INFORMATION SYSTEMS FOR LOGISTICS MANAGEMENT
What is the role of IS in Logistics? Give examples of IS for Logistics. How do you see the future of IS and Technology in the Logistics area?
A well-designed information system is a key element of logistics in the chain of managing, organizing and operating in both profit and nonprofit organizations. The advantages of applying strategic management in the development of information technologies contribute to positive development of logistics functions in an organization or institution as a whole. A prerequisite for successful logistics management is systematic gathering of required business information. Today it is no longer possible to run a successful operation without a working information system. A fully constructed information system contributes essentially to an organization's competitive advantage. These advantages are reflected in creating new, competitive positions, in cost reduction and achieving a certain dependency differentiation in operations, as well as in better results of all the logistics functions within the organization. The basic goal of an information system within logistics management is to make successful connections between suppliers, consumers, and competitors. Depending on the logistics management decision, the mode of making these connections can be offensive or defensive. The basic aim is to achieve comparative advantages through logistics. If logistics management is objective, this will lead to decision making that will contribute to: respectability of the purchasing function, competitive advantage in the supply chain, possible associations of suppliers, connecting logistics with consumers, determining the contribution of logistics to the organization’s competitiveness. The information system of logistics functions plays a role in making a correct interpretation of the company's performance as well. Strategic options of generators for the logistics information management need to be continuously monitored, and usage of new options can improve the overall logistics functions within an organization.
IS must have a goal, a strategy and critical success factors. The evaluation of Information Systems that currently operate in a company, as well as the acquisition or creation of a new system, require the establishment of clear, measurable and real objectives based on a strategy that guides how they will be transformed into results. Likewise, the existence of critical success factors that identify the elements of value that exist inside and outside the company and that can be used in the implementation of an Information System becomes key.
The Information Systems have a life cycle: analysis, design, development and implementation. The measurement of the efficiency of an Information System as well as the determination of the execution time must take into account the characteristics of each stage. During the requirements analysis, the information needs of the users and the company are investigated, organized and hierarchized, in the design, the inputs (data), processing (frequency and volume of calculations or data transformations) are specified, as well as the Expected outputs (reports, queries).
The current specialization of tasks based on economies of scale or geographic factors, has made outsourcing services more accessible and affordable. The technological alliances that are made between different companies imply a responsible commitment of both parties as well as an efficient allocation of real resources to achieve the application of information technologies in a shorter time and with a high degree of reliability. The Camino Real Hotels, for example, have managed to apply new technologies without getting to know them thoroughly, hiring external suppliers for the execution of specific projects or tasks and evaluating financial leases of modern equipment that meet the needs of their clients.Enterprise Resource planning (ERP) tools: Many companies now view ERP system (eg. Baan, SAP, People soft, etc.) as the core of their IT infrastructure. ERP system have become enterprise wide transaction processing tools which capture the data and reduce the manual activities and task associated with processing financial, inventory and customer order information. ERP system achieve a high level of integration by utilizing a single data model, developing a common understanding of what the shared data represents and establishing a set of rules for accessing data.
The information systems are very important for any company because of the enormous changes suffered by the market in recent years with the incorporation of computer technologies that will facilitate the administration of data, in order to offer improvements in decision making management, at present all companies, including SMEs, require the implementation of an information system that collaborates with business management processes. Managers should know everything about information systems because they offer the possibility of obtaining great advantages, increase the organizational capacity of the company, and turn the processes into a true global competitiveness.
Therefore, those who wish to convert their entrepreneurship into a true competitive company inserted in the current market, should analyze in detail the necessary implementation of accurate information systems. This concept has invaded the offices of those responsible for the management of companies in recent years, since a couple of decades ago the information was not considered a good so useful in the production processes and decision making.
However, as a result of the changes in the world economy and globalization, the data related to the entire productive process of a company have become one of the fundamental elements to achieve commercial success. Therefore, it is important to emphasize that the implementation of an information system implies an organizational change, since it not only affects the administration of the company, but also its employees and skills, in order to create a platform according to the responsibilities that should be faced with this type of system.
On the other hand, it is of vital importance to use information and communication technologies suitable for the processing and transmission of the data that will be managed in the information system.
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