Other times the company has more flowers than they can sell and have large spoilage losses. Several managers have asked for additional technology to solve their problems. Erika feels that she needs more information to make these decisions. She wants your team to investigate the following topics and make recommendations about how they might help her business. Caroline Curtis has just been promoted to Vice President of International Purchases.
Blooms has suppliers in fifteen locations in Mexico and South America.
Flowers are flown in twice a week and distributed to the dozen Bloom s Blooms shops in the Greater Gloucester area, but some suppliers insist that orders be placed a month before delivery. Ms. Curtis has read articles that companies like Wal-Mart do a good job getting the right products to stores at the right time. Caroline is proposing to implement a telecommunication system using EDI to link suppliers directly to the company. Erika would like you to explain how telecommunications systems and EDI work and how they might address Caroline's problem. Ashley Burgess is looking for help in managing her sales force.