Riordan Software Architecture
CSS/422
February 28, 2011
Riordan Software Architecture
Riordan Manufacturing specializes in the design and production of plastic goods and is the chief subsidiary of Riordan Industries, Inc.—a growing Fortune 1000 company. The enterprise consists of the corporate headquarters in San Jose, CA, a beverage container plant in Albany, GA, a customized parts plant in Pontiac, MI, and a fan parts plant in Hangzhou, China (Riordan Manufacturing, 2005). As part of company’s strategic vision to achieve greater operating efficiencies, Riordan hired Team C to develop a software architecture that will help integrate key functions, reduce unnecessary data replication, and increase real-time business intelligence. Riordan is particularly interested in adopting Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) and Manufacturing Resource Planning (MRP II) technologies. Team C will identify and briefly describe all the applications required of Riordan’s operations and discuss the conceptual architecture developers may use to construct an integrated solution.
Required Applications
Customer Relationship Management
Riordan needs application tools to help manage clients more effectively from the initial identification of client leads through customer retention initiatives. Part of Riordan’s strategic goals include improving customer satisfaction by 20% and securing the top 20 largest accounts in the field (Riordan Manufacturing, 2005). To help reach these goals, the firm will need a three-pronged approach to a Customer Relationship Management (CRM) program. They will need to integrate sales force automation, customer service, and marketing automation with other departments (Robinson, 2011).
Sales and Marketing
Riordan currently has several disparate databases and methods of capturing historical sales records and marketing initiatives. The company will need a consolidated sales and marketing application accessible to all affected departments...