Contents 1.0 Introduction ............................................................... .................................................................. 2 1.1Informat ion Systems and Information Technology Systems.................................. ............................... 3 1.2 2.

0 2.2 2.3 2.4 3.0 Swot Analysis of Aalsm eer............................................................................. ............................... 4 Porter s Competitive Strategies .............. ................................................................................ ...... 5 The Value Chain Model ................................................. ............................................................... 8 Analysing the exchange organisation........................................................... ................................. 9 Industry-level strategy and Information Syst ems .......................................................................... 9 Systems Theory and Systems Development ........................................ ........................................ 10 3.1 The Waterfall Model ........................................................ .............................................................. 11 3.2 3.3 The SD LC Model ....................................................................... .................................................. 12 The SSADM MODEL .......... ................................................................................ .......................... 14 3.4 Ethics Model................................................................ .................................................................. 14 3.5 Spiral Model ......................................................................... ......................................................... 15 3.6 The RAD Model . ................................................................................ ........................................... 16 3.7 3.8 4.0 Computer Aided Softwa re Engineering (CASE)........................................................... ................. 17 Prototyping ............................................... ................................................................................ . 18 Effectiveness - E-Commerce ................................................ ....................................................... 20 5.0 The De Lone and Mc Clean Model ............................................. ....................................................... 22 6.0 Conclusion ...... ................................................................................ ........................................... 23

1.0 Introduction Aalsmeer Flower Auction, located in the Netherlands offers globally-producing gr owers and universal active wholesalers and exporters a total concept: a central marketplace for the buying and selling of floricultural products with a range of marketing channels, facilities for growers, buyers and logistics. The expansion of Aalsmeer Flower Auction was a result of one main flower exporting country in the world the Netherlands. Every phase of the world trade in flowers was manage d in the Netherlands, mainly pricing, packaging distribution and quality control . Change was detected from new countries including Spain, Israel, and Kenya amon g others. They began producing flowers through the Netherlands. This new development made the Aalsmeer board become an international centre for supply and demand of floricultural products. E-networks , change in customer needs, mergers and acquisition of buyers and professional g rowers forced the board of Aalsmeer to react to these changes to sustain its bus iness and to connect with suppliers and buyers. With these latest developments h appening, Aalsmeer Flower Auction value chain seemed to be under pressure. It be came necessary to begin a strategic repositioning of the Aalsmeer Flower Auction , using E-networking and reinventing the value chain to enable strategic change. In this presentation, the author will attempt to discuss: 1. Analyse Aalsmeer F lower Auction and information requirements of the board and put forward new IT a nd Information Systems and strategies to their business

2. Recommend appropriate methods which may be used for developing new systems wh ich would assist Aalsmeer in dealing with a changing environment 3. The effectiv eness of new Information Systems for Aalsmeer Flower Auction and its users. Information Systems and Information Technology Systems Information Systems and Information Technology are used by most organisations to carry out their business electronically, accomplishing new levels of efficiency , competitiveness and profitability. The terms are often used interchangeable, h owever they are quite different. Information Technology is one of the many tools used by managers at different levels to support tactical and strategic decision making. Information Systems on the other hand, does not only refer to the techn ology, but also how it is applied and managed to contribute to the business. It also helps to reduce the expenditure by being more efficient to endure and thriv e, extend their reach to far-off locations, offer new products and services, res tructure jobs and workflow and considerably change the way they operate.

1.2 Swot Analysis of Aalsmeer The SWOT Analysis identified the key strengths and weaknesses within the company and describes the opportunities and threats facing Aalsmeer Flower Auction. Strengths

Very efficient transfer of product from seller to buyers Buyers can directly ins pect the product in the auction hall if they wish The auctions, by centralizing and requiring the product to be delivered prior to sale, minimizes opportunism T op flower shop in the world The buyers have to come to the auction halls and sel lers have to deliver products to the auction hall Packaging cost are incurred mu ltiple times for transport to and from the auction Auction rules tend to favor t he growers New technological opportunities Increase in market share Redefine val ue chain Strengthen links with wholesalers Direct selling is seen as a threat to existing growers who are obligated to sell via the auction with higher cost for buyers Increasing trade outside the auction Increasing internationalization of the organization Loss of sales Threat of becoming non-operational Weaknesses

Opportunities Threats

2.0 Porter s Competitive Strategies For many organisations, the key question is How can I gain competitive advantage? In relation to his work on the five forces model, Porter (1980) proposed three d ifferent competitive strategies in which organizations may be able to adopt one. 1. Overall cost leadership to become the low cost producer 2. Differentiation o f your product or service 3. Focus on niche to change the scope of competition b y narrowing the market not well served by your competitors. Using Porters (1990) model of international competitive advantage, Aaslmeer Flower Auction is analyse d. This analysis discloses that the basic issues of production are a huge deal m ore important in the evolution of flower export industries. Aalsmeer Flower Auct ion is already one of the leading Dutch economies, having 11,000 growers and 5,0 00 buyers.

This will attempt to: Bring together international demand with supply from Aucti on Focus on demand instead of supply Low cost per transaction Aalsmeer Flower

2.2 The Value Chain Model The value chain model highlights specific activities in the business where compe titive strategies can best be applied and where information systems are most lik ely to have a strategic impact (Porter, 1985). It identifies specific leverage p oints where the firm can use information technology most effectively to achieve competitive advantage. This model views the firm as a series or chain of basic a ctivities that add value to the firms products or support activities. In analyzin g the case, it was clear that the support activities of Aalsmeer were all affect ed by their move to outsource their information technology to IBM. Porter argues that the ability to perform particular activities and to manage linkages is a s ource of competitive advantage

2.3 Analysing the exchange organisation Due to the convergence of IT and telecommunications, proliferation and availabil ity of bandwidth, which is Amount of traffic transmitted from the site. The impa ct of electronic market is expected to increase rapidly. Their effectiveness is quite dependent on the make and design. 2.4 Industry-level strategy and Information Systems Firms together comprise an industry. The key question at this level of analysis is How and when we should compete with as oppose to cooperate with others in the industry? Whereas most strategic analyses emphasize competition, cooperating with other firms in the same industry or firms in related industry in certain situat ions at times can be very profitable. One of the principal concepts for analyzin g strategy at the industry level is the Porters competitive forces model. The Com pany has now reached global Sales status. This means that the quantity of Custom ers would have multiplied, considerably. The Company must now keep abreast with all of the information requirements to manage its financial portfolios, Marketin g Channels and Storage Facilities, thoroughly. This will/must be done via all ou tlets available in the Electronic Media. The e-trading service allows informatio n to move at the click of a button, bringing buyers and sellers of the world tog ether, instantaneously. As the IT consultant, it is recommended that the impleme ntation of information systems would improve communication searches, monitoring and information sorting capabilities, to reduce transaction costs and all purcha sers to take advantage of production economics available in the markets.

3.0 Systems Theory and Systems Development Systems Theory Provides a powerful means of analyzing and improving business pro cesses. It is the study of the behaviour and interactions with and between syste ms. Systematic developments are the activities that go into producing an informa tion system solution to an organizational problem or opportunity. It is a struct ured kind of problem solving with distinct activities consisting of system analy sis, systems design, programming, testing, conversion, and production and mainte nance. With the possible implementation of information Systems at Aalsmeer, ther e are a number of models that could be looked at in developing new systems for t he company

3.1 The Waterfall Model The waterfall model outlines the series of steps that should occur when building BIS. These steps usually occur in a predefine order with a review at the end of each stage before the next stage has started. The purpose of the model is to di vide the development process up into a series of manageable parts that relate to each other in an organization way, in which some tasks will have to be complete d before others can commence. The waterfall model is a simple representation of what actually happens during a systems development [pro ject, but provides a good framework for introducing information systems developm ent, since all of the activities that are identified in the model occur in a typ ical project. The Waterfall Model

3.2 The SDLC Model The SDLC model is an alternative representative of the waterfall model, develope d and launched by the National Computing centre in the UK in 1996. However, in t he SDLC model, recognition is also given to the user in that the build phase sho uld only commence once user requirements have been determined and the system des ign produced. Also, in addition to the life cycle phases, the concepts of projec t management and change management have been added to reinforce the notion that in formation systems projects do not take place by chance but that they must be man aged carefully. The Systems Development Life Cycle (SDLC)

The key stages of the SDLC model are: Stages of The SDLC Initiation Functions of The Phases of SDLC Start up phase of an IS Project, this aims to establish the feasibility of the p roject and whether or not it will be successful Feasibility Done at start of project to ensure it is viable, a feasibility report is also do ne to analyze the need for the system and alternatives for acquiring software Requirements Analysis Systems Design Defines what the system will do Defines how the will work with key areas of user interface, program modules, sec urity and database structure and transactions Build Creation of software involves writing software, constructing and populating the database and testing by programmers and end-users. Implementation Transition or change over from old to new system and making sure that hardware a nd network infrastructure for a new system are in place Maintain Ensure functionality of the system after implementation and manage upgrades Kill When system becomes obsolete, restart the cycle and create new program Strengths and weaknesses of SDLC The system has been well tried and tested and t he used documentation standards help to ensure that the specifications are compl ete and that the staff is trained to use the system. Using this methodology also prevents missed cutover dates, unexpectedly high costs and lower than expected benefits allows its progress to be reviewed.

There are however potential weaknesses of this system. This includes maintenance workload, application backlog, lack of control inflexibility failure to meet th e needs of management, problems with documentation and maintenance workload. 3.3 The SSADM MODEL Structured Systems Analysis and Design Method (SSADM); defines the methods of ana lysis and design that should occur in a large scale software development project . It is used extensively in the UK, particularly in government and public organi zations. Bocij et al; (2006). This uses methodologies such as feasibility study, requirements analysis, and review of business options, technical options, logica l design and physical design. However SSADM only covers part of the SDLC with em phasis on analysis and design. 3.4 ETHICS MODEL This model is referred to as the Effective, Technical and Human Implementation of Computer based Systems, proposed by Enid Mumford (1995), This peoples oriented approach embodies a sound ethical position and encompasses the socio-technical view that to be effective, the technology must fit closely with the social and organizational factors in the application domain. This results in an improved quality of working life and enhances job satisfaction and the users must be a major objective of the systems design process. The philosophy of ETHI CS is one that perceives the development of computer systems not as a technical issue but as an organizational one which is concerned with the process of change and hence involves participation.

3.5 SPIRAL MODEL According to Bocij et al; (2006) the spiral model is an iterati ve systems development model in which the stages of analysis, design, code and r eview repeat as new features for the system are identified. The four main activit ies of this model are: Planning: Setting project objectives, defining alternativ es Risk Analysis: Analysis if alternatives and the identification and solution o f risks Engineering: Equivalent to the build phase of the SDLC with coding and t esting Customer Evaluation: Testing of the product by customers

3.6 THE RAD MODEL PREFERRED METHODOLOGY Rapid Development Design (RAD) developed by James Martin (1980) is a software development process that is used to create workable systems in a very short period of time. RAD uses two techniques: Joint Application Design (JAD) and Joint Requirement Planning (JRP). JAD is the main technique in the user design phase, which adopts a top down approach to user des ign and is based on the recognition that user requirements are difficult to unde rstand and define. JRP identifies the high level requirements of the system at a strategic level. The participants are senior managers and they need to have a c ombination of overall business knowledge and specific knowledge about the requir ements of the proposed system.

RAD can also include the use of visual programming and other tools for building graphical user interface, iterative prototyping of key systems elements, automat ion of programmed code generation and close teamwork among end users and informa tion systems specialist. This method enables simple systems to be assembled from pre-built components and key parts of the development can occur simultaneously. Martin (1991) stated the RAD methodology is an example of an approach that uses prototyping as part of the overall methodology as well as Computer Aided Softwar e Engineering (CASE) tools. 3.7 Computer Aided Software Engineering (CASE) CASE tools are software that helps the system analyst and designer in the analys is, design and build phase of a software project. They include: Code generation tools Data modeling tools UML Refactoring tools QVT or Model Transformation tool s Configuration management tools including revision control The construction pha se in RAD consists of taking user design through to detailed design and code gen eration. This phase is undertakes by an IS professional using a CASE tool creati ng a series of prototypes which are reviewed by key users. Once the design have been agreed, the code can be generated and the system tested and approved. The f inal phase is cutover which involves further testing using realistic data in ope rational situations. The users are trained on the system and finally the cutover is effected by running the old and the new system in parallel until the new sys tem has proved itself and the old system phased out. RAD develops a time box app roach and it typically recommends implementation of systems in a ninety day cycl e.

Advantages of RAD 1. Increased speed of development through methods including ra pid prototyping, virtualization of system related routines, the use of CASE tool s and other techniques. 2. Decreased end-user utility 3. Larger emphasis on simp licity and usability Disadvantages of RAD 1. Reduces Salability and reduced feat ures when a RAD developed application starts as a prototype and evolves into a f inished application 2. Reduced features occur due to time boxing when features a re pushed to later versions in order to finish a release, in a short period of t ime design, code storage, compilers, translation tools and test software 3.8 Prototyping A prototype is a preliminary version of part or a framework of all of an informa tion system which can be review by end users. Prototyping is an iterative proces s where users suggest modifications before further prototypes and the final info rmation systems are built. This will allow the staff at Aalsmeer to be involved in the development process which will give users an idea of what the final syste m looks like. IT will also encourage active participation among users and produc er and will enable a higher output for users. Aalsmeer Flower auction could then reduce development cost and increase system development speed.

The protyping process

The writer recommends that the organization use bespoke. This tern employed a variety of applications to mean an item custom-made to the buyers specification. The application would be bought off the shelf and then modified to suit Aalsmeers specific needs. This is recommended due to the limited time that the organizati on has: too much time would be taken if an system is to be built from scratch. 4.0 Effectiveness - E-Commerce Security to computerized information systems and safety to its users in any orga nization is of vital importance. At Aalsmeer, information systems play a critica l role in their business, that they must take special steps to protect their sys tems and ensure that they are accurate, reliable and secure. Disruptions in this service could result in millions of dollars in losses for the company. Therefor e some level of system control, security and auditing must be in place in order to accomplish information systems success for the company and its users. Securit y data and administrative controls however, require input and oversight from end users and business managers. Administrative controls would include written poli cies and procedures establishing formal standard for information system operatio ns and responsibilities. Security of electronic communication is also a major co ntrol issue for Aalsmeer. EDI transactions on the Internet can be looked at, whi ch is relatively secure and reliable. The heightened vulnerability of automated data has also created great concerns for builders and users of information syste ms. These concerns include disaster, security and administrative error. Firms th at function on a day-to-day basis will require emergency backup facilities. Aals meer will need to use uninterruptible power supply technology or contract with d isaster recovery firms for backup for client/server systems as well as mainframe applications. Aalsmeer must conduct comprehensive and systematic audits in orde r to test the effectiveness of their information systems. . There must also be a n understanding of

the operations as well as individual applications to trace the flow of the trans actions through the systems and perform automated audit software. According to van der Zee and de Jong (1999)the importance of IT requires organiza tion to integrate their IT decisions with their common planning and decision mak ing processes at all levels. As such the balanced scorecard has been used as a me ans of translating organizational strategies into objectives and then providing the metrics to monitor the execution of the strategy. In the case of Aalsmeer Fl ower Auction, this will provide a framework for the entire business strategy pro cess, but will also measure performance drivers such as investment in technology and employee training.

5.1 The De Lone and Mc Clean Model The De Lone and Mc Clean Model (1992) speak of Information System Success and th e reality that surrounds this concept. For IS success, the model identifies syst em quality, information quality, use, user satisfaction, individual and organiza tional impact. The model proposes that system and information jointly affect the use and user satisfaction thereby affecting organizational impact and success. De Lone and Mc Clean model of IS success

6.0 Conclusion In order to create a controlled environment in Aalsmeer Flower auction, special methods, policies and procedures must be incorporated into the integral design a nd implementation of the information systems with special attention to controls throughout the systems life span. These controls can be both general and applica tions. General controls apply to all computerized applications and consist of a combination of hardware, software, and manual procedures. Application controls a pply to payroll or other processing. The writer believes that information techno logies significantly lowers coordination costs and enhance communications abilit ies. process. Thriving in today's business environment has become more challengi ng than ever. At Aalsmeer, time is of the essence. This is why using our IT outs ourcing is a great idea for grounding Aalsmeers business in any environment. Thes e changes allow transacting parties to separate in space and time the informational and physical components of the trad ing