1. Competency
Analyze different software systems and technology strategies
used in supply chain management
Scenario
You are a newly hired Junior Analyst at Mitchell Consulting, a
firm that specializes in providing managerial expertise in supply
chain management. You are assigned as a support role to a
senior consultant. Your role does not allow you to make
selections for clients, but you will be evaluated for future
promotion based upon your work in the junior analyst role. You
are assigned to new a client, Michael's Medical Devices
(MMD). Your manager, Senior Analyst Andrea Sims, has
directed you to work on this case and provide analysis and
options to resolve the problems.
Skip Michaels founded Michael's Medical Devices in 2001,
after designing a surgical tool to perform a specific task during
pancreas surgery. Since then, MMD has created numerous
additional tools and medical solutions. Skip has contacted
Mitchell Consulting to assist in devising a plan to increase the
capacity of MMD by employing technology to improve the
operations of the company. He has been reading about ERP and
CRM systems and is eager to leverage technology to support
expected growth in revenues.
MMD's recent rapid growth resulting from a new device that
was patented and introduced has resulted in reduced efficiency
to produce and deliver product orders. This failure to fulfill
orders in the previously achieved timelines is negatively
impacting customer satisfaction. Skip and his sales team have

2. been the key factor in developing sustained relationships with
doctors and medical schools to identify and provide device
solutions for specific medical procedures.
MMD sales exceeded $2 Billion and 10,000 units last year.
Revenue forecasts with the new product line are expected to
exceed 3% annualized revenue growth for the next 5 years. The
current computer system is a collection of older PC's that are
connected through a three-year old server network. The
following departments have their own networks. Each of the
systems was the best technology when implemented.
Production and Purchasing Departments: Upgraded to new SCM
(Supply Chain Management) hardware and software 3 years ago,
currently running at 50% capacity. Many options of the system
are not currently utilized since a current ERP system is not in
use that allows connectivity with Marketing, Sales, Logistics,
and HR.
Marketing and Sales Departments: Share the same system,
which consists of three 8 year old PC's networked with each
other. Daily order reports are emailed on a spreadsheet to the
Production, Purchasing, and Logistics departments to initiate
order fulfillment. The sales department is using an 8-year old
sales tracking software program to track all customer contacts.
Human Resources Department: Uses a 10-year old system that
was the best-rated system when purchased. HR currently
schedules labor needs for all departments based upon historical
data and weekly sales reports. HR is not able to interface
directly with the SCM system used by Production and
Purchasing due to non-compatible operating systems. Recently,
scheduling of employees and resources has resulted in slow
order fulfillment and customer dissatisfaction.
Customer dissatisfaction is not known throughout the

3. organization. Based on Skip's research in supply chain
publications, he believes that a state of the art CRM would
greatly improve the alignment of all departments to a common
purpose, and would improve customer satisfaction back to an
acceptable level.
Skip assembled a number of trusted individuals in his
organization to review the options they have. His Capital
Procurement Committee has determined that they have three
options to achieve Skip's vision:
Upgrade the existing ERP system with existing server and some
new software and hardware.
Purchasing new internal servers and software.
Outsourcing with a cloud based ERP systems provider.
Instructions
Create a written proposal to the Capital Procurement Committee
with your analysis and recommendations to assist in their
selection of a new ERP system. Include the following in your
written proposal:
Outline the key components and benefits of an effective ERP
system in supply chain strategy
Identify tools to employ in research and selection of a new ERP
system
Prioritize factors to consider in selection of one of the three
proposed options

4. Present the three options to include software and system
suggestions for each of three options; to include at least ERP
and CRM
Resources
For assistance on creating a presentation, please visit the
Rasmussen College Answers page
.
For additional writing assistance, please visit the
Rasmussen College Writing Guide
.
Review the Supply Chain and Logistics Management subpage of
the School of Business Guide for recommended research
databases and resources:
http://guides.rasmussen.edu/business/supplychainmanagement
Articles of interest may be found in the
Business Source Complete
or
Business via ProQuest
databases.