PharmaOne Inc. is a private company that operates a chain of $30$ drug stores in Western Canada. PharmaOne is considering upgrading the software in its pharmacies to allow doctors$$ offices to transmit prescriptions to the selected store for individual patients. Doctors would receive immediate notification if the drug they were prescribing was available, and if not, they would have the ability to amend their prescription. In addition, PharmaOne is also considering enhancing the inventory system to automatically generate orders to suppliers for product when quantities fall below a required minimum amount. Currently, doctors$$ offices fax in the new prescriptions, which are then entered manually into the system. In addition, the inventory report is reviewed daily, and orders of product are phoned in to suppliers.

Geoff Davis, the company$$s IT manager, is currently reviewing proposals from a variety of different software providers, and he hopes to make a decision in the next month, February. Geoff plans to implement the new system during March and April, at which time all of the data should be converted and the new system should be running smoothly. He has booked a three$-$week vacation for May, as he knows he will be very busy during the conversion process and will need a break by this time.

Required:

You currently work as a financial analyst for PharmaOne and have just been advised by the CEO about this new IT project. The CEO would like your comments on how this project will proceed and any other issues that should be addressed. He wants to ensure the implementation is successful. Prepare a report to the CEO as requested.