2. Current System
Acme Rental is a rental business owned by Michael David Baker, servicing the Arco, Idaho area providing tool, furniture,
and appliance rentals, currently suffering from a loss in revenue due to the business’s inability to properly maintain
time-efficiency, particularly in regards to its transactional and operational processes achieved through its manual
system. This inefficient method of operation has resulted in a decrease in revenue of 12.5%, leaving revenue at 1.75
million dollars.
Acme’s current checkout system operates by:
1. Having a new customer fill out an information card, which is then clipped together with a rental item card.
2. Using the rental information, the store clerk rings up the rental on the cash register.
3. Completes the transaction by accepting payment
4. Then stores the clipped-together cards in a rentals file.
*The checkout process alone can take up to approximately 8 minutes.
Creation of an Electronic Transactional Records System tracking inventory and customer records across and
within stores seeks to solve these problems by eliminating manual user error and streamlining operational
processes.
3. Objectives
This system will reduce customer transaction time, assist the owner in tracking and collecting on
late rentals, and will streamline the check-out process on the employee end. In doing so, this
system will increase revenue, efficiency, and customer satisfaction. This system will use current
technology as opposed to a manual system to make the company more competitive.
This System Will:
● Reduce customer transaction time by 133%
● Require less employee utilization, reducing workforce hours
● Track and report overdue rental items, increasing revenue by approximately
$30,000
● Track customer activity, improving customer satisfaction and loyalty
● Track rental item popularity, identifying priority items for restocking
● Reduce manual input by employees, prompting accurate system data
● Provide an efficient system that will boost employee satisfaction and
morale
5. Scope
Interfaces
• Store homepage: customer access to all store inventory for shopping.
• Membership signup process: collect customer contact information, payment information.
• Checkout process: efficient close of sale and agreement to terms and condition. Options for in store
pickup or delivery.
Reports
• Inventory: query/search option for inventory, summary view.
• Exception: query/search option for exceptions, summary view in employee dashboard.
• Sales: yearly, quarterly and monthly sales reports.
10. This is the new
Acme Rental
mobile website
home page where
customers can
shop online via:
• Tablet
• Smartphones
• In-store kiosks
11. Once a customer
selects “sign-up for
an account” from
the homepage, they
are directed to this
page which will
require them to first
create a login
account for online
access.
They will also have
the option to sign up
for promotional
newsletters.
12. Once a customer
creates the login,
they will be
prompted to provide
their contact
information
required for a
customer account
to shop at Acme
Rental.
13. After the customer
submits their
contact info, they
will be required to
also provide a
credit/debit card to
keep on file in order
to shop and for the
account to remain
active.
In this process they
also agree to the
legal terms and
conditions
regarding fees.
14. After submitting
their payment
information to keep
on file and agree to
the terms and
conditions, they are
officially granted full
access to shop
online through the
website.
Their account will
always be accessed
and referred too by
the email address
they provided.
15. Once a customer is
ready to shop, they
can access Acme’s
available inventory
by selecting the
menu items or just
searching the
website.
In this example, a
customer is
searching for a
“sofa set”.
16. The search query
then provides the
customer with
available items
within all three
stores. Listed is
also the monthly
rental cost and an
indication of
whether store
pickup or delivery is
available for the
item. Once the
customer is ready
to purchase, they
can select “Express
checkout”.
17. After the item is
selected for rental
purchase, the customer
is prompted with an
option to agree to the
terms of the rental
agreement or cancel.
Delivery is arranged
after the agreement in
order to close the sale
and expedite the
checkout process. If the
item is available for
pickup, it will be
indicated on this screen.
18. Once the order is
submitted, the item
is reserved at any
store and the
customer is
prompted to arrange
for delivery if they
choose too.
An additional charge
is indicated if they
request delivery.
20. This is the employee
internal login screen to
access all data and reports.
21. Once the system is
accessed, the employee
is prompted to the
employee dashboard
which quickly indicates
exception items that
need attention without
the need to generate a
report.
22. Employees can access
all inventory via the
products tab along with
options for sorting or
searching items at
different status levels.
This interactive inventory
access will be more
efficient than just an
inventory report function.
23. Employees will have
several reports available
to generate for
management and audit
purposes.
Sales reports are broken
down from yearly to
monthly reports.
24. Sales reports also have
various searching and
sorting options along with
an initial summary.
27. Conversion and Implementation Plan
Conversion Strategy:
Conversion into the new Acme Rental system will be done with a phased installation into a single location or “pilot” store. The
phased installation will only be done with the first pilot store; upon completion and lessons learned from this first single store, all
other additional stores can be converted using a direct conversion approach. Implementation will begin with the store that has the
lowest volume of customers, and end with the busiest store. By utilizing both a phased installation and a pilot installation, risk will
be minimized to the lowest extent.
Implementation Plan:
For this first pilot site, the system will be fully developed similar to a parallel approach, but instead of running two parallel systems,
only certain features of the new system will be utilized under a phased approach. Because the checkout process is the most crucial
to the project, this process will be the first to be implemented or phased in. Once the checkout process has proven to be
successful, all other features of the system can be phased in as determined by the client and project managers.
28. Conversion and Implementation Plan
Phases April May June July August
Pilot Phase 1 Phase 2 Phase 3
Store 2 Direct
Store 3 Direct
The timetable below anticipates issues with the first pilot site. With lessons
learned from the pilot site, the other two stores will be better prepared for a direct
conversion for the following two months.
29. Training
● Project Overview
● Major System Functions
● Unique Customer Identifiers
● Employee Performance Tracking
● System Security Access
● System Interface Interactive Tutorial
● Integrated Business Inventory Data
Searching
● Troubleshooting Guide
● Contacts for System issues
● Frequently Asked Questions
● Project History
● Implementation Plan
● Major System Functions
● User Training
● Requesting Reports
● Using Integrated Business Data
● Anticipated
Returns‐on‐Investment
● System Sustainability – Key
Contacts for Enhancements
● Project History
● System Documentation
● System Architecture – Data Flow
● System Reporting
● Inventory Integrity
● System Security and Access
Configuration
● Inventory Integrity
● Frequent User Questions
● Site #1 Pilot Testing
● User Training
● Management Training
Users Management IT Staff
30. Training (cont.)
Training will be In‐House, performed by IT‐Staff at pilot site #1. Training will follow Conversion and Implementation
plans, initially providing training to users, managers and IT Staff based in pilot site #1. Following the monitored
two‐month period, training will be rolled out to the remaining Acme Rental stores.
Course Descriptions
System Interface
Interactive Tutorial:
Users will receive hands-on step-
by-step exposure and experience
with new system. This course
serves to acclimatize employees to
new customer self-service process
as well as to become comfortable
with frequent system questions
and solutions.
Requesting Reports:
This management-oriented course
will provide a brief summary of how
the new system will generate reports
and assist them in making helpful
business decisions. The Report
Request process will also be detailed,
instructing managers on how to
access Weekly Employee
Performance, Daily Sales, and
Overdue Rental Items.
System Architecture -
Data Flow:
This IT-Staff course will illustrate
the entirety of the new system’s
structure and the flow of data to
help identify potential risks and
solutions for troubleshooting.
31. Change Management Approach
Implementation of the new Acme Rental system will require the following phased Business Change Management process:
1. Create Awareness
It is recommended that this project involve the development of an internal company-wide newsletter that covers a high level
overview of the project with a summary of objectives and scope. This communication will help engage employees to
participate or contribute ideas to the implementation process.
2. Create Understanding
Through newsletters, employees will be introduced to the mechanics of how the project will be delivered and why. A high-level
overview of the company’s current issues and profitability should be outlined in order to explain the justification of this project.
32. Change Management Approach (cont.)
3. Develop Commitment
Employee commitment cannot be achieved by communicating the intended company benefits alone; these changes must also be
translated into benefits that will be passed on to the employees as well. Because efficiency can be perceived as downsizing, a
commitment or promise from management must be made that no layoff will occur as a result of this project. Instead, employee
redundancy of tasks should create new opportunities for employees to take on advanced roles which would prepare the
organization for future expansion of additional stores with the new system. The human resources department should be involved
in communicating possible opportunities for development which can lead to advancement.
4. Move to Action
This new opportunity for development and advancement will create a “call to action” by certain employees with leadership
potential to be involved with the project and seek development opportunities. These new found leaders of the organization should
be trained on understanding the key performance measures required to make the project a success. This will hopefully also make
them great advocates of the project which will help get a buy-in from all other employees and also motivate them to ensure
project success. Current management staff must commit to mentoring roles for these new potential future leaders.
33. Change Management Approach (cont.)
5. Internalize the Change
As project deliverables are completed, they should be posted on the company-wide newletter in order to materialize progress and
demonstrate the benefits of the new system to all employees. If profitability or efficiency is also materialized, this should also be
posted and communicated as a company-wide achievement shared by all employees.
