SH Co.’s purchasing process Background: SH Co. is a local company dealing with major ship repairs. It has a diverse set of customers, ranging from small private yacht owners to large shipping merchants. Its main specialty is in welding and repairs of ship hulls. Process: This passage describes the ordering process of SH Co.. SH Co. has a centralized Purchasing department reporting to the Operations manager. When the welding teams require new metals sheets or other materials, they have to fill up a standard requisition form. Once it is filled up, the form is then sent to the Operations manager for approval. After the Operations manager has reviewed the requisition form, he will indicate his approval by signing on the approval box in the form. The approved requisition form is then routed to the Purchasing department. The purchasing officer will review the requisition form to ensure the signature is in the approval box and then check against the internal inventory database and the vendor master file in their system. The purchasing officer will then update the requisition form with the vendor name, price, and delivery details. The purchasing officer will also fill up three copies of the purchase order. One copy of the purchase order is sent to the vendor. The other copy is filed by serial number in the Purchasing department and the final copy is attached to the requisition form and sent back to the Operations department for filing.

(a) Analyse the process described in the passage above. Apply and prepare the flowchart for the process. State all assumptions made.

(b) Describe and explain two (2) ways by which IT could be applied to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of the purchasing process. You need to provide specific technology and process changes in each of the ways you have identified (Do not only state general IT applications. You have to discuss the IT application using information from the above description