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Kudler Fine Foods Computer Information Systems

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Kudler Fine Foods | Computer Information System Brief
Crystal Rahrig
ACC542/ Accounting Information Systems
Kudler Fine Foods (KFF) is an upscale specialty food store. KFF has three locations in California (La Jolla, Encinitas and Del Mar). The owner has traveled the world in order to bring KFF’s customers some of the finest domestic and imported wines, as well as a fine selection of bakery and pastry products, fresh produce, fresh meat and seafood, condiments and packaged foods and cheese and specialty dairy products. Recently, the company announced plans to create a frequent shopper program to benefit their most loyal customers. KFF is also looking to expand into additional markets. As the company expands, the needs of Kudler will constantly change. It is necessary to move to the concept of one large company rather than several single locations.
In response to integrating technology, our business will include your key business and accounting needs. We will also provide an analysis of KFF’s current computer information system, use of technology, hardware and software. The strengths and weaknesses of the aforementioned, as well as opportunities for business enhancements which could maximize opportunities of KFF in the future.
We will first look at the general business and accounting needs for Kudler Fine Foods. KFF is a successful upscale market that is quickly expanding. It is apparent that the owner is spread too thin and not able to address the needs of the company. The company’s business and accounting needs include, recording data efficiently and correctly. The company is in need of an inventory system that will allow KFF to accurately track the items and quantity on hand in each location. Additionally, I believe it would be of great importance to reevaluate the roles of each of the store managers and delegate some of the tasks that Kathy is currently performing. This will alleviate some of the stress of Kathy and allow her more time to effectively manage the company as a whole to allow for growth and expansion. Tasks such as, nightly deposits could be done by the store manager rather than Kathy having to be present to do so. Furthermore, it is evident the company is in need of a database to allow employees to record their daily time.
In order to manage the company efficiently, KFF utilizes Retail Enterprise Management System (REMS) which is a point-of-sale (POS) system that allows the company to record sales, including items sold, quantities, amount of sale, taxes, as well as a total for all transactions. The system is user friendly and easy to use. One of the downfalls of this is that each location has its own POS terminal which is not networked together, therefore, not sharing information. The POS terminal is utilized as the cash register for each sale.
An analysis of the current computer system has identified many strengths and weaknesses of the current computer system. The REMS is not connected to the internet which reduces the chances of being exposed to external hacking. The system is not networked which is a weakness due to the inability of locations sharing information which doesn’t allow data from multiple locations to be integrated. The current system requires the company to do a significant amount of manual data entry and compiling of information to gather financial data. This is one of the main weaknesses of the current computer system. The probability of human error is high due to manual transactions and record keeping. There is no security measures existing to safeguard the integrity of the information stored on the computers. Although, REMS has security features imbedded in the system, there is no formal policy or audits over the features. Additionally, there is no restriction on the company’s data. Another main concern of the computer system is the lack of backups. One advantage to the current setup is that all stores have installed auxiliary generators enabling access to the finance and accounting system continuously.
Technology and information systems play a key role in businesses. Properly managing the hardware, software and network is vital. The implementation of a barcode inventory system would directly benefit the company and reduce the time necessary for tracking sales, inventory and purchases. Such implementation would also allow the ability to transfer inventory from a store with availability to cover until purchases arrive. This would allow the company to be notified when a product is low, therefore, triggering the need for an order to be placed. Rather than acting as a stand-alone location, managers would be required to work internally by consulting with other locations prior to placing an order. In order to continue growth, KFF must learn to operate as one large business. Policies and procedures need to be streamlined. Vital to moving towards consistency is installing a centralized management system. Too often information is separated when it should be maintained in a centralized database, therefore, eliminating the need to search for information when needed. One of the single greatest benefits of a centralized management center is data integrity. This will eliminate redundancy. With a centralized management center, it will be much easier for Kathy to evaluate history. Additional safeguards to protect the company’s financial data, customer’s credit card information, and employee’s confidential information should also be put into place. By reducing access to those individuals that require the access, the company can do a great deal of protecting themselves. Each computer user should have his/her own username and password to access the system. This will allow the company to track the culprit of any wrongdoing. Another strong recommendation includes the installation of a backup server. We have all been guilty of pushing the wrong button or the victim of a power outage both of which could cause multiple hours of work to be lost. There are different types of backups which include both manual and server backup systems. Manually performing a backup of your computer system is a time consuming process. Due to the limited available hours of Kathy, we highly recommend a server backup system. There are many systems that will automatically backup on a nightly basis after all employees have gone home. Although, these systems are costly, it will save a great deal of time over the course of years to come. Due to the company having multiple locations and multiple computers, the installation of a computer network is of utmost importance. This will allow Kathy to effectively manage all three locations from any of the terminals. Information, documents and financial information and resources can be shared when networked together. Scanners and printers will be accessible from any of the computers. This will alleviate the need for Kathy to travel to each store on a daily basis. A proxy server could limit employee's use to approved websites which will limit the company's exposure to spyware, viruses, hackers and possibly theft which is one of the greatest risks of operating a business.
Overall, Kudler Fine Foods is operating a successful business. By considering the recommendations mentioned above, we assure you the threats to your business both internally and externally will be minimized. Although, the cost of doing this work for you can be substantial, the savings you will experience in traveling, increased productivity will be significant. If you have any additional questions, you can contact our firm or we can discuss in the upcoming meeting on August 15, 2014.
Apollo Group, Inc. (2011). Kudler Fine Foods. Retrieved from University of Phoenix, ACC542 – Accounting Information Systems website.

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