Company Overview
Riordan Manufacturing Inc. is a worldwide leader in plastic manufacturing industry and provide solutions to customers with polymer materials. It was founded in 1991 by a chemistry professor Dr. Riordan. The company offers various manufacturing facilities in both China and United States. Research & Development and corporate offices are located in San Jose; CA. Riordan has three manufacturing plants, i.e. Pontiac MI, Albany GA, and Hangzhou, China. Pontiac MI manufactures customized plastic parts, Albany, GA fabricate plastic bottles, and Hangzhou, China manufactures plastic fans. The annual earnings of the company is around $46 million and revenues over $1 billion. Riordan Manufacturing is counted as Fortune 1000 Company. It employs 550 people across the three manufacturing plants of the company.
Riordan Manufacturing Departments
Riordan Manufacturing Inc. uses separate systems for all of its departments, including
- Finance and Accounting,
- Human Resources & Legal,
- Sales and Marketing, and
- Operations
- Supply Chain
- Quality
- Information Technology and Security
Since, the company uses different application packages; therefore, it is dependent on outsourcing of certain important company functions. Moreover, it also needs to pay employees for countless hours of time at each of its four manufacturing plants. The primary objectives of the Riordan Manufacturing are,
Business Objectives
- Reduction of Costs
- Standardization and Unification of Data
- Increased Growth and Profit
- Future Innovation
Company Mission
Riordan Manufacturing Inc. focuses on six sigma, leading edge R&D and towards exceeding ISO 9000 standards. It strives for strengthening customer relationships by providing solutions by means of innovation and thus cultivate long-term relationships. The company cultivate a team environment at workplace that is focused on viability.
This report will investigate and evaluate current systems of the organization, identify potential problems, and then provide solutions that would help in cost saving and add effectiveness to the company systems.
Current Systems of Riordan Manufacturing
The current information technology & security system of Riordan Manufacturing is outdated and archaic. Each plant of the organization has separate systems and does not integrate in a centralized system. Manual files of the company are stored at different locations. Currently, Riordan Manufacturing outsource most of its information technology & security operations to Smith Systems Consulting. However, since Riordan Manufacturing has grown; therefore, it requires its own business systems that could centralize all of the organization plants operations. Centralized system can greatly help in speeding up the operations and add effectiveness. The current information technology structure of the organization cannot support web-based centralized system.
Inventory management system of the organization is also obsolete. It uses basic computer programs and paper charts to manage inventory. The staff requires to manually filling up record of the raw material or orders received, raw material usage, and other details related to final product. This record is then fed into the basic database manually by the inventory clerk. There is a separate warehouse department of each plant of the organization. This could result in under or over purchasing of raw material at any plant. Moreover, this manual inventory system is time consuming and slow .
Business Requirements for the New System
In order to automate all manual functions of the organization like receiving of orders, manufacturing, and shipping orders processes, business requires implementing latest technologies. First, it must introduce bar codes to aid automation. Second, implement an inventory auditing procedure. Third, implement common waste handling procedure across all business processes. By removing all manual steps and introducing automation, error rate can be reduced and thus, accurate system data can be ensured. The automatic inventory system will help in reduction of costs and thus increase productivity. Other system requirements include computer systems, FlexNet Warehouse program, Wi-Fi, mobile devices, and other technological tools and systems.
Proposed Solution of Inventory Management System of Riordan Manufacturing
The inventory system of the organization needs to be updated as according to the latest information technology & security advancements so that the company could compete with the global markets. The new and advance computer based programs of Riordan Manufacturing will replace the manual paper system and make an inventory system efficient. The new inventory system will help in lowering the cost, send automatic alerts, increase efficiency, and most importantly provide an interface for all other departments and organization plants. This advance inventory management system will make use of smart handheld devices, bar code scanners, and user-friendly computer interface.
Riordan Manufacturing can reconstruct manual handling processes by means of Apriso’s FlexNet Warehouse. This new system will be equipped with computers and other latest tools that would help Riordan to compete with global markets. The bar codes and smart handheld devices will help in tracking the shipping and receiving of orders. It will also ensure that inventory is on hand whenever it is required. FlexNet Warehouse will improve inventory control requirements, thus, satisfy customer demands, and eliminate paperwork. It will compliment organization enterprises with complete control over warehouse operations. The system will help in reducing the workload in progress at the plant, fewer errors, better cycling time, and simplified reports. FlexNet also offers Android and iOS services so organizations can use it over their mobile devices as well. Employees and customers can check the status of orders, pricing, product availability, and other details on their phones equipped with Android or iOS .
As according to the new inventory system process, first when order is received through the client, it will be imputed in the FlexNet Warehouse System. The customer order will be forwarded to the supplier electronically. The supplier will respond back by means of the same medium about the quantity of raw material and delivery time. Two types of bar codes are attached with the raw material order by the supplier. One contains product information and the other contains shipping information. Then raw material will be received at the plants. The supervisor at the Riordan can scan the barcodes to get the order related information. Bar code scanner will be used to enter and collect information of the barcode .
The amount of raw material and process used during manufacturing will be entered into the inventory system by means of handheld device or workstation. When the final product is manufactured, it is barcoded, scanned automatically, and then entered into the inventory system. After the manufacturing process is completed, sales department enter orders into customer shipping and billing system. Orders are then forwarded to FlexNet Warehouse for further procedure.
Security and Ethical Concerns
Besides the large number of benefits of the automated systems, it also raises the risks of security and ethics. The computerized systems is more vulnerable towards attacks and therefore, organizations need to take appropriate security measures to secure important business information. For this reason, the organization requires to install antivirus programs and other security software to ensure the security of the system. In case of Apriso FlexNet, the program comply major software industry standards and continually updates the system to ensure efficient and secure functionality of the program .
References
Apriso. (2010, June 24). Apriso Success Stories. Retrieved from Apriso: http://www.apriso.com/library/success_stories/Apriso-AmcorPETSS.pdf
Apriso. (2010, June 24). Apriso Success Stories. Retrieved from Apriso: http://www.apriso.com/library/success_stories/Apriso-AmcorSS.pdf
Apriso. (2012). Industry Standards Compliant. Retrieved from Apriso: http://www.apriso.com/products/flexnet_platform/industry_standards_compliant.php
Russel, S. (2007). Supply Chain Management: More Than Integrated Logistics. Air Force Journal Of Logistics, 56-63.
