Case Study: Riordan Manufacturing System

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Riordan System Proposal Week #5

Jason Edwards

CIS/207

01/19/2015

Bradley Hulce

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Riordan Manufacturing Inc. New System Proposal

Executive Summary: Riordan Manufacturing Inc. is currently the industry leader in the plastic injection molding

field. Riordan products range from plastic bottles, cups and plastic storage containers, plastic fan

components, all the way to precision medical devices such as stents and heart valves. The Riordan

Manufacturing Inc. headquarters is located in San Jose, California with multiple manufacturing plants

located around the world. Currently Riordan products are available for shipping to consumers around

the globe. With Riordan 's products steadily increasing in demand, the business has experienced a large

amount of business expansions over the past few years. This recent growth in business demand has

presented Riordan with the need for a new and improved ERP (enterprise resource planning) system.

Riordan 's continued success in the plastic injection molding market depends heavily on the company 's

ability to compete with other market competitors. Riordan 's current information system is unable to

effectively manage and process the present high volume of incoming orders. This processing inability

has created a delay in final product shipping. The inability to effectively and efficiently manage and

process the customer 's orders can prevent Rriordan Manufacturing Inc. from reaching and operating at

their true potential. In order for Riordan Manufacturing Inc. to continue to lead the pack, the company

must stay up to date with today 's available information system technologies. Riordan must address

these current issues immediately in order to remain competitive within the plastic injection molding

marketplace. The efficiency which would be added to Riordan 's current business processes by the

implementation of a new and improved information system, would result in a considerably increased

business profit for Riordan Manufacturing Inc. This proposed ERP system is composed entirely of

industry-leading hardware and software components, providing a stable business IT platform for

Riordan Manufacturing Inc. All of the proper safeguards have been taken to ensure that a high level of

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information security is provided by this new system. This new system is designed with routine system

maintenance being a high priority. Many of Riordan 's current business processes would be effected as a

result of this new system acquisition. Information flow throughout the Riordan organization would

drastically increase, resulting in the improved accessibility of vital business data. This new ERP system

further increases information accessibility through the implementation of a wireless network. Wireless

network access will provide the Riordan employees the ability to access the company network through

the use of mobile devices such as tablets and smartphones. Being provided with This added level of

mobility will permit Riordan employees the ability to navigate away from their desks while remaining

connected to the company network. Many of the current labor intensive tasks associated with

production and inventory management would be eliminated. The automation of these manual tasks

would remove the potential for human error and increase the accuracy of product inventory data. This

improved level of inventory management would result in an increase in production and a decrease in

product shipping delays. Another added benefit provided to Riordan by implementing the proposed

ERP system would be the improved communication between Riordan and their raw material vendors.

This improvement in vendor communication would provide a decrease in production time by ensuring

the required raw materials supply is readily available.

The Business Requirements that are Driving the Need for the System: There are numerous business requirements behind Riordan Manufacturing Inc. 's need for a new

information system. Riordan Manufacturing Inc. must stay up to date with current business

technologies to maintain their position in the plastic injection molding market and ensure continued

success. As the business grows and expands their market, the need for an increased data management

capacity also grows. Currently, Riordan Manufacturing Inc. 's IT system lacks many of today 's available

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technologies used in business. Riordan 's continued success in the plastic injection molding market

ultimately relies on their ability to remain competitive within that market. The implementation of this

new and up to date ERP system would provide Riordan with the current available IT technologies that

would drastically improve the productivity throughout all areas of the organization, while eliminating

the need for many of the current labor-intensive procedures. The use of this state of the art enterprise

system would provide Riordan with improved access to essential information from all departments of

the organization. Using this new and up to date ERP system would simplify access to valuable business

information and improve communication throughout the company. The added ability, to produce

accurate and targeted information about customer 's wants and needs, will help the company to stay

competitive in the plastic injection molding marketplace. By identifying the desires of the consumers

Riordan will then be able to better tailor their different marketing campaigns to target potential

customers. The need for an improved level of inventory management is also eliminated by

implementing this ERP system. Faced with the increasing threat of cyber attacks and other data security

issues, the system must be fully equipped with the latest technology designed to combat these threats.

With the high level of efficiency provided by this new ERP system, Riordan Manufacturing Inc. will

provided the ability to cut down on the high energy costs associated with the operation of the current

outdated IT systems being used.

The Specific Business Requirements Driving Project:

Faced with the current increase in demand for Riordan products, Riordan Manufacturing Inc. is

presented with the need for a new and improved ERP system. With the current high volume of

customer orders that are being placed daily, Riordan Manufacturing Inc. 's current IT system is unable

to adequately monitor the company 's production and efficiently process the product orders. Having the

lack of necessary production monitoring abilities has drastically slowed down the business 's production 5

as well as added an increased delay in the final product shipping. The primary drive behind the creation

of this new ERP system is the company 's present inability to access and process critical production and

shipping information in a timely manner. This current failure, to process orders efficiently and monitor

production, has taken a toll on Riordan 's potential to remain competitive in their market. The

implementation of this new and up-to-date ERP system would provide many distinct improvements

throughout all areas of the Riordan organization. The implementation of this new ERP system would

provide the ability to automate many once manual tasks associated with production and inventory

management and will benefit Riordan Manufacturing Inc. immensely. With the added ability to

automate these once manual tasks, Riordan will be provided with an increased level of information

accuracy by eliminating the potential of human error. Improvements in data accuracy will create many

noticeable improvements throughout the entire Riordan plant. Riordan will then be enabled to eliminate

many of the manual steps associated with the managing of raw materials and monitoring of the finished

product inventory. As a direct result of the automation of manual tasks, Riordan will begin to see a

significant drop in labor associated costs. With the distinct boost in information flow this new ERP

system will help take Riordan into the future of business. With the improved level of communication

between Riordan and their suppliers comes a significant increase in both production and business

efficiency. The implementation of wireless routers located throughout the Riordan plant will provide an

improved level of communication and information flow between the different departments of the entire

Riordan plant. These mobile access points will allow employees to access valuable company

information, access orders and communicate with suppliers while away from their desk. This added

level of network mobility would result in drastically improved business efficiency for Riordan

Manufacturing Inc.

Proposed Solution: 6

The implementation of this new and up-to-date enterprise system is guaranteed to benefit all

areas of Riordan Manufacturing Inc. in numerous ways. With the improved data management,

networking capabilities, and security features that are available, this system will help take Riordan

Manufacturing Inc. into the future of business and marketing. No longer will the Riordan employees

have to face the daunting task of attempting to locate the company information that is contained in

multiple systems. Through the use of this new state of the art enterprise system, all of the organization 's

files and data are easily managed on one system and are easily accessible by Riordan employees. With

the significantly increased data management capability that is added by this system, a notable amount

of time is saved through the use of the numerous state of the art business oriented software applications

provided. Also with the added business efficiency offered by the increased performance of this system

Riordan Manufacturing Inc. will be provided the ability to significantly cut down on the high energy

costs associated with the operation of an IT system.

The proposed System Components:

This new ERP system designed for Riordan Manufacturing Inc. is composed entirely of

industry-leading hardware and software components. The combination of this hardware and software

will provide Riordan with an unsurpassed level of system performance. Each of the components

included in this new system are manufactured and distributed by IMB to ensure both hardware and

software compatibility.

1.) Hardware:

-IBM Power 795 server - The use of the IBM Power 795 server will provide the

Riordan Manufacturing Inc. with the potential for large-scale transaction processing and database

applications. Increased system efficiency and will also help lower cost of operation. The IBM Power

795 also offers flexibility and built-in redundancy allowing the system to grow with your business. 7

(“IBM Power 795”, 2014)

-IBM Blade center HS23- “Integrated tools such as IBM Systems Director Active

Energy Manager™ and Blue Path Cooling blade design deliver outstanding power management.”

(“IBM Blade center HS23”, 2014)

-IBM BladeCenter Virtual Fabric 10Gb Switch Module- “Great performance with

bandwidth to spare for growing application needs” ("IBM BladeCenter Virtual Fabric 10gb Switch

Module", 2014).

-IBM PCIe Cryptographic Coprocessor- “The IBM PCIe Cryptographic Coprocessor

provides a high-security, high-throughput cryptographic subsystem. The IBM 4765 Cryptographic

Security Module validated to FIPS 140-2, Overall Level 4 (highest level of security)” ("IBM PCIe

Cryptographic Coprocessor", 2014).

-IBM System Storage DS8000 series-”Deliver continuous data availability with full

hardware redundancy and advanced business-continuity.” (“IBM System Storage DS8000 Series”,

2014)

2.) Software:

-IBM AIX 7.1 (IBM 's version of Unix)- Will provide Riordan Manufacturin Inc. with a

secure OS platform while allowing the IBM Power 795 server to operate at peak performance. Provides

an Increased application availability with enhanced workload manageability and energy savings. ("IBM

AIX Version 7.1", 2014).

-IBM DB2 Advanced Enterprise Server Edition- Will provide Riordan Manufacturing

Inc. with drastically increased data management capabilities. “IBM DB2 Advanced Enterprise Server

Edition places no restriction on processor limit or memory size. It provides storage optimization, highly

reliable system availability, workload management and performance to help reduce overall database

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costs.” ("Advanced Enterprise Server Edition", 2014)

-Watson Content Analytics- “Transforms information into insights by uncovering trends,

patterns, and relationships from enterprise content through intuitive analytics visualizations.”(Watson

Content Analytics”, 2014)

The Internet and Mobile Access Components:

In today 's business world, access to the Internet is crucial to the processes and operations of any

organization. Wireless and Mobile access is becoming a requirement for any businesses wanting to

improve their efficiency and production. Riordan 's current IT system lacks many of the components

that are necessary to provide adequate and reliable wireless and mobile connectivity. With this new and

up-to-date ERP system in place, Riordan Manufacturing Inc. will gain increased flexibility and

mobility throughout their entire organization. This new system would provide better than adequate

Internet and mobile access to all departments of Riordan Manufacturing Inc. Internet access would be

made available through the use of a dedicated Symmetric digital subscriber line (Dedicated SDSL)

connection. This broadband Internet connection would provide the amount of bandwidth required to

run Riordan 's network. The addition of a Virtual Private Network (VPN) would add much-needed

flexibility and security to the access of the company 's network servers. The added flexibility comes

from the ability of employees to maintain a connection to the company servers while traveling outside

of the office. Through the implementation of mobile devices used to access the company network, the

employees are permitted more freedom away from their desk area. The increased mobility will enable

employees the ability to check prices, orders, inventory, availability, as well as communicate with

suppliers right from their mobile devices. Proper steps are required to ensure wireless network access is

available throughout the various departments of the Riordan plant. Wireless access points would be

established via numerous broadband Wi-Fi routers located strategically throughout the entire Riordan 9

corporation. The IBM BladeCenter Virtual Fabric 10Gb Switch Module would serve as a hub for

connecting multiple Belkin High-Performance Wireless N300 VPN Routers. These Belkin High-

Performance Wireless N300 VPN Routers will create fast and reliable mobile access to information for

Riordan employees. According to "Lenovo" (2014) “The WirelessN300 VPN Router creates a secure

Virtual Private Network for instant access in the office and on the road. Advanced SP1 Firewall, Access

Security technology, and AES, 3DES encryption keeps your network fully secure. Operating at Gigabit

speed, your network gives your business the information you need, when you need it.” (Belkin High-

Performance Wireless N300 VPN Router). With this increased degree of network availability, comes

the greater need for wireless security. The wireless network would be secured by implementing the

Wi-Fi Protected Access II (WPA2) security protocol. The WPA2 protocol would require employees to

enter a security key in order to gain access to the Riordan company network, therefore protecting the

valuable information it contains.

The Information used in the system:

A majority of the information contained in this ERP system would be provided largely in part

by product availability and previous consumer transactions. This information would provide Riordan

Manufacturing Inc. with the ability to track customer 's purchases, identify the consumer 's desires, and

better market their products. Another solution provided by the system is the need for organized business

related data such as employee information and payroll. Business data such as customers, suppliers,

employees, orders, products, shippers, and parts are better organized and made readily available

through the use of the program applications contained in this new information system.

Information Security:

Being that this system would contain an enormous amount of classified employee and consumer 10

data a high level of security has been added to the system. The necessary steps to prevent unauthorized access to this confidential and classified information, have been taken. Included in this system are multiple security features such as file encryption and password protection. These added security features would prevent any unauthorized access to all classified and confidential data. An additional security measure used in this system is the ability to add specific access rights to specific files or

folders that contain classified information limiting the audience to specific files and folders. The

system 's wireless network access would be secured through the use of Wi-Fi Protected Access II

(WPA2) adding an extra layer of security to all classified and confidential information contained in the

system.
Proposed Business process changes:

The IT system currently in use by Riordan Manufacturing Inc. is outdated and lacks many of the

new technologies and features that are available today. This old and obsolete system is constantly

requiring irregular maintenance in order to keep it in operation. The current increase in the consumer 's

demand for Riordan products presents the need for an improved and up-to-date ERP system. Riordan

Manufacturing Inc. 's continued success requires a system that is better designed and equipped to

efficiently handle the high volume of customer orders. Many current business processes would be

significantly impacted by the employment of this new and up-to-date ERP system. The implementation

of this ERP system would provide Riordan with real-time monitoring of manufacturing, marketing and

sales, inventory, and product shipping and payment. Through the application of this new and updated

ERP system, Riordan Manufacturing Inc. would be provided with a drastically improved flow of

information throughout each department of the Riordan plant. Along with this improved flow of

information comes improved communication to and from each of their suppliers. Riordan would
gain

the ability to monitor the availability of raw materials, as well as place orders for materials from their 11

suppliers quicker and more efficiently. As a direct result of the improved communication between

Riordan and their suppliers, comes the enhanced ability to manufacture and ship the customer 's orders

in a timely manner. This system 's increased communication, and data transfer capacity would cause all

of Riordan Manufacturing Inc. 's operations to run smoother and more efficiently. Improving the flow of

information throughout the organization would result in a boost in the productivity of each department.

The use of this new system and it 's applications would also provide Riordan with a considerably

improved level of production monitoring and inventory management. The improved ability, to monitor

company production and record inventory, will remarkably increase business efficiency. New customer

orders would be processed at a rapid rate. With the rapid processing of orders, Riordan would then be

able to reduce production and shipping delays immensely. With the Wireless network included in the

new system, information becomes more accessible to employees in the production areas. Providing the

employees with access to more accurate and timely information will boost company-wide productivity.

With this more efficient and effective ERP system in place, Riordan Manufacturing Inc. would see a

noticeable drop in many of their current labor associated costs.

System Acquisition and Maintenance:

The acquisition of this new ERP system would help place Riordan far ahead of their market

competitors. This new system is expected to be fully operational within the first six months of

acquisition. Currently, Riordan 's IT system is outdated and requires constant maintenance to remain up

and running. Routine system maintenance can be a significant concern regarding the implementation

of any new IT system. Steps have been taken to provide Riordan employees with the proper training to

conduct routine system maintenance. This training will eliminate the high costs associated with

employing outside technicians for simple routine maintenance procedures.

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The Strategic Role the System will Play in the Company:

This proposed ERP system 's primary role in Riordan Manufacturing Inc. would be to eliminate

many of the current manual and labor intensive tasks associated with the processing of customer orders,

production and inventory management. Currently, Riordan 's inventory management is very labor

intensive and time-consuming. This present inefficient level of inventory management will be

drastically improved Through the implementation of this new up to date ERP system. With the

elimination of these manual tasks comes a decrease in the possibility of human error, ultimately

resulting in an increase in inventory information accuracy. This increase in data accuracy will provide

Riordan with a competitive edge over all of their competitors. The implementation of a ERP system

would provide Riordan with real-time monitoring of core business processes. Also being provided with

the added level of efficiency offered by the new system, Riordan Manufacturing Inc. can expect to see

a noticeable increase in business profit.

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References:

IBM Power 795. (2014). Retrieved from http://www-03.ibm.com/systems/power/hardware/795/features.html IBM BladeCenter HS23. (2014). Retrieved from http://www03.ibm.com/systems/bladecenter/hardware/servers/hs23/

IBM BladeCenter Virtual Fabric 10Gb Switch Module. (2014). Retrieved from http://www-03.ibm.com/systems/bladecenter/hardware/openfabric/ethernet/10gbvirtualfabric/index.html IBM PCIe Cryptographic Coprocessor. (2014). Retrieved from http://www-03.ibm.com/security/cryptocards/pciecc/overview.shtml

IBM System Storage DS8000 series. (2014). Retrieved from http://www-03.ibm.com/systems/storage/disk/ds8000/overview.html

IBM AIX Version 7.1. (2014). Retrieved from http://www-03.ibm.com/systems/power/software/aix/v71/index.html

Advanced Enterprise Server Edition. (2014). Retrieved from http://www-03.ibm.com/software/products/en/db2advaenteservedit

Watson Content Analytics. (2014). Retrieved from http://www-03.ibm.com/software/products/en/watson-content-analytics

Lenovo. (2014). Retrieved from http://shop.lenovo.com/us/en/itemdetails/F9K1004/460/6ABA4E3B250346F6A14C7F4529E3DAF9