Question Digital Economy Q Explore the literature and produce a 2500 word document which considers the following question.

A manufacturing company buys components from a number of suppliers which it then configures to make several end products. Each of these end products can be individually tailored to meet a customer's specific requirements often at short time scale. This means that the component suppliers also have to make components specifically to meet the end customer's requirements again often in a short time scale.

Your task is to give strategic advice on how the company can utilise digital technology to most efficiently to meet the customer's requirements while still allowing the suppliers' time to meet the need for components.

You will need to demonstrate your ability to conduct research using such sources as journals, conference proceedings, books, CD ROMs and the internet.

The company can be a real company or an imaginary one. INTRODUCTION – 300 words Introduce an imaginary manufacturing company which is receiving huge amount of order but is not able to cope with it because of its old way of running business.

CURRENT WORKFLOW AND ISSUES – 350 words Scenario of how things are done currently, the time taken and the problems in brief. HISTORICAL SALES PATTERN – 250 words

- Explain that there is no historical record of sales pattern in this company since business was done in a very outdated way - Explain how digital technology can be used to retrieve historical sales patterns. - Explain how this historical sales patterns can be used to fulfil future orders with the help of digital technology. - Give reasons why this way of retrieving Sales pattern information is effective

HISTORICAL PURCHASING PATTERN – 250 words - Explain that there is no historical record of purchasing pattern in this company since business was done in a very outdated way - Explain how digital technology can be used to retrieve historical purchasing patterns. - Explain how this historical purchasing patterns can be used to fulfil future orders with the help of digital technology. - Give reasons why this way of retrieving purchasing pattern information is effective

INVENTORY MANAGEMENT – 250 words - Explain how inventory management was done in the past in a very outdated way - Explain how digital technology can be used for inventory management - Give reasons why this way of inventory management is effective

MANUFACTURING PROCESS – 250 words - Explain how inventory management was done in the past in a very outdated way - Explain how digital technology can be used to automate manufacturing process - Give reasons why this way of manufacturing process is effective

POINT OF SALE – 250 words - Explain how order was processed in the past in a very outdated way - Explain how digital technology can be used to process sales - Give reasons why this way of order processing effective

SHIPMENT / DELIVERY TRACKING – 250 words - Explain how shipment / Delivery tracking in the past was done in a very outdated way - Explain how digital technology can be used to track orders once it is shipped out - Give reasons why this way of tracking is effective.