SMRG-Faculty of Business Administration / Siam University

SIAM UNIVERSITY

Strategic Warehouse Information Systems

Dr. Nut-tapon Nimmanphatcharin (

BB.A., GD.Mgt., MB.Mgt., MBA (Inter Bus), Ph.D. (Mgt) Strategic Management Research Group Faculty of Business Administration, Siam University 235 Petkasem Road, Phasicharoen, Bangkok 10163 Tel. (662) 457-0068 FAX (662) 457-3982, 467-3174

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Strategic Warehouse Information System/Dr. Nuttapon Nimmanphatcharin/2003

SMRG-Faculty of Business Administration / Siam University

Strategic Warehouse Information System

1. Executive Summary
The paper offers in-depth analyses of the business information system, provides data for the development of the strategic information technology (utilising company warehouse information system) that relate to the Thai enterprises. The above have been listed in the paper with the point of view to evaluate the problem and provide the innovative warehouse information system. This report paper also includes recommendations for maintaining sustainable warehouse information system for the Thai Enterprises.

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Strategic Warehouse Information System/Dr. Nuttapon Nimmanphatcharin/2003

SMRG-Faculty of Business Administration / Siam University

2. Introduction
More and more frequently when asked what is wrong with the Enterprises in Thailand? The answer can be given in one word its management. At the national level the Thai government is so concerned as the level and appropriateness of strategic information technology management (SITM) within the Thai Enterprises that it commissioned an industry task force on information technological knowledgeable and management skills. The findings of this task force were clearly identifying significant deficiencies in SITM within the Thai Enterprises and current management practices. Inherent in the nature of the problems is that all too often it is easier to shoot the system that to address the deficiencies and to respond to the challenges contained within the system. In its initial years, the Thai Enterprises operated with limited staff strength and took many years in establishing itself as a recognised company. Sales and marketing activities are likely to be most critical to the organisation in comparison to the other departments, as the sales people are the spokespersons of the organisation and the first point of brand contact with the customers. However, the Thai Enterprises, which enjoys the reputation of an established organisation (locally) possesses some weaknesses and strengths compared to other large companies in Thailand. One major problem is the lack of longterm strategic plan to compete with its new competitors in the local area. The Thai Enterprises tried to expand its market share by one way or another. However, the sales revenue is still at an unsatisfactory level because of many problems in the marketing unit and the warehouse system. The old warehouse system of Thai Enterprises is one of the problems that reached them has less ability of a carrier to move product through the transportation channel more quickly and when required fulfilling the shipper's inbound and outbound requirements, which will be explained later in this paper.

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Strategic Warehouse Information System/Dr. Nuttapon Nimmanphatcharin/2003

SMRG-Faculty of Business Administration / Siam University

3. Skills and Resources

3.1 Management
3.1.1 Organizational Structure Most of Thai Enterprises is a non-formalise strategic business planning, its organizational structure is difficult to define. In actual fact, the organization structure is play by keys of the management member, whereas have different responsibility.

3.1.2 Functions of Thai Enterprises Warehouse Basic Thai Enterprises warehouse functions include movement, storage, and information transfer. In order to properly store product, movement is necessary and it take place in four distinct areas by the following: Receiving: inbound goods from transportation carriers and performing quality and quantity checks, Transferring: goods from the receiving dock to the storage of its branches and to the storage of its retailers throughout the warehouse, Order selecting: the products for filling its branch and retailer orders including checking, packing and transporting to the staging dock, Shipping the good on transportation carriers outbound to its branches and retailers. Storage, absolutely, the warehouse manager will be responsible of performed on a temporary and semi-permanent basic of storing products. A temporary basic means storing product that is necessary for inventory replenishment. Semi-permanent storage is used to warehouse product that is in excess of what is required for replenishment. This function also requires the warehouse to have well communicated with its production and sale departments.
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Strategic Warehouse Information System/Dr. Nuttapon Nimmanphatcharin/2003

SMRG-Faculty of Business Administration / Siam University

Information transfer, occurs at the same time that the product is moved and stored. The warehouse manager is able to capture data on inventory levels, inventory location, throughput level, space utilization, and other pertinent information necessary to ensure that the warehouse is functioning successfully. These all function of the warehouse will be the responsible for the Thai Enterprises warehouse manager, as will be reported the outcomes to the operation executive manger. Once again, the warehouse manger also needs to communicate with the branches and product line managers to identify the inventory's need.

3.1.3 Problems Perceived by Management 3.1.3.1 The existing system and problem perceived by warehouse management and operation. It would suggests that the lack of the information system use become more significantly. Because, the manual warehouse system could not satisfied the customer needs in terms of just in time (JIT) delivery. Additionally, the manual system also reached the warehouse to get less productivity, utilization, and performance respectively. That is including the ability of a warehouse to move product through the transportation channel more quickly and when required fulfilling the shipper's inbound and outbound requirements. The manual use of warehouse will require them to take time of operating (e.g. take time to know the inventory needs of their branches and product line departments etc.). Moreover, it also requires more staff to check the stock handling within take risk of doing wrong because the warehouseman must rely on memory to find stock. Finally, it requires the warehouse to hold the unnecessary amounts of product handling with an unclear of the product flow. The manual system can be shown by the following figure: (see next page)

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Strategic Warehouse Information System/Dr. Nuttapon Nimmanphatcharin/2003

SMRG-Faculty of Business Administration / Siam University

Figure 1: The Existing system of warehouse management and operation

Product Managers

Retailers

Product Line Department

Branch Department

Branch Managers Warehouse Branches Storage

The communication between warehouse with the department, the department with its retailers, and the department with its managers and storage in terms inventory needs. The communication between the branch and product managers and warehouse Inventory Distribution from the warehouse to the storage of their branches and retailers.

As the results of the existing warehouse system it will reach the warehouse manager of Thai Enterprises to find the way to improve warehouse efficiency, as the area of that improvement will be listed by the following: Improve forecasting accuracy, Freeing up labor bottlenecks, Reducing the amount of product handling, Smoothing out the variance in product flow in the warehouse,
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Strategic Warehouse Information System/Dr. Nuttapon Nimmanphatcharin/2003

SMRG-Faculty of Business Administration / Siam University

Installing improvement targets, Decreasing the distances traveled in the warehouse, and Increasing the size of the units handled. The way that will help the warehouse manager to improve its warehouse productivity is an innovative information technology. The innovative information technology such as electronic data interchange, automatic data collection (barcode system) and radio frequency that will created advantage in the warehouse process. The advantages of this innovative information technology are improved customer services, lower costs, and improved operations.

TO BE CONTINUE!

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Strategic Warehouse Information System/Dr. Nuttapon Nimmanphatcharin/2003

SMRG-Faculty of Business Administration / Siam University

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Strategic Warehouse Information System/Dr. Nuttapon Nimmanphatcharin/2003