Assignment of MIS & DSS

STUDY OF MIS AT EASYDAY RETAIL STORE, PATIALA

Submitted to: Er. Sahil Raj Associate Professor

Submitted by: Shivali Gupta MBA-1(D) Roll no. 5744

Introduction to MIS A management information system (MIS) is a subset of the overall internal controls of a business covering the application of people, documents, technologies, and procedures by management accountants to solve business problems such as costing a product, service or a business-wide strategy. Management information systems are distinct from regular information systems in that they are used to analyze other information systems applied in operational activities in the organization. Academically, the term is commonly used to refer to the group of information management methods tied to the automation or support of human decision making, e.g. Decision Support Systems, Expert systems, and Executive information systems. It has been described as, "MIS 'lives' in the space that intersects technology and business. MIS combines tech with business to get people the information they need to do their jobs better/faster/smarter. Information is the lifeblood of all organizations - now more than ever. MIS professionals work as systems analysts, project managers, systems administrators, etc., communicating directly with staff and management across the organization." Definition: Management Information Systems (MIS) is the term given to the discipline focused on the integration of computer systems with the aims and objectives on an organisation. The development and management of information technology tools assists executives and the general workforce in performing any tasks related to the processing of information. MIS and business systems are especially useful in the collation of business data and the production of reports to be used as tools for decision making. Applications of MIS With computers being as ubiquitous as they are today, there's hardly any large business that does not rely extensively on their IT systems.

However, there are several specific fields in which MIS has become invaluable.

Strategy Support

While computers cannot create business strategies by themselves they can assist management in understanding the effects of their strategies, and help enable effective decision-making. MIS systems can be used to transform data into information useful for decision making. Computers can provide financial statements and performance reports to assist in the planning, monitoring and implementation of strategy. MIS systems provide a valuable function in that they can collate into coherent reports unmanageable volumes of data that would otherwise be broadly useless to decision makers. By studying these reports decision-makers can identify patterns and trends that would have remained unseen if the raw data were consulted manually. MIS systems can also use these raw data to run simulations hypothetical scenarios that answer a range of what if questions regarding alterations in strategy. For instance, MIS systems can provide predictions about the effect on sales that an alteration in price would have on a product. These Decision Support Systems (DSS) enable more informed decision making within an enterprise than would be possible without MIS systems.

Data Processing

Not only do MIS systems allow for the collation of vast amounts of business data, but they also provide a valuable time saving benefit to the workforce. Where in the past business information had to be manually processed for filing and analysis it can now be entered quickly and easily onto a computer by a data processor, allowing for faster decision making and quicker reflexes for the enterprise as a whole. Management by Objectives While MIS systems are extremely useful in generating statistical reports and data analysis they can also be of use as a Management by Objectives (MBO) tool.

MBO is a management process by which managers and subordinates agree upon a series of objectives for the subordinate to attempt to achieve within a set time frame. Objectives are set using the SMART ratio: that is, objectives should be Specific, Measurable, Agreed, Realistic and Time-Specific. The aim of these objectives is to provide a set of key performance indicators by which an enterprise can judge the performance of an employee or project. The success of any MBO objective depends upon the continuous tracking of progress. In tracking this performance it can be extremely useful to make use of an MIS system. Since all SMART objectives are by definition measurable they can be tracked through the generation of management reports to be analysed by decision-makers.

Benefits of MIS The field of MIS can deliver a great many benefits to enterprises in every industry. Expert organisations such as the Institute of MIS along with peer reviewed journals such as MIS Quarterly continue to find and report new ways to use MIS to achieve business objectives. Core Competencies Every market leading enterprise will have at least one core competency that is, a function they perform better than their competition. By building an exceptional management information system into the enterprise it is possible to push out ahead of the competition. MIS systems provide the tools necessary to gain a better understanding of the market as well as a better understanding of the enterprise itself. Enhance Supply Chain Management Improved reporting of business processes leads inevitably to a more streamlined production process. With better information on the production process comes the ability to improve the management of the supply chain, including everything from the sourcing of materials to the manufacturing and distribution of the finished product.

Introduction to the Company

Bharti Retail, a subsidiary of Sunil Mittal-promoted Bharti Enterprises, launched its operations by opening first store in Ludhiana, Punjab. The stores, known as 'Easy Day', are a one-stop shop to cater to every family's day-to-day needs, which according to the officials would bring together a relevant and wide product range, good quality products and great-in-experience and service-all under one roof. The stores sell personal care products, stationary, household articles, hosiery items, dailyneed groceries like staples, processed foods, bakery and diary products, meat and poultry, and fresh produce. The company had earlier announced an investment of up to 2.5 billion dollars (Rs 10,000 crore) by 2015 in retail operations including multi-format retail outlets across all cities in India that have population of over one million. Announcing the road map for its retail ventures in 2007, Rajan Mittal, Joint Managing Director of Bharti Enterprises, had said that Bharti was looking at approximately 10 million square feet of retail experience throughout the country and employing about 60,000 people.

Review of Stores Each store is about 2,500 to 4,500 sft in size and is projected as one stop shop for day-today family requirements such as groceries, personal care and household products. The company is planning to setup these stores on PAN India basis. Product Range in Easy Day stores:

Bakery products Food and Beverages Home & Personal Care Dairy Products Frozen - Vegetarian, Non-Vegetarian[Meat] and Chilled Non-Vegetarian Grains & Pulses Meat and Poultry Items

All the three stores are single floor stores with cash counter and bakery section at the entrance. Each category of the product was marked separately. Products were effectively displayed with price tags. In Easy Day stores we found that Home & Personal Care [Toothpaste, Soap, etc] and Food & Beverages [Pepsi, Fruit Juice, and Cereals] are sold at a discount from 1% to 5% only.

Great Value Private Label Brand: The company has introduced its own private label under the brand name Great Value. Most items are in the grains and pulses categories. With increasing number of retailers, discount is what most consumers look for. Each store has 12-15 employees including a store manager without any gender of age bias.

Policy of the Company The policy of bharti retail is to provide an unparalleled retail experience to the customers while offering them lowest price across a wide range of quality products.

Vision Enable India Live Better

Easyday at Patiala Bharti Retail, launched its third compact-hypermarket store Easyday Market in Patiala. Located at Omaxe Mall, Opposite Kali Devi Mandir, Patiala, the new store offers customers a great shopping experience, high in-stock levels and a wide range of quality products at the best prices under one roof. The Easyday Market in Patiala is a 30,000 sq. ft. store offering over 16,000 quality products, including trendy fashion wear such as George (international brand) and Astitva (Indian Ethnic Wear), home ware, a range of electronics & electrical appliances, mobile phones, toys, bakery products, food & grocery and fresh fruits & vegetables. Other categories include health & beauty products, basic home furnishings, food & grocery, hygienic meat and fish & chicken all at unbelievably low prices. Easyday Market has provided quality employment opportunities to the people of Patiala that include housewives, differently-abled people, meat cutters, fruits and vegetable sellers, school and college dropouts.

MIS at EASYDAY, PATIALA MIS used: SMART The company has been using the same software since the setup of its stores. According to the Store Managers of Easyday, SMART is very effective, easy to use, reliable and convenient software. Lets study the MIS with example of the inventory management of the stores. The distribution centre of the Easyday store, patiala is situated at Banur. The orders placed by the store directly reach to the distribution centre at Banur through the MIS i.e. SMART. There are two methods of placing order: 1. Manual 2. Automated Manual: The order can be placed manually by entering the required number of items in the system, whenever it is required. Usually the whole processing i.e. from placing order to receiving of the delivery of ordered goods takes 3 days. So, the order is placed 3 days prior to the expected depletion of the stock of that particular item. Automatic: During the regular course of sales at the store, the MIS automatically generates the average sales of a particular item and also it sends the requisition to the distribution centre i.e. Banur so that, the store doesnt run out of stock of a particular item. When the stock is received, the entry is made into the system and the inventory gets updated. At the time of sale of a commodity, the employee at the payment counters scans the barcode of the commodity by the barcode reader. By scanning the code, all the information of the product is transferred into the connected computer from which the employee generates the bills and hands it over to the customer. When a sales entry is

made, the system automatically reduces the number of items from the inventory. Hence leading to the depletion of stock which will further intimate the MIS and the MIS will automatically send the order to the distribution centre as per the requirement. So, the MIS i.e. SMART automatically does the whole work and makes the whole process, very easy, reliable and time saving.

Person contacted: Designation: Date of Visit:

Mr. Robin Departmental Manager 21st March, 2010