Kudler Fine Foods IS Analysis
Kudler Fine Foods relies heavily on a modular Finance and Accounting application called Retail Enterprise Management System (REMS) (Apollo Group, Inc., 2011). This system consists of hardware and software that facilitates activities for the Finance and Accounting personnel. The capabilities of this system have helped shape the procedures and processes used by store employees. The functionality if this application is most easily categorized by the modules included in the REMS software, namely general ledger, accounts payable, point of sale, and bank reconciliation (Apollo Group, Inc., 2011). A notable lack of security systems and procedures exist within the Kudler Fine Foods organization, despite the default inclusion of security functionality within the REMS software. This lack of security systems built into this business process shows that although the REMS software has influenced the business structure, it has not guided them to fully implement all of the processes that they will need long term.
The general ledger module contains functionality that includes budgeting and reporting. Reports that can be generated include budget reports, financial reports, and non-financial reports (Apollo Group, Inc., 2011). The trend analysis reports assist in making purchasing decisions for the stores. Inventory management is a critical process for this company, and department managers try to maintain inventory levels such that 95% of the time, customers will find inventory items in the store (Apollo Group, Inc., 2011). The ability to correlate automatically purchase information into reports greatly facilitates this activity. While the trend analysis tool has not been totally successful in predicting future sales, it is the most useful method available within their current system.
The accounts payable module is not as influential in the business processes for this company. This module handles check printing, interfacing with multiple...