Operations Focus: Kudler Fine Foods
Carlos M.
BSA/502 Business Systems II
August 18th , 2013
Paula Billups

It is said that the internet has become an advantage for Small business to compete with the bigger corporations in many ways. However- not many Small Businesses have taken advantage of such a great resource to its full advantage.

Many things can be done on the internet, such as verifying different supplier pricing as well as possibly setting up an automatic delivery, the options are limitless. In one of the first proposals to Kudler Fine Foods, we explained the advantages of considering an online inventory vendor. While trying to increase revenue, Kudler Fine Foods must also consider cost reduction. In dealing with fresh produce or food in general, food storage is critical. We must be able to deliver to the consumer fresh produce while minimizing food storage, at the same time of not running out or having a zero stock store policy. This can be a difficult task at hand, however by partnering with a company such as Clearlyinventroy.com and implementing a specific program to allow an auto shipping of a product or produce once it reaches a certain amount; we can expect this to help minimize the loss of products.

Now Clearly Inventory only assists in the process of stocking the inventory, it does not in any way actually have the products to sell to Kudler, however that is where another advantage of using the internet comes into play. There are many vendors advertising online, some domestic and some international, we do not have to fear the unknown- as that is what the reviews are for.

With very little research we can determine if: 1- Our current vendors even offer internet based purchasing; 2- If they are the most cost efficient company out there.

There are many pros and cons for implementing a purchasing process based on the internet. Currently Kudler foods have no actual purchasing department, but they do have a current process/procedure in place. Each of the three managers determine the items required and places the purchase orders directly with the suppliers by using a standard order form, taking time away from other potential duties. They also place bulk item purchases such as repair items, purchase orders or receiving forms.
Going with Clearly Inventory we can consider the following: * Less paper work; * Much better accuracy (meaning less human errors during calculation) * Automatic uniform process throughout the locations.
Considering the facts that we cannot just implement this, we must do some testing first.
Step 1: Find the ideal vendors- Domestic and International
Step 2: Invest in a system such as Clearly Inventory and set up the vendor.
Step 3: Start off simple, sort of a test environment such as small fresh produce few items- here and there.

Once the managers, Accounts Payable, Receivable and Operations have gotten the hang of the new systems we can then implement across our entire inventory.

As we move forward with the latest technology has to offer us, although complex, we must consider the possible opportunities waiting for us to take hold of while helping our lives become a lot easier.

References

Kudler Fine Foods- Intranet (2007) Intranet- Operations
Purchasing Operations
Clearly Inventory
http://www.clearlyinventory.com/