Improving an existing CIS by examining customer decisions, development, and planing to increase the effectiveness for ISC and ISM

Diplomarbeit von Peter Sauer

Abstract:

More and more companies apply electronic information systems in all their business areas. In the past, many of these systems pertained to one specific user group. However, due to high efforts and investments for maintaining these information flows, companies tend to increase the amount of attracted user groups. Thereby, the users must deal with more and more information every day. In addition, they must select the relevant information, which serves as a basis for their decisions, on their own. This procedure and the included irrelevant information generate high efforts due to re-work requirements. Therefore, users reject more and more information. All these conditions combined with a two-user group-oriented customer information system require output adjustments to the user-specific needs. Consequently, it is necessary to identify the users, their needs, and the potential effectiveness of specific information provided by a specific system.

This thesis refers to theoretical analysis models for generating an optimal concept. Thereby, it considers methods analyzing the original information system aim, user groups, their needs and the way the provided information flow can meet all these requests. These considerations represent actual conditions of Varta Gerätebatterie GmbH. Afterwards, this research compares the optimal with the actual situation in order to deduct appropriate improvement steps. Finally, this thesis suggests possible integrations and constitutes the related advantages and disadvantages based on cost accounting and information management theory.

The information flow analysis demonstrates the importance of finding appropriate methods and the key role of defining all users. Moreover, it emphasizes the significance of adjusting this flow to user needs in regular intervals due to the rapidly changing environment. The analysis of the information preparation and output indicates that communication plays a key role in exchanging information. The analysis of the optimal and the actual information system display several gaps, which VARTA should close. The actual situation analysis includes company conditions. Therefore, it is valid for practical implementation. These gaps pertain to the improvement procedure as well as to completely new integration issues.

Table of Contents:

	List of abbreviations	ii
	List of abbreviations	iii
	Index of appendices	iv
	List of definitions	vi
	List of definitions (VARTA)	vii
1.	Introduction	1
1.1	Background to the research	1
1.2	Research problem, research issues and contributions	2
1.3	Justification for the research	3
1.4	Delimitations of scope and key assumptions	3
2.	Methodology	4
2.1	Research approach	4
2.2	Information model criteria	4
2.3	Procedure	5
2.4	Reliability and validity	8
3.	CIS-model	8
3.1	Determination of influence factors	9
3.2	Analysis of influence factors	11
4.	CIS status quo	27
4.1	Hierarchy	27
4.2	CIS information insert	29
4.2.1	Insert application software	29
4.2.2	Insert sources	30
4.2.3	Information preparation and output	30
5.	Gap-analysis	35
5.1	Customer status quo and estimated status quo	35
5.1.1	Improvements concerning insert and preparation	36
5.1.2	Improvements concerning layout output	43
5.2	Potential status quo	43
5.3	Gap concerning pricing, deviation and benchmarking	44
6.	Practical improvements	45
6.1	Pricing	45
6.2	Deviation analysis	57
6.2.1	ISC deviation methods	58
6.2.2	ISM deviation analysis output	62
6.3	Contribution benchmarking	68
7.	Conclusion	72
	Appendix 1 – Tables	75
	Appendix 2 – Figures	89
	Bibliography	103
	Declaration of originality	107