Business Process Outsourcing

CHAPTER I

INTRODUCTION

Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) is the practice of using a third party, contracted to perform specific, specialized processes on a company's behalf. Recently, the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) organized an annual conference that was hailed as a high-profile assembly in the Asia Pacific. The brightest minds in ICT shared their experiences, insights and expertise, industry innovations, and market opportunities. The conference discussed the future of the Philippine BPO and the strategies that must be undertaken in order to survive the global financial crisis of the industry, (Amira, 2009).

During President Gloria Macapagal - Arroyo's remarks in the conference, she pointed out that BPO and E-services are the economy's key drivers, generating investments and jobs, alleviating poverty and improving the lives of the people. With the emergence of regional ICT hubs, the growth in the country's BPO sector will be propelled further, enabling the Philippines to continuously be seen as a "BPO Goldmine in businesses all over the world", (Lato, 2009).

In banking firms, the Security Bank Corp. (SBC) is investing half a billion pesos for expenditures that may open new opportunities in the global economy. The said bank will be upgrading their ICT Infrastructure. Despite the difficult economic times, the company remains positive about the opportunities that exist. The bank capitalizes on customer care, innovation and speed to market to ride out the crisis and compete in the industry, all with the help of ICT. (Lato, 2009)

Oil and gas industry focuses on finding and producing hydrocarbons. ICT trends within the of oil and gas business concentrates on maximizing the value of past, present and future CS expenditures. ICT trends within the industry of oil companies also targets purchase decisions, offshore outsourcing, maximization of infrastructure and solutions, mobile workforce and global suppliers, improved security, greater services and vendor consolidation. (Amira, 2009)

Background of the Study

RAINCHEM INTERNATIONAL INC. is a Filipino owned company established and registered with the Department of Trade and Industry in November 9, 1995. The enterprise was organized to provide multiple product lines for the preventive maintenance of machines for the manufacturing industry. The full range of products and services of RAINCHEM INC. PHILIPPINES includes metal working fluids, water treatment chemicals, oils, greases, preventive maintenance chemicals and janitorial products.

RAINCHEM INTERNATIONAL INC., originally named RDLP RAIN COMMERCIAL, has been producing oils, lubricants and specially chemical to various manufacturing and business establishments in the Philippines since 1995. Their Headquarters and Office facilities are located in Sucat, Parañaque City, Philippines and they have a Sales Office and Warehousing Facilities in Cebu.

Here is a brief timeline of events that RAINCHEM INC. PHILIPPINES experienced

* October, 1995. Established RDLP RAIN COMMERCIAL.

* May, 1996. First delivery of Cutting Oils started.

* 2002. Established Plant Facilities in 4th Estate PQVE.

* June, 2005. Transferred to new Plant location.

* 2006. Replaced RDLP RAIN COMMERCIAL to RAINCHEM INTERNATIONAL INC. Currently the Company is undertaking activities in working towards ISO 9001:2000 Certificate, Certifications in December 2006.

RAINCHEM INTERNATIONAL INC. has the technical expertise and capabilities in providing customer services and to educate their valued clients on the proper application of their products to attain maximum results and efficiency. The company has a complement of chemists and technical sales and service personnel to improve the performance of its products.

In addition, RAINCHEM INTERNATIONAL INC. has its own Research and Development, Laboratory and Manufacturing facilities at its Sucat, Parañaque Plant. They are constantly developing new technologies to respond to the needs of the industry with innovative concepts and products. This is the commitment of RAINCHEM INC. PHILIPPINES

Over the years RAINCHEM has been the source of innovations in custom products for various industries here in the Philippines. RAINCHEM and its services provides design engineers with solution to problems, improving performance, extending service life, process improvement and reducing overall cost.

In the past few years, RAINCHEM has seen the rising importance of computerize systems in business operations, as well as its different benefits such as opportunities it offers among others. They have tried looking for a system that will suit their company's needs. Right now, a system that would help improve their business in many ways would be a lot of help, although they are still surviving without it.

They also have tried hiring CS and IT graduates from a specific local computer school. Preliminary investigations have also been done, but so far there was no any result yet.

Right now, since they are a good company, they can only see the need for the most appropriate technology in order for them to serve to their fullest, and be internationally competitive, more than they already are.

Objectives of the Study

The general objective of this study is to develop an accurate point of sales and inventory system that will speed up the process of sales and inventory of Rainchem International Inc.

Specific Objectives

Specifically, the project aims to:

* Learn the significance and dynamics of teamwork;

* Grasp the concept of inventory management and related systems;

* Accurately and correctly describe the processes involved in the existing system using a data flow diagram (DFD);

* Correctly identify the significant problems of the company, and its root causes.

Scope and Delimitation

Departments

The scope of this project will include departments such as sales & marketing.

Processes

Major processes included in the scope of this project are the following:

* Sales or Customer Purchase Order;