Ict as level coursework Essay Example for Free

Ict as level coursework Essay Welcome to Magic Herbal Products, which was founded by Sarah Lenington in 2003, who travelled across the world in search of some of the rarest herbal and organic remedies. Sarah was born in London and studied dermatology at a top university. Her passion was making others feel good about themselves so she decided to take up the opportunity to travel several countries in 1997 in the hope of finding natural ingredients instead of artificial products that are prone to cause skin deterioration and allergic reactions. Her discoveries of mineral oils and powders as well as plant extracts were tested in labs for over three years. This was a major procedure to ensure the ingredients were compatible with both skin and hair. It was important that all ingredients used in each product was natural and was not tested on animals. The ingredients were found in Indonesia, Malaysia, India and also Egypt. What makes Magic Herbal products so different to any other brand is the purity of the products as well as their campaign against testing products on animals. Furthermore the packaging of all their products is recycled to ensure they are doing their bit for the environment. The Organic Cosmetics store is located in the centre of London with two people working in it that are in charge of customer service, stocking the products and distributing the products by postage to customers that order by mail. Current system The current system is a paper based system meaning that all customer details, store details, bills and employee information is all stored on paper and is filed. Once a customer wants to purchase any of the herbal products over the phone the employee will have to fill out customer details manually on a sheet containing contact details, billing information, product information and the total of items purchased. All calculations are made using a calculator, pen and paper- including a 10% discount on orders. Problems with the current system Having a paper based filing system of all the companies details is a major disadvantage to the company as it is generally very inconvenient to always search through hundreds of files on a daily basis just to find previous customer details. This wastes a substantial amount of time for the employees. The company very regularly offer discounts on the products which is calculated by a calculator, pen and paper however this takes time and errors are made very easily. This is due to several reasons handwriting can be unclear, it can be difficult to understand all customers of the phone and also totals have to be calculated manually. Another major disadvantage is the fact that receipts are not given to customers as proof of their purchase in case they need it in the future. It also portrays an unprofessional image of the business to customers as they have to wait impatiently while the employee has fills out all their details and also wait whilst the employee is calculating the total of items purchased. Furthermore, the confidentiality of customer information is not secure as anyone has access to the files as they are not in a secure place meaning that customer information can be accessed by unauthorised people. The solution In order to overcome these fundamental problems I will create a user interface. The system will enable the user to choose one of the following options buy products, go to previous customers, see stock levels and edit customer details. If a customer wants to buy something then the user will enter the product via a catalogue and all the details of the product should appear on the screen. Once this is complete the final price will be displayed after a 10% discount of total. Therefore this will be calculated without the user physically viewing the formulas of how the total is calculated. This will ensure that all the calculations are correct which will ultimately increase customer service. This means that no one will have to work out the value themselves ensuring the correctness of the calculations. Another benefit is all the data is safe and secure as only authorised people will have access to customer information due to passwords. The solution will be easy and quick to use as the business may need to deal with several customers on a particular day, therefore if the system is quick it means that they are not loosing customers. The solution should be professional as it is a representation of the business. I will create a system where the employee will fill out details of the client whilst on the phone to them.