Steves Lumber Company features a large selection of materials for flooring, decks, moldings, windows, siding and roofing. It is a small, but profitable family business that is looking to expand.

The prices of lumber and other building materials are constantly changing. When a customer places an order, typically inquiring about the price on pre-finished wood flooring, sales representatives consult the catalogue, and a manual price sheet and then call the supplier for the most recent price. The supplier in turn uses a manual price sheet, which has been updated each day. Often the supplier must call back Steves reps because the company does not have the newest pricing information immediately on hand. Of course, the customers order is delayed until a firm price is determined.

Steve has hired you to assess the business impact of the situation and see what can be done for them to make this process more efficient.

Complete the following:

1. Business Process. (15 points)
   1. List at least 3 issues with the current process. (10 pts)
   2. Explain the impact of the existing process on operational efficiency. (5 pts)

2. Diagram the existing Process. (50 points).
   1. Using a diagramming tool (Visio, Lucidchart, PowerPoint) model the existing process. Remember to submit in PDF format. (50 pts)

3. Metrics (15 points)
   1. Identify 3 metrics that could be put in place to measure the impact of the existing process on operational efficiency. (15 pts)

4. Process Improvements (20 points).
   1. Discuss the changes that could be made to make the process more efficient. (10 pts)
   2. Explain how information systems could support those changes. Discuss what data the systems should capture and what decisions the system could improve. (10 pts)