Information systems

In this part we will try to provide a clear picture about Information systems used in Carrefour group in terms of size and type of them. Also, we will try to highlight some gadgets or tools that are facilitated Carrefour's operations: 

Size of information systems:

 Actually, the sizes of information systems that are used in Carrefour Group are various. They used personal IS, departmental IS, and inte-organization IS and each one of them has limited functions. (adopt by dimensionsguide.com)

Personal IS:

 is a certain system that allows to individual to collect, process, analyze and store information that will provide individual with more values and benefits. Actually, the most important priority of Carrefour Group is caring customers and as a result of this Carrefour provide intelligent application for its customers which is Carrefour Mobile Service this application enables customers to communicate with each other, identify which items they need, collaborate and communicate with Carrefour staff and contact broadly with low cost. (c2.com/cgi/wiki and mobile.carrefour.eu)

Departmental IS:

 is a system that allows sharing, gathering, analyzing and storing information between departments. As we know that Carrefour Group has several departments like: Accounting, Production and Development, Human Resources, Supply Chain, Sales, Manufacturing and other departments, so they need to applications in order to coordinate and communicate with each other to conduct their operations in proper way. Actually, Carrefour Group used RFID technique (Radio Frequency Identification) that enables information to be shared, stored and exchanged among departments. Basically, RFID is used radio frequency electromagnetic field (radio waves) to transfer data between departments. RFID application plays an essential role in Carrefour for many reasons. First, it contributes to determining the quantity or amount of products in inventory or store before they run out, so it tells employees how many items left in store, so it gives an opportunity to satisfy the customers by providing them what they need directly and avoid many problems that are emerged from out of stock. Second, RFID can save large amount of data so no need for additional systems for saving data. Third, RFID application is used in payment processes, because it provides quick and precise services. Also, RFID is used in control access process, because it can use as electronic key to determine who has access to certain areas as well as RFID can arrange items or products in warehouses.   (carrefour.net and en.wikipedia.org)

Enterprise-wide IS:

 is a type of information system that supports and facilitates internal and external operations, also it's a useful tool that allows companies to integrate information across operations on a company-wide basis. Also, it provides a central place to store information for users rather than store information separately. Carrefour Group has been selected Seebeyon software Technologies Corporation in order to integrate its global standard for Enterprise-wide integration. Also, seebeyon will oversee Carrefour's international operations and integrate heterogeneous applications between stores that are outside company's boundaries. (en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SeeBeyond)

Inter-organization IS:

 are systems that exceed the company's boundaries and allow to communicating and collaborating with foreign business partners. As we know that Carrefour Group expanded internationally so they need to gadgets or effective tools to communicate with them at possible lowest cost. Actually, Carrefour Group used EDI that enables to communicate and collaborate effectively with other foreign organizations. In fact, EDI (electronic data interchange) application used to transfer electronic and business data between organizations without human intervention.  Also it enables organizations to share commercial, logistical and financial information so it is considered as collaborative tool and it is used for the electronic exchange of information. (Carrefour.net and en.wikipedia.org) Actually there are many advantages of using EDI in organizations which are:

·         Reduction of administrative cost and eliminates papers.

·         Instantly, we can retrieve document that we delete it.

·         Eliminate human errors but it may occur technical errors.

·         Processing business document and different types of data faster.

·         Reduction of labor cost because there is no human intervention.

And some disadvantages EDI is: 

·         very costly for small company

·         Difficult to align with one standard

·         It could be ineffective if trading partners don’t involve by using EDI system because it heavily depends on trading partnership.

Type of different information systems:

 Actually, Carrefour Group has different types of information systems like: TPS (Transaction Process System), MIS (Management Information System, DSS (Decision Support System), EIS (Enterprise Information System). So, we will discuss the main duties and benefits of each system to be aware about the importance of these systems in the Carrefour's operations and activities.

TPS:

 (Transaction Process System): represents the infrastructure or fundamental of many systems. Also there are many characteristics of TPS such as: Reliability which means recording and analyzing all processes and transactions that are achieved in organizations, Standardization which means gathering data and processing them equally and Controlled access which means ability of users to access into systems and steps that should be followed to access. In addition, there are several methods when we conduct TPS in the organizations we have to follow systematic steps like: collected data by using sensors such as RFID, then enter those data into computers for processing and finally follow one of the two methods either batch processing which means processing data as a periodic manner and examples of batch processing are cheque or credit cards Or online processing which means processing data directly when we adopt them (in real time) and examples of online processing are reservation systems and point of sales. On other hand, there are many examples of TPS such as: Airline Reservation System, Purchase Order Entry System and Markets Tabulation System.    (Wiki.answers.com and from Chapter 9. Slide 5, 7, 9 )

 TPS has many features which are:

·         Assist the stability of databases in case of network failure.

·         In case of system failure, TPS directly recovery of databases.

·         TPS plays an essential role in connecting and integrating other systems.

Carrefour Group uses this system in many applications like: Carrefour Mobile, Converting technique and Application Programming Interface (API) in order to collect, analyze and store desired information.

MIS:

 (Management Information System): represents systematic approaches that intend to study and analyze available information in order to optimize the operations and activities of the organizations. Actually, MIS is crucial part of information systems, because many decisions are made based on analytical information that is done in this stage. Also, there are many applications of MIS like: constantly updating stored information and design procedures, disciplines and processes. Carrefour Group teamed with PeopleSoft Company in order to manage its international operations. PeopleSoft Company provide several types of management like: SCM, HRMS and CRM systems. Also, Carrefour created its special offices in each country which is called SSC (shared service center) and the functions of these offices are acquiring the orders to manage them and prepare them by using MIS techniques.                              ( www.businessdictionary.com and mthink.com)

DSS:

 (Decision Support System): is a special category of information system that supports and assists the business activities and provides the organizations with assistances in order to make the best decisions, so in general it's considered as supportive tool that gives organizations more assistance. DSS can deal with a large amount of data and analyzing them in order to make decisions. The objective of DSS in Carrefour Group is not store or process data but it seeks to extract the desired information. Also, DSS may be batch processing or online processing. (informationbuilders.com and keywordsassociates.com)

EIS:

 (Enterprise Information System): is type of information system (infrastructure) that represents the top management inside the organizations and it enhances and summarizes all transactions that achieved internally and it processes data that collected by organizations to use them inside organizations, so EIS has main value in any organization in terms of  managing and preparing organization's data. Actually, Carrefour's EIS allows users to extract information from raw data like graphs and charts. Carrefour's EIS allows users to describe the operations of company. In addition, EIS can access in many areas like: Marketing, Finance and other areas but in other side EIS is not easy to manage and more expensive. (pcmag.com and en.wikipedia.org)

Type of data:

As we know that data is defined as elementary description of activities and transactions of organizations that have no real meaning because they didn't processing yet. In Carrefour there are many types of data like: number of items in warehouses, number of employees in a certain department and number of stores. Actually these statements are general descriptions or explanations. They are stored and recorded for specific purposes.

Type of information:

Here we will deal with advanced data because they are processed by certain sensors or other tools. Information is known as data that have meaning or value because they are organized and processed. For example, in cashier when we purchase certain products from Carrefour cashier records the date of purchase, the type of product or service and type of payment as well as the price of items. Actually, they recorded and stored all these information for analyzing or specific purposes.

Type of knowledge:

They are the most crucial part because they collected data and made several decisions based on these data. Basically, knowledge is defined as information that are already organized and processed to be understood and obvious for reader. For instance, we used RFID in payment process for giving us too many results. In other words, RFID has been worked as indicator or sensor that tell us how many items from certain type of product are sold and how many of the same items are still in stock, so it recommends us to bring these items more because customers prefer these type of items, So knowledge in Carrefour works as recommender that provides us with many recommendations and suggestions.