Kff_Information_Systems

Kudler Fine Foods Information Systems ACC/542 June 25, 2013 Anita Rodriguez Kudler Fine Foods Information Systems Over fifteen years ago, Kathy Kudler created Kudler Fine Foods (KFF); a California-based upscale specialty food store that provides high quality gourmet foods and the essential tools for preparation. Kudler Fine Foods customers are food connoisseurs and can choose from local favorites or products from around the world. In 1998, Kudler Fine Foods introduced their European style bakeries, fresh meat and seafood prepared while you wait, fresh produce ranging from over 16 types of apples to the freshest herbs and spices available, a complete line of dairy products including a wide variety of cheeses and a collection of domestic and imported wine that is sure to please to the citizens of La Jolla, California. Kathy enjoyed quick success and added two additional locations in Del Mar and Encinitas, California (Internet, Kudler Fine Foods website). With the advances in technology and the internet, a whole new market is available in today’s world with a few clicks of a button. Kudler Fine Foods now has the option to maximize profits by reaching customers outside the local area. Kudler Fine Foods is a retail company and like all companies needs to operate as smooth and efficient as possible. They must be able to track sales, inventory, and expenses, produce reliable and accurate reports for a given time frame whenever needed. Additionally, current customer relationships have to be maintained as new ones are being developed. Before Kudler Fine Foods can proceed with the adventure, there are areas of concern that need to be addressed. To move forward, the needs of the company in regards to business operations and accounting need to be reviewed and the strengths and weaknesses of the systems currently in place must be considered. Last, based on the current technological opportunities, we will provide suggestions to further improve these systems, as well as evaluate any threats that may affect these systems. In 1998, when the doors first opened, Kudler Fine Foods chose and installed Microsoft Access as its database platform to keep track of customers, orders and inventory (Intranet, Financial and Accounting). While this system was adequate in the beginning, it quickly became obvious the system was inadequate for the fast growing company. Kudler Fine Foods’s existing finance and accounting system, is a modular and scalable Retail Enterprise Management System. Retail Enterprise Management System provides a point-of-sale module to capture and report in detail all retails sales made. Information includes detail such as code, cost, price, time, station, quantity, etc. and reports this detail in other modules such as the general ledger, accounts payable and bank reconciliation (Intranet, Financial and Accounting, Overview of Finance and Accounting Systems). The point-of-sale module also manages all credit/debit card transactions made in the stores (Intranet, Financial and Accounting, Point-of-Sale). Second, the accounting needs of Kudler Fine Foods are addressed by providing applications for the general ledger. The general ledger module offers a chart of accounts, the ability to look at transaction detail in any number permutation, financial reports including the balance sheet, income statement, budgets, comparisons and more (Intranet, Financial and Accounting, General Ledger) . A third module is accounts payable, which effectively manages entering and paying invoices, whether foreign or domestic (Intranet, Financial and Accounting, Accounts Payable). The accounts payable module does have a short fall. Many local suppliers only accept cash as a form of payment and this creates a problem for this module. This issue should be addressed with the installation of the new NCR RealPOS 30 terminals (Intranet, Administration, Legal Overview, Memo from Yvonne Reynolds). Next is the bank reconciliation module, which collects data from accounts receivable and payable, as well as purchase orders and reconciles checks, deposits and account balances (Intranet, Financial and Accounting, Bank Reconciliation). Asset management and accounting modules were not acquired and are currently entered and maintained on spreadsheets (Intranet, Financial and Accounting, Asset Management and Accounting). This module will become necessary with continued growth. Each of these modules is interconnected with the point-of-sale module, which allows for direct transfer of data between modules. Accuracy is increased by limiting the amount of manually entered data. Errors are virtually eliminated. Overall, this is a strong system. Maintaining the system by installing updates and possibly adding additional modules as needed should handle the potential growth of the company. Security is an increasing important concern for today’s companies. With identity theft happening often, protecting the privacy of the company and clientele is very important. Retail Enterprise Management System has embedded security features. However, this may not be enough we feel the security system is place is weak. Kudler Fine Foods needs detailed written policies and reviews addressing security. Employees need their own logins and passwords, so any problems can be traced. Information available to different levels of personnel needs to be addressed and written. The policies have to be enforces and violators have to be punished. Unfortunately, there are dishonest people in this world and Kudler Fine Foods has to protect and secure information (Intranet, Financial and Accounting, Security). Kudler Fine Foods greatly improved its image with the new website. The older website was outdated, somewhat drab and cold. The new website is visually inviting. The images of the store and products give you the desire to check Kudler Fine Foods out. However, one error or oversight that needs to be corrected is the lack of a back button when trying to exit the survey. As we noted earlier, the internet promises huge growth potential. Adding the ability to order product online and not have to make a trip to the store is appealing. Most people have access to a computer, smart phone, or both. The possibilities are limitless. Kudler Fine Foods says and believes they can bring different products from all over the world to the consumer in their chosen location (store or order online/delivered) to enjoy. The company’s effort to travel far and wide to bring the consumer exactly what they want should be rewarded. The reward is maximized profits. A good team (management and employees), a good system (updated, maintained and additional modules) and a strong security system (electronic and written policies) are the keys to achieving this goal.