Procurement Processing in Bran Ltd. Bran Ltd is a famous manufacturer of breakfast cereals. Its expenditure cycle is described below. The purchasing manager checks the inventory subsidiary ledger using his PC every morning. When certain inventory level is deemed too low, he reviews the vendor file with his PC and selects the best-priced vendor for that item. Once a vendor is found, he prepares an electronic version of the purchase order (PO), in addition to two hard copies of the PO. One hard copy is sent to the vendor immediately, while the other is filed in the department. He sends electronic version of the PO to two clerks: one in the receiving department and one in the AP department. When the clerk in the receiving department receives the electronic PO, he reads over it once to make sure it seems correct. When the goods arrive, he makes a detailed inspection of them and reconciles the goods to the corresponding information contained in the electronic PO. If everything looks correct, the clerk prepares two copies of the receiving report. One of these copies accompanies the goods to the inventory control department, where the clerk updates the inventory subsidiary account on his PC. It is then filed as the goods are put on the shelves. The other copy of the receiving report is sent to the AP department. Upon receipt of the receiving report, the AP clerk matches the information for the respective order to the electronic PO on his PC. He then updates the AP subsidiary ledger from his terminal to reflect the transaction. The clerk temporarily files the receiving report until documentation arrives from the vendor. The vendor always sends a photocopy of the original PO along with the invoice so any discrepancies can immediately be identified. When the AP clerk receives the invoice and PO copy, he pulls the receiving report from the temporary file and reconciles the three documents. At this time, the clerk updates the AP control account in the general ledger on his PC. The three documents are then passed on to the cash disbursements department. The clerk in the cash disbursements department spends his entire day matching up the invoice, PO copy, and receiving report. Assuming everything reconciles, he prepares and signs a cheque for the invoiced amount. He updates the cheque register, cash subsidiary account, and the general ledger on his terminal. Before sending the cheque to vendor for payment, he makes a copy of the cheque for record-keeping purpose. The invoice, PO copy, receiving report, and cheque copy are filed in the completed payment file.

Bran Ltd wants to improve its supply chain management by implementing a sell-side B2B system and subscribes to a global e-Hub service.

(a) Describe and explain how an e-Hub and sell-side B2B business model work.

(b) Discuss TWO (2) important roles that the Chief Financial Officer (CFO) of Bran Ltd needs to take up during the system development life cycle of this sell-side B2B system.