Create an in-depth process map for sales, an in depth process map for manufacturing and an depth process map for A/R for company that creates a specialty product.

Don Bland formed a partnership with his son-in-laws and trusted advisors, the area of communication, as this is his primary role, eye on retirement

Together, Todd, Lynn and Hubie are the management team of Bland Manufacturing

Partner Todd Benson took on the role of Vice President of Finances

All extensions of credit are reviewed and granted by Todd. Todd determines the credit limit for each customer. All credit customers are given 30 day terms, with a 1.5% monthly interest charge for each 30 days they are overdue. At the end of each week, Todd updates his approved list of credit customers, with their respective limits, and gives a copy to Laurie. Laurie enters the information into Peachtree and is in charge of keeping track of all accounts.

1. Accounting Manager Stephanie makes weekly adjustments for the operational note that Todd looks after, but feels like they access this note too much and, as a consequence, are paying way too much in interest. It seems almost weekly that Todd has her transfer funds from the note to the checking account. Fixed assets are entirely different mess. She tries to track them in Peachtree but doesnt receive enough communication from anyone to identify assets that have been scrapped or discarded. She knows they can improve their cash flow scenario, but is waiting for the results of your study to address them
2. She (Stephanie) feels strongly that a system able to capture all of this information could greatly increase Todds ability to produce budgets, strong reports and maybe even forecasts, which they have never attempted to do. It would also help her prove to Todd that she knows exactly what she is doing.

1. A/R and payroll clerk, Laurie

• All extensions of credit are reviewed and granted by Todd. Todd determines the credit limit for each customer. All credit customers are given 30 day terms, with a 1.5% monthly interest charge for each 30 days they are overdue. At the end of each week, Todd updates his approved list of credit customers, with their respective limits, and gives a copy to Laurie. Laurie enters the information into Peachtree and is in charge of keeping track of all accounts. All of the orders are received by Laurie. Here is her process for orders of merchandise and accessories in stock. Once she receives an order, she first checks the status of the customer. If their account is current, then she proceeds with accepting payment. Payments are mainly received by check and credit card. Laurie has never processed any cash transactions. After receiving payment, or a promise to pay from a credit customer, she enters the sale into Peachtree and generates an invoice. She then prints three copies of the invoice. She keeps one copy for herself and hands the other two copies to Carter. Custom orders are a whole different ballgame. These orders are primarily placed by the regional sales reps. As normal, they are first received by Laurie and she goes through the process of making sure the customers account is current.

Custom orders are a whole different ballgame. These orders are primarily placed by the regional sales reps. As normal, they are first received by Laurie and she goes through the process of making sure the customers account is current. Next, because they are custom orders, they must be quoted a price. All quotes are generated by Lynn based upon the specifications given by the sales rep. Because of the sheer volume of special orders, it usually takes Lynn 4-5 days to generate a quote. Lynn then takes a copy of his quote and hands it to Laurie. She files it in her Not Yet Accepted file and calls the customer to present the quote. Customers have 15 days to accept.

Once the customer has accepted the quote, they must pay 50% up front, with the remaining 50% due upon receipt of the order. Orders are then given to Lynn for fulfillment. Upon completion, he hands them off to Carter for shipping. Upon shipment, Carter notifies Laurie and she generates the final invoice and sends it to the customer. Laurie usually does a good job of collecting all the receivables outstanding, but they arent always on time

• The process for a custom order starts with the quote. The sales reps receive the requests for quotes and phone them into Laurie at the end of every week. Lynn produces a quote by the end of the following week and the customer has 15 days to accept. Laurie then notifies Lynn once a quote has been accepted and Lynn pulls his original quote, makes a copy of it and hands it to his custom order floor manager. The floor manager types the order into his production schedule spreadsheet.

2. A/P clerk, Michelle

Todd has given purchasing responsibilities off to Michelle. He maintained the role of signing all checks, but Michelle has really stepped into the new role and taken a big load off of Todd. Now, on top of receiving invoices from vendors, cutting the checks and sending them out, Michelle now approves new vendors, sets up credit terms with them and places orders for raw materials based on Lynns requests. She isnt fond of the increased hours this all takes, but she is quite grateful for the extra income. Recently, her and her husband adopted children. On top of trying to finance the adoption, her husbands chimney sweep business was shut down because they forgot to pay employment taxes for the last four years. In your conversations with Michelle, she seems very bright and is a hard worker. Even with the adoption, she hasnt taken a day off in over a year, but knows that you have to pay your dues if you want to move up.

Partner Lynn Willison Lynn took on the role of Vice President of Operations.

1. Stephanie tries to make weekly adjustments for inventory based on spreadsheets she receives from Lynn.
2. Carter Lynns new distribution manager. Laurie hand off to Carter then fulfills the order, attaches a copy of the invoice to the order and sends it off. He keeps the other copy in his files and marks them as fulfilled.

Next, because they are custom orders, they must be quoted a price. All quotes are generated by Lynn based upon the specifications given by the sales rep. Because of the sheer volume of special orders, it usually takes Lynn 4-5 days to generate a quote. Lynn then takes a copy of his quote and hands it to Laurie. She files it in her Not Yet Accepted file and calls the customer to present the quote. Customers have 15 days to accept. (Regional Rep, Laurie, Lynn) Once the customer has accepted the quote, they must pay 50% up front, with the remaining 50% due upon receipt of the order. Orders are then given to Lynn for fulfillment. Upon completion, he hands them off to Carter for shipping. Upon shipment, Carter notifies Laurie and she generates the final invoice and sends it to the customer. (A LOT OF HANDS!!!) Additionally, Todd doesnt feel that Lynn and his floor managers are taking advantage of bulk discounts for raw materials used in the regular merchandise and custom orders. Lynn has a strategy for his production runs on regular merchandise, but Todd thinks they should try to take advantage of product runs that use the same raw materials.

Todd has been after him in the past couple of months for carrying too much merchandise and accessory inventory. He has stated that he would like to cut it in half. Lynn isnt sure how to make that happen as they have over 50 different products in inventory and demand is hard to read. Lynn has tried to keep a spreadsheet of products orders he has fulfilled over the last 24 months to help him predict demand better, but his time is so limited and the spreadsheet isnt very helpful.

Custom orders have been a source of contention between Hubie and Lynn. Hubie is consistently stating that the custom orders from his regional sales people arent being filled in time and this is sabotaging his efforts to maintain strong relationships. From Lynns perspective, he states that his department is working as fast as they can, but has expressed some frustration at trying to fulfill last minute orders. Lynn feels this isnt a systems problem, but is largely due to the nature of custom orders. He isnt able to produce custom saddles in batches and could become more efficient if he could find a way to do so.

As it stands right now, Lynn is very backed up on custom order quotes. He has been trying to train his floor manager in the art of quotes, but doesnt feel comfortable with letting him run with it yet. Therefore, Lynn is still doing it and, as of the end of the month, still had a stack of twenty-five quotes he needed to process.

Currently, Lynn is working to adjust the two process flows, regular merchandise and custom orders. As noted above, there are over 50 different items in the regular merchandise line of business. Demand for these products in highly seasonal, with the peak season being between June and August and the second largest demand coming around the December holiday season. Lynn has been keeping a spreadsheet of all the shipments he has made for the past five years. Based on these shipments, he calculates an average annual demand for each product.

Hubie Shorb Vice President of Business Development

1. Over the past three years, Hubie has spent a considerable amount of time uncovering the nuances of marketing a specialty product
2. Traditionally, they have had a heavy presence with the Professional Bull Riders Association and the National Finals Rodeo and have sold their products through catalog sales and specialty western stores
3. However, Hubie believes they are being too reactionary in producing new products and has been keeping his eye out for new product demand.

1. Hubie has hired five regional sales people to canvass everything west of Ohio.
2. On top of maintaining current relationships, each regional sales person has been given the task of identifying a prime place to open a store front and to begin connecting with large ranches and high-end boarding stables in their respective regions. They will still continue to sell through speciality western shops and the catalog, but Hubie would like to see more personal contact with customers so he can get a better feel of custom demand and different products that may be in demand. To date, no new storefronts have been opened, but the relationships being built are producing increased demand.
3. Custom orders are a whole different ballgame. These orders are primarily placed by the regional sales reps. As normal, they are first received by Laurie and she goes through the process of making sure the customers account is current.
4. Custom orders have been a source of contention between Hubie and Lynn. Hubie is consistently stating that the custom orders from his regional sales people arent being filled in time and this is sabotaging his efforts to maintain strong relationships. From Lynns perspective, he states that his department is working as fast as they can, but has expressed some frustration at trying to fulfill last minute orders. Lynn feels this isnt a systems problem, but is largely due to the nature of custom orders. He isnt able to produce custom saddles in batches and could become more efficient if he could find a way to do so.