Project Management

Riordan Manufacturing MRP Evaluation Project

Overview

Scope of the Project

Riordan Manufacturing can continue to expand by reducing the inventory cost of raw materials and finished goods. Riordan currently has a legacy MRP Information System (IS) in place, and this project provides an excellent opportunity to upgrade the infrastructure to allow for a more cost-efficient way to track inventory.

Goals of the Project

Riordan would like to develop or acquire an MRP system that will track and manage raw materials and finished product inventory across all plants to help ensure reduced inventory costs throughout the entire company.

Business Objectives

The exploratory committee has identified the following as the Business Objectives for this project:

* Accurately track and manage raw materials and finished goods

* Reduce inventory cost of raw materials and finished goods

* Improve MRP infrastructure

Measures of Success

The following tasks will be performed to measure the success of the project at six (6) months and one (1) year:

* An inventory analysis validating the accuracy of tracked inventory

* A cost analysis comparing the cost of inventory management to previous reports

* Hire an IS analysis firm to analyze the new Riordan MRP system's efficiency

Statement of Scope, Objectives, and Constraints

Current Needs

Riordan Manufacturing needs to reduce the inventory cost of raw materials and finished goods. To reduce these costs, Riordan would like to develop or acquire an MRP system that can accurately track and manage raw materials and finished product inventory across all plants.

Objective

I am investigating the feasibility of developing or acquiring an MRP/MRPII information system to ensure that Riordan can accurately track and manage raw materials and finished goods and reduce inventory cost of raw materials and finished goods. In addition, I am going remove legacy technologies in order to improve Riordan's MRP communication infrastructure.

Constraints

The following constraints exist for this project:

* Financial - The approved budget for this development project is not to exceed $750,000 for hardware, software, and technical analysis purchases

* Time - Due to upcoming financial deadlines, this project needs to be running parallel to the legacy system in six (6) months, with full implementation completed in twelve (12) months.

* Resources - There are no in-house staffing resources to complete this project. A third party technical analysis team will provide the technical expertise needed for this project to complete in the time specified.

* Organizational Policies - In order to provide continued quality merchandise and service, Riordan is committed to:

o Six Sigma, industry-leading R&D and exceeding ISO 9000 standards

o Staying the industry leaders in manufacturing plastic products

o Providing solutions for customers

o Maintaining long-term relationships

o Maintaining rigorous quality controls

o Providing innovative solutions

o A responsive business attitude and reasonable pricing

o Assuring that employees are well informed and properly supported

* Culture - The cultural constraints are the buyers, especially in the worldwide market. Buyers of the different plastic products look for a company that will guarantee quality products and services. Ace targets three types of buyers:

Current Business System

The Current MRP System

Riordan's current MRP system is spread among all four offices. The MRP server specifications and connection types are:

* San Jose, CA - One (1) IBM pSeries 6E4 UNIX ERP/MRP server communicating over a T1

* Albany, GA - One (1) HP-UX UNIX MRP II server and one (1) HP-UX UNIX ERP server communicating over a fractional T1 (256k)

* Pontiac, MI - One (1) RS6000 IBM-AIX UNIX MRP II server and one (1) HP-UX UNIX ERP server communicating over a fractional T1 (256k)

* Hangzhou, China - One (1) IBM pSeries 6E4 UNIX ERP/MRP server communicating over a T1

Currently, the legacy servers handle all of the MRP and MRPII processes and all data is transferred over a 1.5MB or 256k data line. This project will re-engineer the MRP information system to allow for accurate and efficient product tracking and management. In addition, an upgraded LAN/WAN infrastructure will be provisioned, allowing for faster, more secure data communications.

Business Functional Requirements

Riordan is a global leader in plastics manufacturing. In order to continue this leadership, the management of Riordan realize that critical need to upgrade their legacy MRP/MRP II information system. As a result, the CTO of Riordan will assume the leadership of this effort and the management of the project's activities. This section defines the Business Functional Requirements for the upgrade project.

Information Technology Requirements

* Assume primary responsibility for all technical changes needed for the upgrade: A third-party technical analysis group will assume all technical responsibility for the upgraded MRP/MRP II IS. This includes design, implementation, initial support and maintenance, and user training and support. The CTO has full authority over IT business requirements and organizational changes as necessary.

* Acquisition of all hardware and software to support the upgrade: The technical analysis group will be responsible for acquiring the necessary hardware and software needed to implement an upgraded

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