retail Trade Sector (Fig 1.1) 03

2) Scorecard for evaluation (Fig 4.1) 07
3) ER Diagram(Fig 4.2) 08

1|Page
1. Introduction
The MIS represents the electronic automation of several different kinds of counting, tallying,
record-keeping, and accounting techniques of which the by far oldest, of course, was the ledger
on which the business owner kept track of his or her business. Within companies’ major
functional areas developed their own MIS capabilities; often these were not yet connected:
engineering, manufacturing, and inventory systems developed side by side sometimes running
on specialized hardware.

If MIS is defined as a computer-based coherent arrangement of information aiding the

management function, a small business running even a single computer appropriately equipped
and connected is operating a management information system. A medical practice with a single
doctor running software for billing customers, scheduling appointments, connected by the
Internet to a network of insurance companies, cross-linked to accounting software capable of
cutting checks is de facto an MIS.

But while virtually every company now uses computers, not all have as yet undertaken the kind
of integration described above. The motivation for organizing information better usually comes
from disorder-; ordering again what has already been ordered, and sitting in boxes somewhere,
because the company controls its inventory poorly. Motivation may arise also from hearing
about others who are exploiting some resource, like a customer list, while the owner's own list
is in sixteen pieces all over the place.

Retailing in India is predominantly unorganized. According to a survey by AT Kearney, an

overwhelming proportion of the Rs. 400,000 crore retail markets are unorganized in India. In
fact, only a Rs. 20,000 crore segments of the market are organized. The sector is highly
fragmented with 97% of its business being run by the unorganized retailers like the traditional
family run stores and corner stores. The sector is the largest source of employment after
agriculture, and has deep penetration into rural India generating more than 10% of India’s GDP.
Indian retail is dominated by a large number of unorganized retailers consisting of the local
kirana stores, hardware store, chemists, apparel and footwear, paan and beedi etc.

2|Page
Figure 1.1 Graph of India’s Retail Trade Sector

The organisation we choose is Cochin Glass House and Sanitary based in Kerala and was
established in the year 2007. It is comprised of two divisions, one focusing on sanitary and
hardware items and the other deals with items like glass, latches and plywood. The organisation
sells goods on retail through shops. They found it very difficult to adjust to the organisation’s
work ass there was no proper structure or system in place. Even though the organisation has
been in existence for the past 12 years, it still did not have a system for billing or tracking the
inventory. There were different items of the same category and brands. Also, there were similar
items of different categories with minute differences. The organization was still following
manual billing and keeping of inventories. These issues can be solved by the creation of a
proper information system that can help them to identify and manage proper shelf space along
with inventories as well as maintaining the workforce and tracking their sales record and thus
helping the organization streamline the overall operations and finances.

2. Background

Organisational Description and basic problem:

Cochin Glass House and Sanitaries is a sole proprietorship business based in Kerala. The
business is owned by Mr. T.K Usman. The organisation was established in 2007. The
organisation has two divisions, one focussing on sanitary items and other division focussing
on hardware items. The organisation has two retail stores each having two divisions. Their
main business involves selling hardware items on retail. The organisation has been working for

3|Page
the past 13 years and is the leading retail outlet in the district. The firm has 7 employees in each
stores across divisions. At present, there is no information system that can contribute to the
effective functioning of the organization. Everyday information about the supply and
distribution are manually recorded in a notebook or an excel sheet and the financial records are
maintained in the account books manually by an accountant. This process involves high risk of
error and losing the data. Moreover, the geographical location of the shop is highly prone to
natural calamities like heavy floods and torrential rains. Also, the owner of the shop finds it
very difficult to retrieve the past data whenever needed. The organization recently employed
two new employees. They found it very difficult to adjust to the organization’s work as there
was no proper structure or system in place. Even though the organization has been in existence
for the past 12 years, it still did not have a system for billing or tracking the inventory. There
were different items of the same category and brands. Also, there were similar items of different
categories with only minute differences. The organization was still following manual billing
and manual record of inventory. It became really difficult to identify

the shelf space of different categories of products and the price and margin of each product
because of these issues. There were also commission agents employed by the organization. It
was becoming difficult to calculate and identify the sales of those agents because of the
expansion phase of the organization. The organization is using excel software to track the
inventory at present. But it has become complex because of more products and has become
difficult to handle .These issues can be solved by the creation and development of a proper
information system that can be used to give meanings to the data.

3. Scope of Project:
The organisation does not have a proper database management system to carry data and store
information. The complex nature of the data that is derived every day from the organisation
cannot be handled by the excel sheets. With the database management system, a proper
enterprise resource planning system can also be established in the organisation considering the
size and scale of its operations.
Scope
While the problem may seem minor on the surface, it is something that most large scale retailers
face in their day to day operations. An easy to use/adapt solution can give way for retailers to
keep a better track of their inventory and operations and can help in easy identification of losses
in case of impairment or disaster. Incorporating IT infrastructure to resolve such problems can

4|Page
provide leeway to better control/monitor their business. It can also help in keeping track of
operations in case the organisation is branching out to new areas. Regular mirroring of data
online will also reduce the risk of hardware failure, in case it happens. The platform, if
organised can help so many in refining their operations. The system is cost effective and it will
improve the profitability of organisations.
Importance of implementing information systems in the organization:
There is high probability of the nearby competitors entering into their market space and
implement the information systems which will lead to the declining of their customer base
which will give rise to competitive edge and first mover advantage to them. So, it is highly
recommended to implement the Information systems into their current operating procedure at
an earlier phase. The job of the accountant is extremely difficult and complex due to manual
entries of everyday accounts and to sort out them this also increases the rate of manual error in
the process. This consumes lot of time and in turn reduces the organizational efficiency.
The introduction of Information systems will be helpful in scaling up the organization with the
existing number of employees in the system. The storage and pickup of any products from their
the designated shelves becomes very easy and simple if the information are stored in an
information system. The introduction of Information systems will reduce and save considerable
amount of time spend to store the information manually. Also, this will enable for the
availability of information open 24×7. The introduction of Information systems will enable
easier communication in the organization through instant messaging emails etc. This also
promotes more efficient operations to decision makers.

4.Application of MIS:
Data management system helps any organization attain greater business agility from existing
IT investments. Small business units have lots of scope to introduce information system which
can considerably boost up business operations. There are several forces that are revolutionizing
the landscape: the explosion of data and connected devices, software defined infrastructure,
cloud enabled as-a-service and experience, and outcome-driven digital platforms. The first step
that can be taken towards the improvement of operations is the introduction of ER diagram. By
introducing this, all the products of the company can be streamlined, and the selling can be
made easy. It will also reduce the labour cost as it reduces the manual labour. There are lots of
applications of in formations system that have lots of scope of implementation in bigger
organizations. Considering the organization size and structure, we have made an ER diagram
which can be programmed into the computers of the organization and can be run. Along with
5|Page
this, we have introduced the door delivery system which we have already included into the ER
diagram.

• It can effectively reduce the labour hours.

• We can store every data into a single system which can be used at anytime
• Number of orders, and sale volume can be easily calculated.
• The inventory can be efficiently managed
• It can be used to prepare P&L statements and other financial ratios to maintain financial
accountings
• Stronger connection with customers and suppliers
• Enhanced business decision making
• Greater employee productivity

From the IT point of view, ER based data Management system simplifies management of
distributed resources across multiple platforms, requires less hardware, is more reliable, is
standard based, and is less costly.

From the business point of view the ER based data management system enables development
of new generation of dynamic applications addressing a number of top-level business concerns
that are central to growth and competitiveness.

ER based data management system promotes Stronger connection with customers and
suppliers, enhanced business decision making and greater employee productivity

6|Page
 Custom E- Streamlin Effect
Weightage er self procuremen CRM e design ERP ive
service t system data
portal centre
Ability to succeed
Time 10% 70 90 50 90 30 20
cost(ROI) 40% 70 90 30 90 30 40
Difficulty of 10% 60 80 100 80 30 60
implementation
Effectiveness 40% 40 80 90 90 100 100
57 85 63 89 58 64

Value to Business
Incremental Profit 20% 80 90 90 70 40 30
Cost Reduction 25% 80 90 80 60 70 40
Efficiency 35% 70 70 70 80 60 70
Improvement
Competitive 20% 60 60 60 60 80 40
Advantage
72.5 77 74.5 69 62.5 48.5
Figure 4.1 Scorecard for evaluation

Here are six parameters based on which we have evaluated the ER program that is proposed.

7|Page
Figure:4.2 ER Diagram

5.Evaluation:
Implementation of an IT driven application to refine existing practices in small to medium
businesses is not a novel idea but it surely is one that can really help boost productivity and
help in increasing efficiency. The proposed solution seems to be lucrative and will help
enterprises solve a lot of operations related problems but introducing an IT solution can come
with some drawbacks as well which are mentioned below-

• Over-reliance on these systems can leave businesses vulnerable and a minor

discrepancy in these systems can cause huge losses.
• Looking at the current infrastructure and practices followed by similar organisations, it
will be hard for people to adapt to these systems into their business model.

8|Page
 • Maintaining such IT driven applications and systems will incur cost.
• Employees will have to be trained to use these systems.

After successful implementation of such systems the business will be open to future expansions
and can help the organisation grow a lot. Incorporating such systems will open new doors and
opportunities for the organisation which can be exploited to gain market share and will help in
business expansion. The prospects of such IT systems are huge and can provide small
businesses with huge opportunities.

• Expansion of system to accommodate more suppliers for business can help the
enterprise grow further.
• Onboarding customers onto a similar platform to help communicate better can boost
customer relations and extend loyalty.

Although the proposed solution is far from perfect, it looks to be implementable enough to
yield positive results. Though it comes with a fair bit of complexities, introducing such
measures in small enterprises can transform the way business is conducted and can lead to new
opportunities for growth.

7. Conclusion

Any organization can grow only if they are able to cope with the current technological
innovations and incorporating them into their business. A little slowdown or a little ignoration
in effectively implementing information system can hamper the entire organization and
eventually can pull down the organization. Early adoption of inventions in information system
will give the organization the first mover advantage and the organization can easily standout
well from their competitors.

8. References

• Management Information Systems (MIS) Encyclopaedia,www.inc.com encyclopaedia.

• An overview of unorganized retail sector in ,www.elkjournals.com.

9|Page