Coastal Seafood
Coastal Seafood is a family-owned business that operates on the East Coast. The company already uses both financial and point-of-sale software, but has been unable to find a suitable system to manage its inventory and orders. You are an independent consultant who has been hired to develop an inventory and orders system for the company.
Background
Coastal Seafood purchases a variety of seafood (Cod, Tuna, Tilapia, Crab, etc.) from local fishing boats. The company packs the seafood in ice, and then sells it in parcels. The cost-per-pound of each type of seafood fluctuates on a weekly basis. Coastal Seafood sells bulk orders at cost plus 60 percent. Smaller orders are sold at cost plus 90 percent.
Currently, the company uses a journal to record its purchases and orders. Any employee can add, edit, or strike out a journal entry. When new product arrives, employees must record the type, total weight, and cost as a new journal entry. A spreadsheet is used to keep track of inventory totals. When seafood is bought or sold, employees must update the spreadsheet. When orders are placed, employees must refer to previous journal entries to calculate the selling price, and the spreadsheet to check availability.
As the business continues to grow, this system is becoming less viable. Some of the shortcomings include:
- Employees sometimes make clerical mistakes, or forget to record transactions.
- When the inventory holds a particular type of seafood that has been purchased at more than one cost, it is difficult to determine the correct selling price for that type of seafood.
- The journal entries have to be reconciled with the spreadsheet on a daily basis. This process can take up to one hour to complete.
Requirement:
1. Prepare a context diagram for the system.
2. Prepare a diagram 0 DFD for the system.