Sales Management Information System

Building a business reputation requires good production or good services. Just like in any other business, the main goal is to attract and win new customers, satisfy and nurture those who already patronize the company. For the business persons, time is money that is why they demand for reliable transactions that is fast and easy. This study is all about developing a system that will carry out input, processes, output, storage, and other tasks in order to transform data into useful information, that are needed in decision-making, planning, and operational activities of a particular business. Usually, the general or the company manager is the one who is responsible in monitoring and evaluating the company’s performance by comparing previous and present results. These results are from the daily transactions of the company such as recording or updating customer’s profile and information, placed orders, computations, and bills.

The problem arises primarily in ordering transactions, billing and sales report between the customers and the company. These processes are done manually since the company has no computer-based system yet. Initially, data like company name, customer’s name, address and order details like quantity, bill, and delivery date are gathered. They also need sales report in order for them to monitor the current situation of their company. This practice takes time and since it is done manually, there is a great chance for clerical errors.

Moreover, the files do not have proper storage so redundancy of data is more likely to happen.These problems gave ideas to the proponents to develop a LAN-Based Sales Management Information System for TransPhil Trading, which is located at Brngy. Talipapa, Novaliches, Quezon City. Features of this system includes storing and retrieving customer’s information which will be useful for the company to contact their customers, placing and updating orders which will be stored in the database of the system in order for the users to track the demand of the customer.

The system will also include computations of the total bill where details about the order and its price are included. It will also display charts which will represent the sales of the company monthly and weekly, generate sales report in document type which can be printed out for the manager’s review, provide copy of vouchers and receipt for the customers in order for them to review or check their orders. In order for this to be possible, our system development tools are consists of VB.NET application in Visual Studio 2008 for Program coding and creating the user interface, MY SQL Server as for the Back-End and Microsoft development tools for the documentation.

Background of the Study In business dictionary, sales is defined as the act of selling a product or services in exchange for money or other benefits while management is the act of gathering, supervising, analyzing and evaluating information or a group of people to attain certain goals. Hence, sales management is the attainment of sales force goals in an effective and efficient manner through planning, staffing, training, leading, and controlling organizational resources (Futrell1998). In today’s business technology all physical system are being turned into a computerized system to cater the wants and needs of the consumers fast and easy.Sales management information system helps businesses to have fast and reliable transactions, monitors all these transactions and process data into important and useful information, which is needed for decision-making. This study is all about developing this kind of system for TransPhil Trading.

The company started since 1976, and its first name was NovCruz Transformers and Mr. Norberto Cruz, originally owns it. He died in the year 2005, and his daughter, Mrs. Irma Cruz-Ventigan took over and managed the company. They decided to change the company name from PhilTrans Electrical Engineering to Transphil Trading. It is a manufacturing company of transformers for different companies and establishments.

Transformer is a device that transfers electric energy from one alternating current to one or more other circuits, increasing or decreasing, stepping up and stepping down the voltage, as the electrical engineers defined it.Transformers have two types, the dry type, and the oil type. According to the workers, the dry type is commonly ordered. Transformers are made to order so usually those who ordered from them already have a list of raw materials and specifications such as capacity, voltage and phase.

They only accept cash and checks and they require a fifty percent (50%) of the total bill as a down payment from their customers. Warranty of their product is one year, and it already covers the maintenance. They also offer services such as transformer repair. The main problem in TransPhil Trading is the reliability, accuracy, speed and security of all the transaction happens each day since the company still uses manual processes.For they only use record books, clerical errors cannot be avoided and thus, results of this records is unreliable for decision making of the general manager.

Since this business requires a lot of computations in their sales, bills, payments and balances, accuracy in all of these are very vital in order to determine the status of every transaction. Nowadays, customers are demanding for fast transactions in able for them to save time for their other appointments, the existing process of the company cannot achieve this goal. Everytime that there is update in orders and other services, one of the secretaries will have to entertain this changes but if there is something wrong or something missing in the information about the update, they cannot track who is responsible for the mistake.These manual processes take time not only to the employees but to the customers as well. The customers of this kind of business are consists of big companies that uses huge amount of electricity, therefore they send people who knows exactly what they needed like electrical engineers. Based on the interview from Mrs.

Ventigan, the owner and the general manager of the company, the competition in this kind of business is now getting stiff. According to her, the company is now ready to adapt new technologies that will solve the problems that they encounter in their day-to-day transactions. Moreover, the customers are now demanding for fast and reliable results that a manual process cannot provide. If this manual processes produces, inaccurate and undependable information then it will affect the evaluation and planning for new strategies that will possibly enhance the business status. If this will be the outcome, there is an opportunity of business liquidation or bankruptcy.

Through sales management information system, the business will have fast transactions that will produce reliable information, which is needed in order to evaluate and compare results that will be the basis for the next strategies of the company.Theoretical FrameworkFigure1.0 Theoretical framework of Sales Management System (Source: Paolo Aimetti, 2010) The figure in the above shows the theoretical framework of Sales Management System by Mr. Paolo Aimetti. Customer, inventory, services and billing are its main features.

The customer module allows the user to manage customer account, and view related information such as sales, purchased units, and bills.The system also allows the user to retrieve customer record by different search methods, view/edit customer record fields, view attached sales, and view unit purchased and related services, view-billing status: done/pending payments and balance. The inventory module includes tracking every single item as a unique piece based on the original manufacturer serial number; the system can generate serial numbers and print related barcodes when the manufacturers do not provide these. Entering/scanning products product number, serial numbers, easily loads items in the Inventory on order arrival and other info (cost); partial order delivery is supported.

Items are unloaded from the inventory at delivery time; the delivery order shows the items to be delivered and the locations where these can be found; full details of delivery and installation can be tracked.The billing module includes managing bills, invoices, and track payments; at any time, authorized users can get information about outstanding invoices, customer balances, and retrieve/print invoices. Manage the entire sale process from collecting information on a new customer or retrieving the account for an existing one; selecting the items, calculating the price, applying discounts. The tracked information generates a bill and a delivery order. The study is from the concept of transaction processing system (TPS).

Transaction processing system is a type of information system that collects, stores, modifies, and retrieves the transaction of an organization (Cohen, 2009). It is designed based on the detailed specifications for how the transaction should be performed and how to control the collection of specific data formats in accordance with rules, policies, and goals of an organization.Conceptual FrameworkFigure 2.0 Conceptual Diagram of the Study The figure above shows the conceptual diagram of the study where the proponents have formulated input-process-output, performance test is also included. Input The input stage indicates the user requirements where the manager and the secretary of the host company are included.

Interview includes the verbal and the questionnaires that the proponents have formulated to gather relevant information about the host company and their business processes. Software requirement includes all the software that will be use such as the operating system, visual studio where we will use its Vb.NET application for the user interface and coding. My SQL server will be the back-end. Microsoft development tools for the documentation of this study.

Computers and the dot matrix printer are the hardware requirements.Process Since the proponents used the modified waterfall model of software development cycle, the process block shows the analysis, design, coding, testing and evaluation phase. Requirement definition and analysis are under analysis phase, this is where the proponents analyzed all requirements needed in the study. Design phase contains the diagrams such as flowcharts, context and dataflow diagram which allows the proponents to understand the flow of the proposed system. Coding includes the actual coding of the proposed system using vb.

net. In order to know if the system is functioning according to its required functions, unit testing and black-box testing will be done in the testing phase. While in evaluation phase is the use of Likert’s scale to measure the verbal interpretation of the respondents for the evaluation of the software.Output With the help of those attributes in input and process block, the output stage shows the developed system which is the LAN-based Sales Management Information System. It will help the employees of the host company to store and retrieve customer information, place/update orders and repairs, computes bills, payments and balances and generate reports such as orders, repairs, payments, balances, deliveries, inventory, and the company’s total sales.

The evaluation criteria are Reliability, Accuracy and security. The acceptable rating is good.ScopeThe focus of this study is to develop a LAN-based Sales Management System in replacement to the manual system of TransPhil Trading. The system is expected to help the employees of our host company to have a fast and reliable transaction by means of storing, retrieving, and processing important data. It covers the ordering process where the users can add, update, search orders, add, and update repairs.

Billing, monitoring of payments and balances as well as the inventory where defective, critical, and stock evaluation of items are included in the proposed system. All the recorded information of the company’s day-to-day transaction can be stored in the system’s database. It can be viewed through reports and data visualization such as charts and graphs and it can also be printed out, it will be the basis for the General Manager of the company to know the status of their business. Learning from these results, they will be able to evaluate and compare present with previous outcomes in order for them to plan new strategies that will probably improve their sales.

DelimitationsThe proposed system will not cover the delivery process and manufacturing process of the host company. Significance of the Study The study is all about the development of a new system that will help the employees of the host company to have fast, reliable and less trouble transactions. This study will be significant to the following:ManagerThe manager usually ask for a report about the orders or transactions that have been made, in able for him/her to know or to evaluate the current state of the company. Through reports and draft boards featured in the system, he/she can access or can have a reliable and accurate sales report so that whatever results stated in that report will give them knowledge if the business is going well or if there is need of planning on how they can improve their marketing strategies.

SecretaryIn this business, the secretary is responsible for all the transactions involved between the customers, company, and workers. Transactions with the customers includes keeping information about them, order details, agreements and computations of bills and charges then the transactions with the company includes making a daily report about the orders and report about the revenues which will be needed by the manager and the workers.The system contains functions that can add/update customer’s information, add/update order details like quantity, and delivery date, and immediately computes the total bill of the customer. Reports will generate automatically and can be printed out fast and easy for the copy of workers and the manager if he/she asks to.Workers/laborersThese people are responsible for the manufacturing and delivery of the orders of the customers; they must have a copy of the important order details.

These details contains the company name, company address, name of the customer, personal address, details of the product customized by the customer and the delivery date so that they can manage their time and prepare the raw materials that they are going to use. Since the system has a report-generating tool, they can have a copy of the order details straightaway with assurance that those details are accurate for their work to be faultless in order to meet the satisfaction of their customers. CustomersCustomers are very important in a business because they are the ones who keep it alive and running that is why they have to be impressed, satisfied, and trust the services or the products that a particular business is offering. With the system storing and retrieving capability, they would no longer repeat all the details that the company needed if they will order the very same thing.

They can also have a copy of their order details and total computations and be confident that it is accurate and precise. That copy will serve as a proof or requirement that the deliverymen will request them to present when the orders have been delivered.Future ResearchersSince the technology is changing so fast, it is not impossible that it can offer more amenities that may improve this study. For the future researchers, this study will probably be one of their sources in developing a much more useful system when the time and the society ask for more regarding business transactions. Using high technology in their improved system, they can help future businesses to give and serve the need of future consumers.ProponentsThis study will be significant to the proponents because through this, they will be able to know how information technology and information system such as transaction processing system will help a particular business organization to improve their offered services in terms of reliability, accuracy, and security.