Rich Con Steel

1. What do you think accounted for Rich-Con’s difficulties in implementing its new information systems? What were the principal causes of the problems that Sawyer encountered?

Rich-Con's difficulties in implementing the new software were

• Inadequate training resources provided by the vendor

• Vendor inexperience with Rich-Con's business

• Vendor personal were not very helpful and were not forthcoming in explaining the details of the software

• Marty Sawyer, herself was deeply involved in the implementation phase, instead she should have appointed an IT manager to lead with cross-functional team

• Pressure of getting the system live versus truly measuring the capability of the people to identify if it is ready for implementation.

• Other distracting issues. e.g.; union problem, new equipment setup (Roundo)

• New management performance issue

The principal cause of the problem was that Sawyer did not have an experienced IT project lead. There was no team formed to oversee the implementation. There was no upfront planning that would have included testing and training before implementation. The back plan was also not identified incase the software does not work.

2. If Rich-Con’s computer hardware had not become obsolete, would they have had to implement a new information system?

Yes, they would still have to implement a new information system in order to survive in this competitive environment. The capabilities of the new software will not only be able to accurately record all the information but will also be able to speed up the process. The customers will move to where they can get their order cheaper, on-time and good quality level. The new IT software will eliminate wastes like paper trail of quality cert., lost orders, late work orders, material unavailability, etc.

3. Why was it difficult for Sawyer to find software that would meet Rich-Con’s needs?

Rich-Con's needs...