In the local scene where our company operates, seldom – in fact, non-existent – that we see any company with a really great and fully functioning management information system. What we thought were great information systems were in fact merely operational systems which exist to help in certain operational procedures yet still lack the powerful functionality of actually making decisions or generating knowledge.
In fact, I wonder what such a system would look like. Primitive as the information systems we have in place now, and as much as I dream of having a more robust system, I was not prepared for the realization that systems beyond my wildest imagination could actually exist.
Would it happen that one day instead of merely integrating sales data across branches, a system will be able to make decisions on which items to purge because they were non-moving or which items to increase prices to improve profitability? Will it happen that one day, instead of merely recording item inventory, a system would actually make decisions on which items are fast moving or slow moving or be able to make accurate forecasts?
I know such systems exists right now. Yet the question begging to be answered is are we able to afford it? At this time, highly complex systems like knowledge systems are very expensive and almost unattainable to small scale companies like ours. Yet the promise of a future which would see all scales of businesses enjoying these great systems is something worth looking forward to.
But before that happens, for now we have to make do with the systems we have. After all, it’s always better to have some sort of system than none at all. And amid all this, the role IT plays is made more evident as they are the ones who’ll ensure these systems crucial to a competitive business will run smoothly.
