INTRODUCTION TO THE CSO INVENTORY SYSTEM
Summary of The CSO Inventory System Project:
The CSO Inventory System is a multi user software package designed for
use in a supermarket chain, and their central wharehouse. Unlike alternative
products, the CSO Inventory System includes special features to ensure
inventory security, while maintaining a system of dynamic inventory control.
These features include access to system functionality according to employee
position and the ability for grocery store management to set access to system
functionality for all personel. Furthermore, the ability scrutinise the
history of system use will provide a method for investigating inventory
anomilies.
The potential advantages for using the Collective Supermarket
Owners Inventory System include such areas as boosted business performance
and productivity through dynamic electronic inventory control. Task
centered interface design for employees at the customer service level
will improve retail customer satisfaction. Accurate inventory records
that include details on persons responsible for data changes can assist
in grocery store structure changes to improve inventory throughput.
Automation of the stock ordering process can decrease the time wasting
paper trail and speed up delivery. Integrating the systems of all
grocery store locations will facilitate precise inventory control
throught the Collective Sepermarket Owners empire.
Phase one of the project will provide a comprehensive system for use at
all grocery store outlets of the Collective Supermarket Owners available May of
1996. Phase one of the project will bring the CSO into the next century. This
phase of the project will provide all the necessary system functionality for a
funuctioning grocery store inventory database system. To ensure that the
Collective Supermarker Owners business can advance with changing technology,
business needs, and work flow, phase one of the CSO inventory system will be
designed to minimise the costs of increasing and improving the system
functionality.
Several important features will be implemented in phase one to address
all fundamental areas of customer requirements. In addition to providing
restricted access to system functionality according to empoyee type, phase one
will allow the management to select the security access level for each
individual employee from a set of choices defined by the customer. The system
will also record all changes to the inventory system databases for future
reference.
Future phases of the project will increase the flexibility of the CSO
Inventory system. In this phase of the project management can define
additional security access levels as the role of each employee changes. A
fully functional archive access system will be implemented to make full use of
the database records of system use. By providing these additional features in
future phases of the project, the Collective Supermarket Owners can be sure
that the their inventory system will change with the companies changing needs.
Additional features for later phases of the project are already under
investigation. Refer to the section titled "Future Enhancements Coming
for the CSO Inventory System" at the end of this document.
The terms of agreement for phase one of the project are currently under
negotiation. The design team at 10th Level Solutions are committed to
providing a functional supermarket inventory system within the restricted time
domain set forth by Dr. Mildred Shaw.