Essentials of Business Processes and Information Systems

4

The Fulfillment Process

Learning Objectives

After completing this chapter you will be able to:

• Describe the steps in the fulfillment process.
• Explain the role of different functional areas in efficiently and effectively completing the fulfillment process.
• Identify the key steps in the fulfillment process and the data, document, and information flows associated with it.
• Explain the financial impact of the steps in the fulfillment process.
• Explain the role of enterprise systems in supporting the fulfillment process.

The previous chapter explained how SSB purchases, or procures, the products it plans to sell. This chapter will discuss the process through which SSB sells these products to its customers. We call this process the fulfillment process, also known as the order-to-cash process.

Recall that, for the time being, SSB does not manufacture its products in-house. Rather, it purchases these products from its suppliers and then resells them to its customers. As the company's owner, John needs to understand the process of filling customer orders. Specifically, he needs to learn what steps are involved, which documents are needed, and what data SSB should keep track of. His goal is to determine the most effective system for keeping track of customers' orders so that SSB can answer customers' questions about the status of their orders. He also wants to determine how well SSB's ...