Subsystems

The finance and accounting department incorporate three different subsystems at separate locations which track finances, each using different technologies and methods of tracking financial data, before finally being consolidated. This causes data integrity issues when reports from each location are brought together at the corporate headquarters because the different technologies and methodologies of the accounting systems are different. When data is ready to be merged and analyzed, it is very difficult and can sometimes be impossible to make accurate reports. The first system is operated in San Jose, which is the corporate headquarters, and uses a fully integrated Windows based Enterprise Resource Planning system (ERP). This system is "specifically designed for plastics processors and process and assembly manufacturers" (Apollo Group, 2013). The second system is operated at the Michigan location and was purchased from a manufacture that is no longer in business. This is an issue because there is no technical support should there be a problem with the software. The last system is located at the Georgia location and also has locally purchased software. By having different accounting subsystems instead of an integrated comprehensive solution, accounting and finance processes are very inefficient and also run the risk of reporting inaccurate information in which to make crucial financial decisions upon.

The sales and marketing department used to record sales transactions via paper forms which were stored in filing cabinets, however, recently, Riordan has started recording sales transactions in a database. While this is an improvement over the previous record keeping process, the ability to easily consume data from a database is compromised if users don’t know how to query the database to retrieve information. Secondly, data stored in a database is not being used to its full potential. Even if users can get to the data in the database, it is difficult to make...