systems analysis

consulting opportunity 16.5

- Consulting Opportunity 16.5 The Sweet Smell of Success Felix Straw, who represents one of the many U.S, distributors of the European soft drink Sipps, gazes unhappily at the weather app on his smartphone, which shows a map of the United States saturated with dark red, indicating that most of the country is experiencing an early spring heat wave, with no signs of a letup. Holding up the screen of his smartphone as he speaks to the assembled systems group, he says. 'It's the best thing that could happen to us, or at least it should be. But when we had to place our orders three months ago, we had no idea that this spring monster heat wave was going to devour the country this wayl Nodding his head toward a picture of their European plant hung on the wall, he continues, We need to be able to tell them when things are hot over here so we can get enough product. Otherwise, we'll miss out every time. This happened two years ago, and it just about killed us. "Each of us distributors meets with our district managers to do three-month planning. When we agree, we email our orders to European headquarters. They make their own adjustments, bottle the drinks, and then we get our modified orders about 9 to 15 weeks later. But we need ways to tell them what's going on now. Why, we even have some new superstores that are opening up here. They should know we have extra-high demand." Corky, his assistant, agrees, saying, "Yeah, they should at least look at our past sales around this time of year. Some springs are hot, others are just average." Straw concurs, saying. "It would be music to my ears, it would be really sweet, if they would work with us to spot trends and changes - and then respond quickly." Stem's, based in Blackpool, England, is a European beverage maker and the developer and producer of Sipps. Sipps is a sweet, fruitflavored, nonalcoholic, noncarbonated drink served chilled or with ice, and it is particularly popular when the weather is hot. Sipps has sold briskly in Europe and grown in popularity in the United States since its introduction five vears ago, but the company has had a difficult time adequately managing inventory and keeping up with U.S. customer demand, which is affected by seasonal temperature fluctuations. Places with year-round, warm-temperature climates and lots of tourists (such as Florida and California) have large standing orders, but other areas of the country could benefit from a less cumbersome, more responsive order-placing process. A network of local distributors located throughout the United States and Canada distributes Sipps. Devise a systems solution that will address the problems discussed there. (Hint: The technology is important, but so is the way people can use it.) Your solution should stress collaboration, flexibility, adaptability, and access. Use network diagramming to illustrate your solution. In a few paragraphs, write a rationale for why your solution should be chosen