write a introduction for the case study, "Case study

Dream glass.

Dream glass is a medium business operating in and around Sydney city. The company supplies glass for windows and doors, and other structures within the Sydney area. Glass can be ordered in bulk as part of a construction project, or in smaller quantities as replacement for broken windows, doors containing glass, bus shelters, and larger areas such as internal feature walls etc. The company began by operating in the Sydney CBD originally but has since expanded its operations to other areas.

Background

The owner of the company, Peter Peri, began the company in $2011,$ operating a single glazier truck from a warehouse in North Sydney. Peter operated successfully in the Sydney CBD$,$ providing a high$-$quality service to his clients. The business has steadily increased, and Peter now operates a fleet of $11$ glazier trucks and has expanded the operating territory to cover the entire Sydney. The Business expansion has included a move to a large warehouse and glass preparation area, with the head office located next door in a modern office block. The business seems to be expanding and Peter is now beginning to consider opening franchises in outer Sydney areas, to be serviced from the central warehouse operation. Peter also has arranged to deal exclusively with a large glass manufacturing plant, Sydney Glass Plant, located in an outer Sydney suburb. By becoming a large customer of Sydney Glass Plant, Peter gets lucrative discounts which he can pass on to customers, helping him compete in this competitive market.

The size of the business has now reached a stage where Peter can see major issues arising. As the business has grown, the operations have become more complex, and this will only become more so if franchises are added to the current operations.

Peter has decided to employ you to investigate the business needs and to conduct an initial feasibility study into the possible options for computerising part or all the operations.

Description of the Current System

The current system is a manual based system which has served the company well, but is now becoming outdated and causing bottlenecks due to the increased workload demand. Currently the business has two main areas, the Large Projects Section, and the Repair Section.

Large Projects

Jane John works for Peter in heading up this section of the business. In the Large Projects section Jane and her staff put together quotes for whole jobs by responding to a construction companies RFQs $($Request For Quotes$).$ The quotes are for complete supply of glass needs for major construction projects such as new building projects or reconstruction projects on large premises.

The team begin by identifying construction projects and responding to the company RFQ$.$ The team will contact the company to request precise specifications and put together a quote for materials, delivery, and installation. If the quote is successful, Dream glass will then develop a timeline document for approval by the company and begin the ordering process. A timely order will be placed with Sydney Glass Plant for the raw material, and these will be delivered to the warehouse. A Work Order is generated which includes a copy of the original quote and specifications and sent to Glass Preparation, where the work will begin in preparing the glass panes according to the specifications and delivery schedule.

Once the glass is prepared and cut to size, an Installation Order is made, and a glazier truck booked for the delivery and installation date.

Repair

Will Wilder is the head of the repair section, and manages the Dream glass Truck fleet.

Customers will ring in to the Repair section with requests for repair, or for replacement, and the schedules will be checked to find the closest Glazier Truck. The repair request will be slotted into the schedule of the closest truck, and usually result in a same day service. When the Glazier arrives at a customer$$s site, they will quickly check to see if the job can be performed immediately, or if a special Work Order needs to be completed.

Each Morning, the Glazier trucks are outfitted with a standard compliment of glass sheets of varying thicknesses and sizes. Over time this standard fit$-$out seems to cover a Glazier for most of the day for their standard type of repair jobs. The glass preparation area is responsible for outfitting the truck each day with the standard compliment of glass, based on a compilation of the completed Job Sheets completed each day by each Glazier. The only exception is when a truck is specifically booked for a large project delivery and installation.

If a Glazier arrives at a repair job and cannot complete the job because they lack specific materials, then a Work Order is completed and bought back to the warehouse so the Glass preparation area can prepare the material for installation in the next day. If the Glazier can complete the Job on the same day,"