Service Request Sr-Rm-012

Service Request SR-rm-012

Ryan Aberasturi, Carlos Castro, Brian Dawson, Robert Papenberg, Charles Williams

BSA/310

April 16, 2012

Aviv Reveh

Service Request SR-rm-012

Abstract

Riordan Manufacturing is a global manufacturer of plastic products headquartered in San Jose, California. Riordan operates three plants; a beverage container plant in Albany, Georgia, a custom parts plant in Pontiac, Michigan, and an automotive parts plant in Hangzhou, China. With 550 employees Riordan services a variety of customers in the automotive and aircraft industries, beverage makers, bottlers, appliance manufacturers, and the Department of Defense. Riordan Manufacturing is a leader in the research and development of polymer materials and routinely provides solutions to customer challenges. Riordan is committed to achieve and sustain profitability to ensure that financial and human capital is available, making continual growth possible (Riordan Manufacturing intranet home page).

The purpose and definition of the Service Request is to ensure Riordan is effectively using their financial and human capital to maintain growth, this report will show and detail systems and sub-systems in use and identify and detail systems that may be necessary. The report will focus on systems present or needed in Accounting and Finance, Human Resources, Legal, Sales and Marketing, and Operations. In addition to the systems in use and the needed systems, the type and need for security will also be defined and detailed. The "Home" page will be the first area to discuss.

The Home Page:

The "Home" page for Riordan Manufacturing contains a link to the intranet and acts as the home page for the Internet. The intranet contains several links, which are on a navigation bar at the top of the page. The links also contain sub-links that can be seen by hovering over the main link on the navigation bar. These are connected to different areas of the business and require a username and password to access. The different systems can be viewed by hovering over "Information Technology" in the intranet navigation bar and clicking on "networks." Each system is described and a copy of the layout can be printed out. The top right corner of the home page contains constantly changing photos of products created by Riordan Manufacturing. A link located at the bottom of the Internet home page named "Virtual Organizations Portal" can be used to return a user to the Virtual Organizations home page. The Internet home page could use more links providing more information about the company. The home page is basically used to access the intranet and nothing more except showing photos of products. More links could be added to discuss Riordan Manufacturing, its history, upcoming products, and goals. Finance and Accounting will be the next topic.

Finance and Accounting:

Riordan Manufacturing has facilities in Georgia, Michigan, California, and Hangzhou, China. Each Riordan Manufacturing region has a unique finance and accounting application in operation that provides input, which is consolidated at the corporate office in San Jose, California. The office in San Jose has a fully integrated manufacturing, distribution, and finance management application. The application was designed for use in the plastics manufacturing business. Michigan's system is no longer vendor supported. Georgia purchased a system from a different vendor. However, each has access to the source code allowing in-house alterations to the applications. Integration between the three sites is accomplished through electronic and manual methods. Each system contains basic components, such as the components listed below.

* General Ledger

* Accounts Payable

* Accounts Receivable

* Order entry

* Procurement

* Sales and Purchasing history

* Invoicing and Shipping

* Payroll

* Financial reporting

* EDI (San Jose only)

* Bar Code Reading

* EDSS (Executive Decision Support System)

The result is the delivery of month end financial closeout two weeks after the end of each month. Riordan Manufacturing has deemed the situation with the financial applications unacceptable. A decision to consolidate and operate under one financial management system is imperative at Riordan Manufacturing. In addition to unifying operations with one application, there is a need for an electronic data interchange at Riordan. The data interchange will allow each application at each site to exchange data as needed. Month end processing would be greatly enhanced with connectivity established between each site.

The current situations regarding the finance and accounting system for Georgia is that Georgia purchased a vendor developed software application along with the source code for the finance and accounting and manufacturing process applications. These systems currently run on two AS400's and Unix operating systems. Personal computers are used as workstations and are programmed in RPG400. Michigan purchased a different vendor developed software application and attendant source code for the finance and accounting and process application. The vendor has since gone out of business. This application runs on two DEC Alphas using a VMS operating system, VAX4000 workstations, and programmed in C language. San Jose possesses a license for a fully integrated Windows-based ERP manufacturing, distribution, and financial management software application. This application was specifically designed for plastics processors and process and assembly manufacturers. Application source code is not included in the license. The human resources department will be the next topic.

Human Resources:

Riordan Manufacturing's Human Resources (HR) department uses older technology and needs upgrading. Riordan Manufacturing's Human Resources Information System (HRIS) was installed in 1992 and is part of the financial systems package (Riordan Manufacturing, HR, 2012). The existing method used to process company information is labor intensive and inadequate. The process for collecting,