Ted and Laurie Merriwether
Ted and Laurie own and operate a successful manufacturing and retail business. Ted is on the road a lot and Lauren runs the office. They have little time for strategic planning so they are always spending money on short term to solutions to individual problems. They have a 4 workstation network and plenty of business software which they are not now using. They keep records mostly on paper and they have no centralized database of their customers and do not use computers for accounting or to track their business.
Problem: Every time a customer calls, Ted and Laurie have to scramble around the office to find information about that customer such as his order information, billing information, etc. Furthermore, they have no shared record of any conversations the customer may have had with anyone else who works at the company. Ted's on the road much of the time and communication is difficult. Finally, Ted and Laurie spend a lot of money on their website, but they're not sure what they're getting out of it. Laurie says, "It seems like we're always chasing problems and putting out fires. How can all this technology we own make our lives easier?"
Solution: First, we're going to spend a lot of time talking to these business owners to find out just exactly how they earn a living. We want to know about business processes and business rules. Next, we're going to inventory and analyze their current hardware and software assets to determine how they can make the best use of their current investments in technology. Their network infrastructure is fine, but they need a server to enable them to centralize backup, security, and file sharing. We'll provide professional web development services to analyze how their website can integrate successfully with their other marketing strategies. Finally, we'll introduce them to a Quickbooks consulant who can help them organize their finances and customer relations management.