Bakehouse Inc, “uses an integrated ERP system with a common database for all of its business processes”. Describe how this integrated ERP system works within the company and the business processes (if any) that would be involved.
MGMT Bakehouse Inc (MBI), supplies bread, cakes and other specialty products, to a large percentage
of the country; to the following customer types. Retailers e.g. supermarkets, who sell baked goods to the
public, and MGMT Bakehouse Inc delivers to the retailers. Wholesalers also sell to the public, but come
to MGMT Bakehouse Inc directly to collect their baked goods. Finally institutions like hotels and
hospitals, to whom MGMT Bakehouse Inc delivers directly, buy baked goods to incorporate into
offering for their clients e.g. guests menus and patient meal plans.
From the ordering of flour and other ingredients to the processing of cash, receivables and payables, the
company uses an integrated ERP with a common database for all of its business processes. Internally
MGMT Bakehouse Inc is organized into the following departments: Production which bakes the bread;
Distribution that delivers the bread; Sales Department where customer orders and wholesale pickups are
managed; Marketing that promotes and manage the company’s branded products; Finance and
Accounting that manages the customer accounts; and HR which manages staffing and other related
matters.
Returns management is all about the details. In a market where the customer can return stale bread for
up to a 100% refund, having ‘Returns’ is like burning paper money. Supermarkets and wholesalers can
return bread but not institutions like hotels and hospitals. All baked goods have a shelf life of one week.
That is, bread that is sold on Monday is returned the following Monday. Most customers place orders in
advance but wholesalers and hotels are sometimes ad-hoc and the company has to project/predict their
orders.
From time to time, these ad-hoc orders can become a burden, especially when the demand for bake
goods is high. In such times, management at MBI has to be extremely vigilant and maintain a high level
of security both to its data and information.
1. Bakehouse Inc, “uses an integrated ERP system with a common database for all of its business processes”. Describe how this integrated ERP system works within the company and the business processes (if any) that would be involved.
2. Explain two security threats that can cause disruptions to MBI’s integrated ERP system and state the controls MBI should put in place to manage those threats.
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