can you identify, compare and evaluate the nature of the information required for decision making at strategic, tactical and operational levels in Crystal Valley? (the case study below) external sources only please

Brothers James and Peter Smith returned to their hometown of Peterhead in 1946, having served six years in the merchant navy. Before the war the brothers had spent several years in the fishing industry, and on their return they decided to start a fish processing and cold storage business. In 1947 they founded Ice Fresh Ltd, which operated in modest rented premises in Peterhead.

Over the coming years the firm went from strength to strength and opened new cold storage depots in cities across Scotland. The depot at Aberdeen also processed fish, but James and Peter spotted the potential of frozen foods other than fish, and the depots they opened in Glasgow, Dundee and Edinburgh did not have fish processing facilities. Local firms and the developing supermarkets used the cold stores, and at the same time the brothers started to supply hotels and restaurants.

In the 1980's the firm was passed onto the next generation of the Smith family and further expansion took place with a slow spread into the northern cities in England. In the 1990's the family took the bold step to open a number of frozen food shops to the general public, which proved to be a great success. By 2004 the firm had opened retail shops in all cities in Scotland and northern England. In 2005 Ice Fresh sold the fish processing side of the business and moved their head office to Edinburgh.

In 2013 Ice Fresh was approached by Triangle PLC, a conglomerate firm with interests in construction materials, quarries and transportation. In 2011 Triangle had purchased another conglomerate firm and then sought to divest itself of those parts of the acquired business that they felt were a poor fit with their main operations. In mid-2013 Ice Fresh was given the opportunity to buy the Crystal Valley chain of retail frozen food shops and their five cold store supply depots.

Crystal Valley was a major player in the frozen food market with its shops and depots covering the Midlands and Southern England. It was an almost perfect fit and too good a chance to miss so in late 2013 the deal was done. Ice Fresh also took the major decision to rename themselves under the Crystal Valley name, and by the end of 2014 all of the Ice Fresh shops and stores had adopted the Crystal Valley name. As part of the process the new Crystal Valley Company divided the business into four regional areas:

• Scotland
• Northern England
• The Midlands and Wales
• Southern England

The new company reorganised and rationalised their cold storage depots so that each regional area has their own cold storage depot that serves all of the shops in their geographical area. Excess capacity was sold or closed, and the process was completed by November 2015. The former Crystal Valley head office in Manchester is still open but with reduced staffing and is likely to close which would result in the existing information systems being transferred to the Edinburgh office.

The Smiths had recognised early on the benefits of an efficient information system, but the acquired Crystal Valley business had a number of different systems that were old and had often been adapted in an ad hoc manner. Because the business is wholly reliant on the efficient flow of accurate information it was quickly decided that it was essential to develop and implement a new integrated corporate information system that will collect and process data and distribute information to all parts of the business.

The Smiths use an Edinburgh based firm Ultra IT to run its ICT operations and have awarded them the contract to conduct a systems analysis project which will provide a platform for the development of a new corporate information system. Ultra will undertake an analysis of the existing systems and information needs throughout the whole business. Responsibility for the project has been given to Ultra's Sharon Tang and her small team, who had worked for Ice Fresh on a number of projects. On the basis of the analysis Sharon and her team will then design, implement and maintain a single new integrated system replacing all of the existing systems. The new system has to be capable of providing all levels of management, functional areas and external parties with appropriate accurate and timely information. The system will have to be compliant with all current IT legislation and Ultra will also provide a systematic training programme for staff at Crystal Valley.