Graeme's Pet Accessories is a small, but rapidly growing business operating out of Geelong. The in- store business began as a means for Graeme to follow his passion for pet cats and dogs and selling accessories and toys. As much as he enjoys selling pet accessories, it is not a very profitable undertaking. So, Graeme began conducting obedience training group classes for Puppies (less than 1yr old), young dogs (1-2yr olds), adult dogs (3yrs and older) and their owners to supplement the business bottom-line.

Currently, the dog obedience training business aspect is expanding, and he now has five Trainers who are teaching classes at four levels (i.e., Introductory, Intermediate, Advanced, Tricks). Introduction and Intermediate level obedience are group classes for Puppies, Young Dogs and their owners only and Advanced group training classes are for adult dogs and their owners only. The one- on-one Trick class (i.e., one Trainer, one dog and owner) is strictly reserved for individual private training class upon request and is strictly reserved for competent dogs and owners ready for advance Tricks level training.

Approximately two thirds of the training classes consist of school age children owners, and one third of classes is for adult owners. The business also keeps track of which Dog Trainers have a "Working with Children" card and its expiry date, to ensure that only approved Dog Trainers can teach classes with children (i.e., under 18yrs of age) participating.

Additionally, Graeme has now just opened online store presence to sell pet accessories via the Internet and is busy integrating the online business processes and offering five aspects of the pet accessory business for online sales as follows:

Aquarium Shop (aquariums, decorative coral and plants, tank ornaments and decorations, water filters and pumps, tank cleaning gear, fish food)

Bird Shop (cages, toys, feeders, drinker bottles, perches and ladders, swings and mirrors, bird seed and food)

Cat Shop (scratching posts, cat playgrounds and towers, cat beds, grooming gear, toys, leads and harnesses, treats and food)

Dog Shop (kennels, collars, leads and harnesses, dog beds, toys, grooming gear, chew treats and food, poop bags)

Rabbit Shop (hutches, drinker bottles, grooming gear, rabbit runs)
Graeme's Pet Accessories is now carrying out the following core business operations:

Acting as a retail outlet agent for "Western Cats and Dogs Accessories" and "Animal Health and Food Products" and managing in-store and online order processing.

Online only and off-the-shelf sales of regular cat and dog toys and accessories

Booking puppies and dogs into group classes that teach obedience.

Booking dog trainers to teach one-on-one private dog Trick training class based on the competence of the individual dog and owner.

Allocating dog owners and their dogs to specific groups or individual classes depending on training levels competence and requests.

So far, his business has been operating manually with temporary notes scribbled on notebooks in combination with a series of disorganized manual spreadsheets. These tools are becoming inefficient and increasingly inappropriate for managing the growing sales and training demands and the business efficiency. A transition to a database supported information system is urgently needed.

Answer rating: 100% (QA)

Its clear that Graemes Pet Accessories has grown and diversified its operations which is a positive sign for the business However managing the various aspects of the business manually through notebook... View the full answer