ANALYSIS OF COMPANY PROCESS   Term Paper ID:41287 Click to get this paper

Essay Subject: Considers how Thales Avionics can improve its invoicing and payment processes for airlines and OEMs.... More...

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Paper Introduction: Analysis of Company Process Introduction When considering electronic commerce individuals may focus on themany retailing and auction sites that exist on the Web and on theirbusiness-to-consumer models However business-to-business B B e-commerce is accounting for increased amounts of Web traffic and use andB B commerce has long been a lucrative market Gnuschke Companiessell any number of products and services to each other before a finalproduct goes to the consumer and streamlining the efficiency andeffectiveness of the procedures that are used in B Text of the Paper: The entire text of the paper is shown below. However, the text is somewhat scrambled. We want to give you as much information as we possibly can about our papers and essays, but we cannot give them away for free. In the text below you will find that while disordered, many of the phrases are essentially intact. From this text you will be able to get a solid sense of the writing style, the concepts addressed, and the sources used in the research paper. Restructuring Using Information Technology Currently, Thales interacts with its customers in the same manner asit has done for the past 2 years-through invoices that are generated by anautomated accounting system, but which are then faxed, mailed or e-mailedto customers. Retrieved from http://www.schneier.com/paper- pki.pdf.Gnuschke, John E. The airline can stillwork directly with the IFE vendor, but the purchase order is placed withBoeing for the 787 and the IFE system is listed as a line item on thatpurchase order. With the introduction of the 787 at Boeing, however, the businessmodel changed somewhat. Boeing worked with Thales and Panasonic to defineIFE systems that are included in the 787 catalog so that only certain itemscan be selected for the IFE system (Boeing, 2 6). Retrieved from http://www.thalesgroup.com/docfile/dyn/12345678LANGCCCCDDDDEEEEEEEEEE 1 :5A336D53465B682254 A187D D185852:17444E725 C C 3532328673E55697 .XADM: How secure sockets layer works. Research will also need to be done with the appropriatefinancial institutions to determine the ramifications of this project fromtheir standpoints. 2 8). 2 6). Panasonic has a slightly larger shareof the market, at approximately 42 percent according to Thales figures, andThales has approximately a 39 percent share of the market. Because there are only two real competitors in thisindustry, and because both are part of much larger companies, each canwield considerable power. A person's public key is included and signed by anauthority, and the authority may hold a certificate issued by a "super"authority. Company Background Thales Avionics is the American business unit of a French company(Thales Group); the American unit manufactures in-flight entertainmentsystems for the commercial airline industry. Customers can wield considerable power in the industry depending onhow large they are, how financially stable, and how big an order they willbe placing. If Thales were to implement electronic data interchange oranother interface whereby the communication could take place seamlessly andthe invoice could be entered directly into the airline's system, thesituation would be much improved. Thereis a considerable barrier to entry to this market in that effectivecompanies must be familiar with the air transport industry and able to workwith the many agencies that oversee the industry in Europe, the Americasand Asia. For invoices that are sent to Airbus or Boeing directly, Thales canmake use of the extensive e-commerce Web sites that both of these companieshave in place already. However,the company may want to seek co-funding from the aircraft manufacturers orthe airlines in order to facilitate specific needs. As new opportunities areidentified and selected, the products are "handed off" to engineering forevaluation. E-Commerce is a powerful economic engine for 21st century. However, this technique might beable to be introduced to the aircraft manufacturers (Airbus and Boeing),both of which already transact much of their business via e-commerce. Security will be a key concern in either case, and encryption is mostlikely the best approach to ensuring that data transfers remain secure.The most widely used encryption standard to date for online transaction isSecure Sockets Layer (SSL), first introduced by Netscape in 1994 (XADM,2 6). In the end, although a Thales-initiated program, thiscould save the customers of Thales time and money, as well. In the past, simple symmetric encryption (one key) wassufficient to address the issue of confidentiality. Public Key Infrastructure (PKI) is highly promoted in the securityindustry as the direction that security will take. EDI with airlinecustomers may require investment for each new program, while electronicinvoicing with Airbus and Boeing may be more straightforward and lessexpensive. This research considers the B2B opportunities andinitiatives that could enhance the performance of a supplier of in-flightentertainment systems. Currently, payments are made via check or wire transfer; thelatter can have a significant cost to the customer while checks areexpensive for both the customer and Thales to process. There are two primarycompetitors, Thales and Panasonic. (Mar./Apr. In this model, theairline works directly with the IFE manufacturer to design a systemspecific to that airline. Developing and presenting new ideas can becumbersome for American employees, and there is an emphasis on process thatsometimes results in delays that hinder rather than enhance the system. The company transacts all business in Americandollars regardless of where the customer is located. As a result, the companyrecognizes that it is less efficient in its cash management than it couldbe, and that it is also less effective at collecting its obligations. However, there is considerable power wielded by seatsuppliers. Accounting isautomated, with computer-generated purchase orders, for example, but thenthose purchase orders are faxed or mailed to vendors. The infrastructure is a combination of hardware and software products,policies and procedures. Because of thesensitivity of the information involved, a combination of SSL and PKI wouldwork best in this environment. Process and approvals are in place throughoutthe organization with various forms and committees appointed to developproposals. Digital Infrastructure For invoices that are sent to individual airlines, Thales would mostlikely have to invest in the electronic data interchange technology thatwould support direct import of Thales invoices into the customer's system.This would be practical only for the larger airlines, and security issueswould need to be addressed to ensure that both the customers' systems andthe Thales system remain invulnerable. 1979). Ten risks of PKI: What you're not being told about public key infrastructure. Companiessell any number of products and services to each other before a finalproduct goes to the consumer, and streamlining the efficiency andeffectiveness of the procedures that are used in B2B commerce can helpcompanies enhance their competitive position as well as theirprofitability. However, the power of the competition isoffset by the power of potential competitors, which is very small. However, business-to-business (B2B) e-commerce is accounting for increased amounts of Web traffic and use, andB2B commerce has long been a lucrative market (Gnuschke, 2 ). There is relatively low power among suppliers since Thales outsourcesto multiple sources for any component, and since it manufactures criticalcomponents itself. He isfamiliar with the capabilities of the organization and also maintains anexternal focus in the industry, particularly with regard to wirelesstechnology and emerging technologies that could provide a competitiveadvantage to Thales in the future. At thebeginning of any new airline program, the determination should be made asto whether the airline is a candidate for e-commerce and if so, to whatlevel. The primary difficulty with this scenario is that Thales deals withmany different airlines each having a different level of sophisticationwith regard to their computer system. Finance The financial resources necessary to provide this e-commercecapability should be minimal, and could be self-funded by Thales. Because traditional SSL only provides serverauthentication, its effectiveness is limited. (21 Nov. Major decisions require approval byFrench executives who are based in California on a three-year rotatingbasis. Thales has a product strategy group that is headed by a vice-presidentwho formerly was vice-president of engineering (Thales, 2 8). Regardless of whether the order is placed directly or through theaircraft manufacturer, there is considerable power among individualcustomers, particularly when they are placing an order for a large numberof aircraft. Historically, the business model has been that airlinespurchase an aircraft type from Airbus or Boeing, and then they select whichcomponents they want installed on that aircraft. There would be little investment required by Thalesto participate in these Web-based portals, and, in fact, the twomanufacturers are likely to work closely with Thales in order to facilitatebetter e-commerce activity. Retrieved from http://www.boeing.com/commercial/787family/news/2 6/q4/ 61121c_nr.html .Ellison, Carl and Bruce Schneier. Decisions rarely occur in a bottom-up manner but instead focuson a top-down approach where senior management works with five- and ten-year business plans and then refines those to one-year strategies that areevaluated on a quarterly basis. Ideally, therewould be two programs, one for Airbus/Boeing and one for airlines. Major milestones, then, are: conduct investigation, develop functionalspecs of what the e-commerce project will entail, refine those intodetailed specs from which modifications to the current system can be made,implement the specifications, test the new system in a prototype mode, go"live" on the new system and implement changes as required. Analysis of Company Process Introduction When considering electronic commerce, individuals may focus on themany retailing and auction sites that exist on the Web and on theirbusiness-to-consumer models. Works CitedBoeing adds Air Cruisers, Honeywell and Thales to 787 GoldCare team. This state-of-the-artsolution establishes, in a hierarchical manner, a system to issue publickey certificates. Payment is received by customers via check or wire into thebank account directly. Industry Analysis Michael Porter identified five "forces" that can be used to analyze anindustry: power of competitors, power of suppliers, power of customers,power of potential competitors and power/availability of substitutes(Porter, 1979). In addition to the vice-president,there is a senior development engineer, an installation engineer and amarketing specialist who participate in the product strategy core team.Additional team members from production and program management are broughtin as needed to help develop timelines and capabilities. These companies do not supply seats to Thales, but do supplythem to the airline and since the IFE system must fit and operate within aparticular type of seat, these manufacturers can exercise considerableinfluence over the design of the system and on how the schedule isimplemented. How competitive forces shape strategy. Airlines may also choose to put a different (newer) IFE system onexisting aircraft, or aircraft that they have purchased or leased fromanother company. The decision making process at Thales is very much rooted in theFrench hierarchical culture. Computer Security Journal 16(1). A Web-based solutionmay not be effective for rendering payments, but the company should be ableto work with its financial institution in order to have payments sentdirectly via electronic funds transfer rather than relying on checks orwire transfers. The remainderof the market is divided among Sony and Rockwell Collins, neither of whompresents serious competition to the two large firms. If senior staff eventually selects the product for production,control shifts completely from the product strategy group to the businessunit level. (Apr. Portable electronic devices such asPSPs and even laptops mean that passengers are less reliant on in-flightentertainment provided by the airline. (1 Nov. In addition, checkshave an inherent "float" which, while advantageous to the customer, can bea disadvantage to the cash flow of Thales. It includes asymmetric encryption (two keys) toprovide an advanced security service for electronic business and addressessecurity issues such as privacy, authentication, integrity, and non-repudiation. Payments to vendorsand from customers are issued via check or wire transfer; the company hasyet to implement an effective electronic commerce system either through itsWeb site or through a financial institution. To do sowill require working closely with its current customers, including Airbusand Boeing, in order to develop a system that addresses the broad spectrumof technological capabilities among its customers. 2 ). Other portable devices, includingportable DVD players, present challenges to traditional IFE vendors. Project Schedules and Milestones Initially, Thales needs to investigate the exact nature of the e-commerce transactions that it wants to put into place. This is done toprevent Thales from having to engage in currency hedging, and at thispoint, it offers considerable benefit to overseas customers as the dollaris currently weak. Price-cutting to gain market share can be doneby either company, for example. Finally, there is the threat of substitute products. It would probably be easier for Thales to implement electronic paymentcapability so that funds can be transferred directly into the Thales bankaccounts. At this point, despite the company's international presence anddespite the fact that Thales is arguably in the technology business, thecompany does not make extensive use of e-commerce. (Spring 2 ). (28 Oct. This grouptypically uses a five-year planning horizon. Conclusion Thales has the potential to significantly streamline its invoicing andpayment procedures, and improve its cash flow in the process. Even when e-mail is used, the invoices are sent asPDF documents and must be manually entered into the computer system of thecustomer. Decisions exceeding certain monetary values are referred to Francefor final budget approval. Airlines issuerequests for proposals (RFPs) and, since the two products are consideredsimilar in terms of features and benefits, decisions are often made onprice and service. SSL provides sessional security services by using a combination ofpublic key and symmetric cryptosystems to provide confidentiality, dataintegrity, and authentication of the server, as well as giving the optionto authenticate the client. Business Perspectives 12, Retrieved from http://www.questia.com/read/5 17652 7.Porter, Michael. 2 6). The program shouldrecover its costs in savings and efficiencies over the life of the project. Thales has a hierarchical management style greatly influenced by theFrench management culture even though most of the activities take place inSouthern California (Thales, 2 8). Boeing then pays the IFE based on that catalog order andper a pre-arranged price. Retrieved from http://support.microsoft.com/kb/245152. Although thereare significant barriers to entry for direct in-seat IFE systems,technology is presenting a variety of substitutes that should be cause forconcern to traditional IFE vendors. In general, the power rests with individual customers, notwith the customer base as a whole. Critics of SSL also pointout that even higher versions of SSL, which incorporate clientauthentication, confuse authentication and confidentiality because they usethe same key to encrypt for confidentiality and authentication. The three objectives of PKI are that users conduct businesselectronically with the confidence that the person sending the transactionis actually the originator, that the person receiving the transaction isthe intended recipient and that data integrity has not been compromised(Ellison and Schneier, 2 ). Implementing a system wherebyfunds are transferred directly would save both the customer and Thalesmoney, and would make funds available sooner to Thales. Some components can beinstalled as the airplane makes its way down the assembly line; both theairlines and aircraft manufacturers prefer this approach as it results inan aircraft that can go into revenue service earlier than if modificationsare made after the aircraft is off the production line. In this case, the order is placed directly with Thalesand the work is done as part of a modification while the aircraft is out ofservice. As the domain of trustexpands within an open Internet medium, businesses are more focused onproviding authentication, integrity and non-repudiation. At this point, Thales would save time and increase its accuracy if itwere able to send invoices electronically to customers without relying onfaxes or paper copies. Harvard Business Review 67(2).Thales corporate presentation. Airlines and the aircraft manufacturers (Boeing and Airbus) arereluctant to have a "sole source" situation, so they will encourage twocompetitors rather than having Panasonic or Thales end up with a monopolyin the industry. If this paper is not what you are looking for, you can search again: Search for: or Click here to request an essay written just for you.