Question

2. Develop a swimlane process map for the online ordering process for Active Bicycle

Company, shown below. Each of the following functions should be one swimlane: sales,

accounting, warehouse, and shipping.

• The process begins when a customer submits an online order form to Active Bicycle

via the Web. The customer supplies his or her name, address, email address, model

number of the bicycle they desire, and credit card number.

• When the customer clicks on the Confirm button on the Web page, Active Bicycle’s

system gets approval for the transaction from the credit card company. If the credit

charge is approved, the system assigns a number to the sales order, displays an order

summary for the customer to print, and sends a confirmation email to the customer. If the

credit charge is denied, the customer is asked to provide a different form of payment.

• The system then generates a two-part invoice, a stock release form, and a two-part

packing slip form. The stock release form is sent to the Warehouse Department, and

the two-part packing slip and one copy of the invoice are sent to the Shipping

Department. The other copy of the invoice is maintained in a holding file in the

Accounting Department to be filed later with the shipping certificate.

• In the warehouse, employees use the stock release form to pull the appropriate

inventory to fill the order. Assuming there is enough stock (for the purposes of this

exercise you can assume there is enough stock), the bicycle is packed into a special

box for shipping, with added protection so it will not be damaged in transit. Using the

stock release form, the warehouse staff inputs data into the inventory management

program to update the master inventory file. The warehouse clerk also must take the

information from the stock release form and manually fill out a shipping certificate,

which is sent to the Accounting Department for a further check that the items are being

released from the warehouse. The boxed inventory, along with the packing slip, is then

sent to the Shipping Department.

• In the Shipping Department, one copy of the two-part packing slip is placed in the

shipping department’s file cabinet, and one is included with the goods to be sent to the

customer.

• Back in the Accounting Department, the shipping certificate is matched with the copy of

the invoice, and the accounting database is updated to record the completion of the

order. The accounting program then submits a payment request to the credit card

company, and both the shipping certificate and the invoice are filed in the accounting

office.

Answer 1

Swimlane process map for the online ordering process for Active Bicycle Company is as shown below.