Database and Item Essay

Submitted By joetorrey38
Words: 699
Pages: 3

Database Analysis Paper Torrey Collins CIS/207 1/24/12 Shawn Pullum

What is a database? A database is designed to offer an organized mechanism for storing, managing and retrieving information. Databases are a common usage in today’s businesses. They can serve the purpose for many reasons. Depending on what type of industry the company may be in. Databases can be used to store a company customer’s information, a business accounting, human resource, payroll, and many other departments a company may have. Databases are a more efficient and faster way to store and retrieve data electronically rather than using file cabinet to store information. With databases it will eliminate the paper trail. As an inventory coordinator at Dow Chemical, my job is consisting of bringing in and out product out of inventory. Whatever the computer shows in inventory it has to match it on the shelf. In order to maintain having the right number of parts on the shelf, doing a cycle every six months will allow less error and will save the company time and money. In the department that I work in we use Microsoft Access as our database for keeping up with the inventory we bring in and out. The way the database is for cycle counting and making sure the inventory is on target. The database in our department is broken down to the rows, buildings, shortages, the cost, how much is over, and the overall percentage for that particular row. Using Access as our database for cycle counting is a way to see how much we have in stock and how much we are losing or gaining in cost. Overall, this is a good way to keep up with the inventory. But changes can be made by implementing new ideas to improve the database at work. One change I would make is eliminating a person doing a physical count on every item that is on that row. By doing it this way, the chances of having human error is very possible. There is no way an individual will count every single item on a row. They will have items that will not be counted in the cycle count. They will have to come up with a new way to cycle count in order to cut down on the human error. My proposal is to implement a barcode scan system for cycle counting. The way it will be setup is when every time an item comes in a barcode will be place on the item and the shelf that the item goes on. The item then will be scan so the information will directly goes to the database. The scanner will be able to scan the item, cost, and quantity that came in. When it’s time to cycle count again, doing it the old way will be eliminated and less time to do. With having the new barcode system in place will be much faster by just scanning the shelf, this will allow the scanner to display on the scanner the item and quantity of that item without a person doing a physical count. This new system may cost heavily but within time it will pay for its self. This will eliminate human error tremendously by taking the responsibility of a person doing the physical cycle count and relying on an electronic device to do the work for them. This will also cut down the time it takes to a cycle count by more than fifty percent. That will definitely save the come time and money. The barcode system will not only be an asset but a lifetime investment for the company. The information will be more accurate in the database system without wondering if any item wasn’t counted. This should be the new way of doing inventory for the future. In conclusion, many companies everyday rely on information to make crucial decision on what direction a company should go. That is why having accurate information is so vital. By companies having a