ITM ASSIGNMENT

INTRODUCTION:
With the advent of information technology the life of common man has simplified to a greater extent. Simplification is the key word for the recent times. Earlier manual approaches to various tasks were very tedious and time consuming. Too much of mental and physical labor made the job very cumbersome. Manual efforts to do a job took long hours but with the flourishing information technology the same could be done within few minutes. This new technology came to the rescue of certain employees as it reduced the effort by greater magnitude and like curse for some others who lost their jobs to IT. The impact of IT on the business is remarkable. Technology is one of the most valuable resources of the companies now-a-days. Its implication in the business scenario is inevitable for success. Information technology helps the organization to get an edge over its competitors. IT helps the organization to know about the initiation, processing and implementation of their business solutions. The importance of aligning IT with the business processes is compounded by the trend to centralize resources, information system and integration points. Effective IT solutions can either be invented indigenously within the organization or procured from any software solution provider. When the organization is small and wants to implement an information system or any process automation, it is beneficial to procure it from any outside supplier. When the organization is operating on a large scale they can opt for either developing a solution internally or procuring it from outsider depending upon the cost implication. The IT system must be implemented at the root levels of the organization. All the employees concerned must be properly trained for better results. Computers have made our life simpler and easy. We can take the benefit of automated systems in our daily life to solve the real life problems. In our institute there are a few tasks which can be automated to make it simpler. Some tasks are

very time consuming and needs automation. One such case where the job is done manually and consumes a lot of time is in our canteen. The inventory in the canteen is maintained manually which seems to be very tedious. There is a scope to automate the process of inventory management. With the automation of the process we can optimize the performance and minimize the error. In the manual process there is scope of error, but in a computerized process error is minimized. We can apply some computer programs to develop software for solving the problem faced during manual processing.

OBJECTIVE:
To minimize the error in manual processing. To effectively manage the inventory of the canteen. Keep a check on the shortage of the inventory. Check for the cost and profit of the inventory. Create a database for the effective management of the inventory. Maintain the purchase orders and the cost accurately. Generate customized reports.

Management inventory can translate into good customer service. When the inventory is sufficient to meet the customer demands then there is a positive customer feedback. Business may face severe problems if they fall short of inventory and unable to meet the demand. In the canteen of our institute the inventory management is done manually and one can observe the slacks in the process. There is always a shortage of goods in the canteen. Automating this process will help the college administration to maintain hassle free inventory management. We can prepare a customized database using MS-Access or MS-Excel. The advantage of developing a customized database is that we can prepare fields and reports specific to our requirements. Automated process will remove the error and also reduce the time taken to manage all the records.

We can keep a track on our suppliers with the help of this process. The lead time can be kept under proper check with the help of proper inventory management system. The inventory inflow and outflow can be maintained properly. It will be easy to place order prior the inventory goes down the buffer stock level. Buffer stock is the minimum amount of inventory kept in reserve in order to avoid the extreme situation of stoppage of business activity in absence of stock. Inventory should not be overstocked as well. If there is extra inventory stocked, then the organization suffers from the problem of capital blockage in that extra inventory. Overstocking can also lead to loss if the goods are of perishable nature and not consumed in time. Overstocking as well as under-stocking can lead to business loss in some way or the other. The main objective is to maintain the inventory at the optimal level. Our inventory management software will enable us to achieve this target.

METHODOLOGY:
Inventory management must be designed to meet the requirements of the market i.e. demand and supply of goods and support the companys strategic plan. Inventory management provides accurate information regarding inventory flow, coordinate internal activities and serve well to the customers. Inventory must be maintained at the optimum level to meet the fluctuations in demand and lead time. We can create a database using MS-Access. We can use MS-Excel to create the inventory list along with its price and quantity. The database designed must provide the answer to certain questions, like: 1. 2. 3. 4. The purpose of the database and its users. Fields and tables of the database. Query and report generation. Form creation.

Creation of the database:

A database is an important tool for effective management of large data set. Database is a collection of tabulated data. A table is a matrix of columns and rows. The vertical columns are the field and data are entered under those fields in the horizontal rows. We can create a database using excel worksheet or the access tools. For the inventory management of canteen I have prepared a database of the edible finished goods available in the canteen which contains various fields. The database contains information regarding items available, their quantity stocked for a particular time period, the respective prices, the buffer stock level, lead time for inventory purchase and current stock level. Based on the comparison of the current stock with the buffer stock the database generates the order to purchase that particular inventory. If the current stock falls short of the buffer level the system reminds the user to get additional inventory stocked within the lead time. The database also maintains the record of the quantity of goods and their price per unit. This data is further used for calculating the total value of inventory in the canteen. The database will also maintain record of the transactions in the canteen. A separate table can contain all the records of purchases from the canteen during the days and then be consolidated to get a monthly report. We can calculate the amount received and dues from the customers with the use of pivot table. The database can be used for the valuation of inventory. The two methods of inventory valuation are LIFO (last in first out) and FIFO (first in first out). As the operation of the canteen is not on such a large scale we need not complex the database for such valuation of inventory. The basic purpose of this database is to keep a check on the inventory count and maintain daily transactions. This database will help the user to know when the inventory is falling short of the buffer level (minimum stock that must be maintained throughout the business operation) and a purchase order must be placed or fresh stock must be called for.

Maintaining daily transaction record:

We can use MS-Excel to maintain daily transaction records and get some valuable information from it. The daily transaction record can help the user to keep a record of the consumed inventory and subsequently the remaining stock. We can analyze the consumption pattern and forecast the demand to a certain extent. The data from this system will enable the user to maintain the accounts as well. There may be some cases where the amount is due and must be recovered later; in those cases the system will keep a balance of those dues accurately and timely. We can use the SUMIF function of excel to know the dues amount and the received amount. An example is shown in the excel worksheet. This daily transaction record sheet will give the quantity sold during the day. This information will be very valuable for checking the current level of inventory. The daily record can be consolidated weekly or fortnightly to compare it with the required stock level. Matching the consumed stock with the left over stock is necessary for the smooth operation of the canteen. It is a regular process. It needs to be maintained and updated timely. We can check for each item the quantity consumed during the day. The consumed quantity can be subtracted from the inventory to get the current level of inventory. This information can be readily entered into our database where it is to be compared with the buffer level. If the current stock is above the buffer level then its ok but if the current level is below the buffer level then the system reminds the user to get fresh stock.

TESTING & FINDINGS:

The database and the worksheet can be tested on a small scale. The database will keep record of all the inventory excel worksheet database