Assignment 1
Decision Support System & Customer Relationship Management at PepsiCo
PepsiCo is one of the biggest names in beverages and snacks industry. It was established by the merger by Frito-Lay and Pepsi in 1965. It is also one of the most successful business organizations across the globe. ‘Knowledge is Power’ and it is nowhere more factual than in business world today. Timely and accurate information is all that’s required to change your sales chart and profit bars. Additionally, defined information is also vital for a business ability to plan, sell, make and respond to marketplace dynamics (King, 2015). PepsiCo has an efficient web of information systems, which facilitate their business to avoid challenges while reacting timely and efficiently. It has an extensive range of information system that helps it to transfer the gigantic crags of data into efficient and useful information. This information supports the organization to respond to changing trends, managing business challenges and affecting consumer behavior as well as buying patterns. Below mentioned are some of the major information systems that are used by PepsiCo for effective decision making and customer relationship management.
Transactional Processing System (TPS): TPS allows PepsiCo to record, manage, monitor and control transactions.
Management Information System (MIS): MIS facilitates the organization getting historic and current performance and operational data, for instance, inventories and sales. This also indicates the products sales volume and also helps managers about comprehending ‘what-if' situation. PepsiCo also uses this system to determine the possible influence of their shipping and logistics schedule if they alter sales.
Decision Support System (DSS): DSS allow Pepsi to use ad-hoc or predefined reports to assist problem resolution and operational planning decisions.
Executive Support System (ESS): ESS allows managers identifying long-term market trends for unusual decision-making and strategic planning.
Apart from these well-defined and organized software and support systems, Pepsi also uses the following to support decision making and customer relationship management.
Sales Data: This is the lifeblood of every organization and so for Pepsi, as it helps to analyze product sales, margins, profits, turnover ratios, replenishment rate within distribution channels etc.
Financial Information: Information from budgets, bank details, balance sheets, P&L statement helps Pepsi to manage expenditures and overheads while taking benefit from the available opportunities.
Customer Feedback: Focus groups discussions, surveys, and feedback forms helps determining the product market reputation, future trends and consumer preferences.
Industry Reports: This is vital for understanding market dynamics, rivalry, consumer trends, future projections, industry dynamic, regulation, policies, and competition. This is vital for expedient and efficient response and to maintain healthy market position.
Social Media: Pepsi is aggressively active on social media including Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, and Google+. This helps Pepsi to address concerns of the customer, interacting with them and acquiring first-hand feedback. This is one of the most significant information resource these days for customer relationship management.
With the help of all above information system, PepsiCo stays highly aware of whatever is going around and respond effectively to it, no matter if it’s a trend change or an alteration in consumer behavior. PepsiCo knows how to be on toes to respond, manage, monitor and control information effectively (King, 2015).
References
King, W. R. (2015). Planning for information systems. Routledge. Retrieved on January 22, 2016
