Analyzing UMC: Business Processes, Tech, and Info Systems Impact

This document provides a solution to the United Milk Commodities (UMC) case study, focusing on the impact of business processes, complementary technologies, and information systems on the organization. It includes an analysis of sales statistics using Excel, the creation of business process models depicting 'to-be' processes, and answers to general questions regarding UMC's transition towards a more technologically driven business environment. The report covers the role of business process modeling, the importance of information and information technology, the development of a mobile application for UMC, the differences between web analytics, social network analytics, and customer relationship management, and privacy laws and cybersecurity measures. The analysis aims to provide UMC's general manager with a clearer understanding of the proposed changes and how they can provide a competitive advantage.

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United Milk Commodities
Case Study Scenario
1/24/2019

United Milk Commodities (UMC)
Table of Contents
Executive Summary...............................................................................................................................2
Introduction...........................................................................................................................................3
Task C...................................................................................................................................................3
Role of Business Process Modelling & Benefits of AS-IS and A-to-B model for General Manager. 3
Importance of Information & Use of Information Technology..........................................................4
Mobile Application for UMC............................................................................................................5
Difference between Web Analytics, Social Network Analytics, and Customer Relationship
Management......................................................................................................................................6
Privacy Laws & Cyber Security Measures........................................................................................7
Conclusion.............................................................................................................................................8
References.............................................................................................................................................9
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United Milk Commodities (UMC)
Executive Summary
UMC is a business organization that started itself as a milk processor for the local dairy
firms. The company has now expanded itself and has entered the local markets and also
exports the products. The primary types of operations that are followed in the organization at
the moment are manual in nature. The company has decided to develop and implement the
automated information system to modify its business operations and processes. The report
covers the details of the system, business process modelling, use of technology, and the
information security policies that shall be followed.
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United Milk Commodities (UMC)
Introduction
United Milk Commodities (UMC) is an organization that was founded in the year 1963 in
Berwick, Victoria. The company started as a milk processor for the local dairy farms. It has
now established itself as a multi-million dollar organization that has now penetrated the local
markets. There is a wide range of milk products and specialized milk products provided by
the organization. The primary natures of operations that are carried out in the organization are
manual processes. This has resulted in a number of loopholes for the business firm that need
to be filled. An automated information system for handling the business orders to assist the
drivers in navigating the routes will be developed for the organization.
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United Milk Commodities (UMC)
Task B
To-Be model
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United Milk Commodities (UMC)
Task C
Role of Business Process Modelling & Benefits of AS-IS and A-to-B model for General
Manager
There are a number of benefits that Business Process Modelling can provide to the
organization such as UMC. The development of a new system for the organization will bring
in a lot many changes in terms of the business operations and strategies. The employees of
any organization are resistant to the changes unless the advantages of the proposed changes
are made clear to them. The case will be the same with UMC and Business Process
Modelling will allow the organization to explain its employees the benefits that will be
provided by the automated system. The communication of the changes along with the
maintenance of agility of the operations will be the prime benefit that will be achieved from
the project. There are a lot many modules that are present in the information system being
developed for UMC. For instance, ordering department will be concerned with the stock
management and order processing system, driver will be concerned with the navigation
module, and likewise (Damij, 2007). The Business Process Models will provide an adequate
project control and project consistency that will allow the business processes to improve and
the expected outcomes will be achieved by the organization. The wastage will be avoided
with the involvement of the Business Process Models which will lead to better operational
efficiency. UMC is a multi-million dollar business firm; however, there is a lot of
competition in the industry. The use of Business Process Modelling will allow the
information system to be developed as per the specifications that will allow the organization
to have a competitive edge in the market.
There are also benefits of AS-IS and A-to-B models for the organizations and for the General
Managers. The primary responsibility of the General Manager is to make sure that project
success is achieved and there is value provided by the project to the organization and the
project stakeholders. The difference between the current system and the proposed system can
be understood by the General Manager with the aid of these models. It is because these
represent the business flow and the project flow in a graphical manner and the use of
common terms is done to make sure that there are no ambiguities. The tracking of the project,
project control, and the maintenance of consistency will also be made easier by the General
Manager as the non-technical specifications will also be made clear through the inclusion of
these models in the project.
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United Milk Commodities (UMC)
Importance of Information & Use of Information Technology
UMC is an organization that deals in a wide range of products and specialized products. The
company has a huge customer base in the market and it is essential that the demands and
expectations of the customers are fulfilled. There is a lot of competition in the market and it is
essential for UMC to recognize the patterns associated with customer choices and
preferences. The role of information is extremely significant for an organization, such as
UMC to maintain and enhance its customer base and market shares. The details of the
customer purchase history, order placement, etc. can be used by the organization to analyse
the data and find out the patterns associated with the customer choices. For example, the
demand of a specific product by a specific group of customers in a particular region can be
identified using information analytics. Similarly, there may be products that may not be
performing well and may be discontinued as per the analysis results (Power et al., 2018).
The use of information and information technology can therefore be used to retain the
existing customers and attract new customers. The organization can gather the market data
and analyse the same to understand the strategies being followed by its competitors in terms
of the marketing strategy, pricing strategy, etc. The company can then carry out its marketing
processes, customer relationship development processes, etc. on the basis of this information.
It can also develop promotion and advertising policies as per the use of automated data and
business analytical tools.
There are mechanisms that may be used to modernise UMC and its business operations with
the aid of technology. Cloud computing applications and services can be incorporated in the
business architecture and may be used in the areas of data storage, handling, and
management. It will make sure that the resources are utilized in an optimum manner and the
data handling processes are also improved. There will also be avoidance of issues, such as
data loss and duplication with the incorporation of cloud services and cloud databases. The
use of advanced networking and communication will allow the organization to maintain real-
time networking profile which will lead to enhancement of stakeholder and customer
engagement with the organization. There is also improvement in information security and
privacy that may be done with the use of advanced network security tools and cloud
databases.
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United Milk Commodities (UMC)
Mobile Application for UMC
It will be required by UMC to develop a mobile application for its automated ordering
system. It is because the users in the present times prefer mobile applications over the
desktop applications and services.
There are primarily two types of mobile apps that may be developed. The first category is the
native apps which are the applications that are developed for a particular type of mobile
device or operating system. These are the apps that can be downloaded from the specific
marketplace of the operating system. Web apps, on the other hand, are the mobile
applications that are Internet-enabled applications and require a mobile device browser to be
accessed. For instance, the use of Google Chrome or Safari browser may be done to access
these apps.
The mobile application that is recommended for UMC is the mobile web apps due to the
advantages that it comes with. In terms of the costs, native apps cost higher than web apps as
they need a dedicated platform for development and deployment. Web apps on the other hand
have the lower costs and can be used across multiple platforms. Native apps are compatible
with only one type of operating system and do not follow the develop-once-use-multiple-
times formula. It is because these apps are developed for a specific environment only. The
apps that are developed for Android platform will not work for iOS platforms and vice versa.
Such is not the case with the mobile web apps. The native apps have a slight edge over web
apps in terms of the user interface as these can be easily integrated in the native environment.
However, the web apps are easier to update and maintain. Also, the geolocation and
geotagging functions will be easily synced with the web apps (Jobe, 2013).
UMC is developing and implementing an automated system for the first time in its lifecycle.
Therefore, the organization shall enter in the mobile application market with the mobile web
apps and shall monitor the success and outcomes of the same. It may then begin to develop
and deploy the dedicated applications for the specific operating systems and platforms.
Difference between Web Analytics, Social Network Analytics, and Customer
Relationship Management
Web analytics is a process in which the information and data is collected, processed,
measured, and analysed to determine the ability of the organization to achieve the goals and
understand the user experience level. The primary data source that is used to collect the
information in such cases is the dedicated company website and the web applications. The
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United Milk Commodities (UMC)
type of information that is usually collected in the process of web analytics is the customer
behaviour and access patterns associated with the website. The benefits that are achieved
from collecting and analysing such information are the understanding of the visitor
behaviour, demands, and expectations from the website. The clarity on the purpose of the
visitor to access the web site or web application is also made clear with the analysis process
(Chawla and Singh, 2003).
Social network analytics is the process in which the information and data sets are only
collected from the social media channels. These information sets are collected to make
business decisions and are utilized in developing the business strategies. There is a lot of data
that is now available on the social media platforms. These information pieces are collected by
an organization from its own social media handles along with the social media platforms of
the competitor organizations. The information type that is usually collected from these
channels include the customer data, customer selections and choices, customer likes and
shares, and likewise. The benefits of collecting such information include the identification of
the specific patterns and trends associated with the customer choices and preferences. The
organizations use such trends to gain competitive edge in the market by offering its customers
with better services and products as compared with the other competitors (Scott, 2010).
Customer Relationship Management (CRM) is a process in which the information sets are
collected and analysed to maintain and improve the relations with the existing and potential
customers of an organization. The data sources that are involved in this process are varied.
For instance, an organization may use social media channels, company websites, marketing
channels, historical data, and other sources to collect the information in this case. The
information is then analysed qualitatively and quantitatively to recognize the customer
patterns. The design and development of the customer support services, customer retaining
strategies, and strategies to attract new customers is based upon the information sets collected
and analysed. There are benefits that are provided by this process in terms of the ability to the
organization to retain its existing customers and attract new customers (Kaul, 2017).
Privacy Laws & Cyber Security Measures
There are privacy laws and regulations that the company shall make sure that its follows and
complies with. The Data Protection Act, IT Law, and Cyber Security Law must be
maintained by the organization. It shall also not violate the Copyright law and policies at any
point of time. There will be a lot many data sets that will be collected and used by the
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United Milk Commodities (UMC)
organization during the development and deployment of the new ordering system by UMC.
The company shall follow certain measures to make sure that the adherence to these legal
policies is maintained and there are no occurrences of cyber security risks and attacks
(Hughes, Dawson and Brookes, 2008).
The use of encryption must be done by the organization. All of the customer data and
information shall be in its encrypted form so that none of the project team members or other
users are able to access and misuse the information. The use of advanced encryption protocol,
hashing algorithms, and multi-path encryption protocols shall be done for this purpose.
Access control and authentication are the two other mechanisms that shall be followed.
Advanced access control must be included by using the access control lists, encryption
methods, and network-based identity management of the users. The use of multi-fold
authentication shall be done so that only the authorized team members and stakeholders get
access to the information and data sets. There are a number of automated security tools and
controls that have been developed. Some of these include anti-malware tools, anti-denial
tools, firewalls, network-based security controls, etc. These tools must be used by the
organization so that the information security and privacy is maintained all throughout.
There are also ethical trainings that must be provided to the internal employees of the
organization. These trainings will ensure that the employees have an understanding of the
ethical and privacy norms that they shall follow. The trainings will also be providing them
with the clarity on the outcomes of the violations. The occurrence of insider threats and
attacks will be avoided as a result.
Conclusion
The automated information system will provide UMC with a lot many benefits in terms of the
accuracy of the information, data processing capabilities, and streamlining of the business
operations. UMC is an organization that deals in a wide range of products and specialized
products. The company has a huge customer base in the market and it is essential that the
demands and expectations of the customers are fulfilled. It will be required by UMC to
develop a mobile application for its automated ordering system. It is because the users in the
present times prefer mobile applications over the desktop applications and services. The use
of technology shall be done by the organization to improve upon its business operations and
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United Milk Commodities (UMC)
services. The company shall also make sure that the information security and privacy is
maintained at all times.
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United Milk Commodities (UMC)
References
Chawla, S. and Singh, D. (2003). Understanding and Elevating Web Practice Through Web
Analytics Final. INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF COMPUTERS & TECHNOLOGY, 2(1),
pp.1-5.
Damij, N. (2007). Business process modelling using diagrammatic and tabular techniques.
Business Process Management Journal, 13(1), pp.70-90.
Hughes, G., Dawson, S. and Brookes, T. (2008). Considering New Privacy Laws in Australia.
IEEE Security & Privacy Magazine, 6(3), pp.57-59.
Jobe, W. (2013). Native Apps Vs. Mobile Web Apps. International Journal of Interactive
Mobile Technologies (iJIM), 7(4), p.27.
Kaul, D. (2017). Customer Relationship Management (CRM), Customer Satisfaction and
Customer Lifetime Value in Retail. Review of Professional Management- A Journal of New
Delhi Institute of Management, 15(2), p.55.
Power, D., Heavin, C., McDermott, J. and Daly, M. (2018). Defining business analytics: an
empirical approach. Journal of Business Analytics, 1(1), pp.40-53.
Scott, J. (2010). Social network analysis: developments, advances, and prospects. Social
Network Analysis and Mining, 1(1), pp.21-26.
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