WO2002067153A1 - Procede et programme informatique pour assister une entreprise dans l"organisation des affaires - Google Patents

Procede et programme informatique pour assister une entreprise dans l"organisation des affaires Download PDF

Info

Publication number
WO2002067153A1
WO2002067153A1 PCT/AU2002/000190 AU0200190W WO02067153A1 WO 2002067153 A1 WO2002067153 A1 WO 2002067153A1 AU 0200190 W AU0200190 W AU 0200190W WO 02067153 A1 WO02067153 A1 WO 02067153A1
Authority
WO
WIPO (PCT)
Prior art keywords
data structure
business
key performance
selecting
performance indicators
Prior art date
Application number
PCT/AU2002/000190
Other languages
English (en)
Inventor
Franco De Pasquale
Mark Bindon
David Andrew Thomas
Original Assignee
Iyb Enterprises Pty Ltd
Priority date (The priority date is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the date listed.)
Filing date
Publication date
Priority claimed from AUPR3308A external-priority patent/AUPR330801A0/en
Priority claimed from AUPR9691A external-priority patent/AUPR969101A0/en
Application filed by Iyb Enterprises Pty Ltd filed Critical Iyb Enterprises Pty Ltd
Publication of WO2002067153A1 publication Critical patent/WO2002067153A1/fr

Links

Classifications

    • G—PHYSICS
    • G06—COMPUTING; CALCULATING OR COUNTING
    • G06Q—INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY [ICT] SPECIALLY ADAPTED FOR ADMINISTRATIVE, COMMERCIAL, FINANCIAL, MANAGERIAL OR SUPERVISORY PURPOSES; SYSTEMS OR METHODS SPECIALLY ADAPTED FOR ADMINISTRATIVE, COMMERCIAL, FINANCIAL, MANAGERIAL OR SUPERVISORY PURPOSES, NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR
    • G06Q10/00—Administration; Management
    • G06Q10/06—Resources, workflows, human or project management; Enterprise or organisation planning; Enterprise or organisation modelling
    • G—PHYSICS
    • G06—COMPUTING; CALCULATING OR COUNTING
    • G06Q—INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY [ICT] SPECIALLY ADAPTED FOR ADMINISTRATIVE, COMMERCIAL, FINANCIAL, MANAGERIAL OR SUPERVISORY PURPOSES; SYSTEMS OR METHODS SPECIALLY ADAPTED FOR ADMINISTRATIVE, COMMERCIAL, FINANCIAL, MANAGERIAL OR SUPERVISORY PURPOSES, NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR
    • G06Q30/00—Commerce
    • G06Q30/02—Marketing; Price estimation or determination; Fundraising

Definitions

  • TECHNICAL FIELD OF THE INVENTION relates to a method of and computer program for assisting an enterprise in the conduct of business.
  • the method has particular application to small to medium sized enterprises ("SME”) and reference will be made to such application.
  • SME small to medium sized enterprises
  • the invention may be useful for larger enterprises.
  • the present invention is aimed at providing a method of and a computer program for assisting an enterprise in the conduct of business which will allow business operators, particularly small business operators, to consider the performance of their businesses from various aspects.
  • the invention is also aimed at providing a method and computer program which will provide such business operators with sufficient information to determine the cause of any perceived inefficiency and/or problems and to improve the efficiency or rectify the problem.
  • the invention is also aimed at providing a method of and computer program for comparing the performance of one business with an expected or desired performance, for example, industry standards.
  • the invention in one aspect resides broadly in a method of assisting an enterprise in the conduct of business including: selecting a business type from a first data structure representing a plurality of business types; selecting one or more key performance indicator types from a second data structure representing key performance indicator types applicable to the business type selected from said first data structure; inputting data for said one or more selected key performance indicator types for the enterprise being assisted; selecting one or more key performance indicators corresponding to said one or more selected key performance indicators from a third data structure representing standard key performance indicators relevant to business types represented in said first data structure; comparing said one or more actual key performance indicators with corresponding respective standard key performance indicators selected from said third data structure to provide a variance for the or each of said one or more key performance indicators; and selecting one or more second parameters from a fourth data structure representing parameters relevant to possible causes of said variance.
  • the invention resides broadly in a method of assisting an enterprise in the conduct of business including: selecting a business type from a first data structure representing a plurality of business types; selecting a first set of parameters from a second data structure representing first parameters applicable to business types represented in said first data structure; inputting data relevant to said first set of parameters for the enterprise being assisted and calculating one or more actual key performance indicators from said parameters; selecting one or more key performance indicators from a third data structure representing standard key performance indicators relevant to business types represented in said first data structure; comparing said one or more actual key performance indicators with corresponding respective standard key performance indicators selected from said third data structure to provide a variance for each of said one or more key performance indicators; and selecting one or more second parameters from a fourth data structure representing parameters relevant to possible causes of said variance.
  • the invention resides broadly in a computer program for assisting an enterprise in the conduct of business, including: means for selecting a business type from a first data structure representing a plurality of business types; means for selecting one or more key performance indicator types from a second data structure representing key performance indicator types applicable to the business type selected from said first data structure; means for inputting data for said one or more selected key performance indicator types for the enterprise being assisted; means for selecting one or more key performance indicators corresponding to said one or more selected key performance indicators from a third data structure representing standard key performance indicators relevant to business types represented in said first data structure; means for comparing said one or more actual key performance indicators with corresponding respective standard key performance indicators selected from said third data structure to provide a variance for the or each of said one or more key performance indicators; and means for selecting one or more second parameters from a fourth data structure representing parameters relevant to possible causes of said variance.
  • the invention resides broadly in a computer program for assisting an enterprise in the conduct of business, including: means for selecting a business type from a first data structure representing a plurality of business types; means for selecting a first set of parameters from a second data structure representing parameters applicable to business types represented in said first data structure; input means for inputting data relevant to said first set of parameters for the enterprise being assisted; calculating means for calculating one or more actual key performance indicators from said first set of parameters; means for selecting one or more key performance indicators from a third data structure representing standard key performance indicators relevant to business types represented in said first data structure; means for comparing said one or more actual key performance indicators with corresponding respective standard key performance indicators selected from said third data structure to provide a variance for each of said one or more key performance indicators; and means for selecting one or more second parameters from a fourth data structure representing parameters relevant to possible causes of said variance.
  • the invention includes the further step of selecting from a fifth data structure, one or more possible actions to be taken, for example, one action may be to increase the selling price of particular items.
  • the computer program may include means for making such a selection.
  • the invention also includes the further step of selecting from a sixth data structure, information as to how to carry out said one or more remedial actions selected from the fifth data structure, and for this purpose the computer program may include means for making such a selection.
  • the computer program also includes various business tools or means for accessing such tools, for example, tools for calculating management and accounting parameters, such as "gross profit”, “net profit”, “stock turnaround”, “gross profit margin”, “mark up”, “performance ratios” etc.
  • tools for calculating management and accounting parameters such as "gross profit”, “net profit”, “stock turnaround”, “gross profit margin”, “mark up”, “performance ratios” etc.
  • the computer program also includes means for more accurately selecting the standard key performance indicators for a particular business type than relying solely on business type. That is to say, the computer program preferably has means for further defining the key performance indicator selected from the third data structure. For example, it is preferred that it provide for selection in a specific locality and/or take account of population density and type, market area, amount of competition, and various other factors which may have a bearing on the performance of a business in a particular area.
  • the relevant information is provided in a seventh data structure which may be a accessed through the third data structure. Of course there may be any number of subsidiary data structures.
  • the computer program may provide a link to a source of such information from external data bases.
  • Example No. 1 illustrated diagrammatically in the flow chart set out in Fig. 1 and described below, and to Example No. 2 subsequently described.
  • the flow chart 10 commences with a first data structure which allows a user to select the particular type of business of interest from a list shown as Item 11 of various business types. Although only three business types are shown, hotel, hardware shop and butchery any number of business types could be listed.
  • the program could include a data structure of industry types, for example hospitality, manufacturing, insurance, etc with a link to the various business types in the industry type and the method could include initially selecting the industry type.
  • Each of the business types shown in list 11 are linked to a second data structure of "key performance indicators" ("KPI's"). If a user selects "hardware shop” as the type of business and clicks on the relevant box, then the program presents a list of key performance indicators relevant to hardware shops and the user can select any particular key performance indicator he wishes to consider by clicking on the relevant box. In this example, the user clicks on "gross profit” and the computer program then presents box 13 for the user to input the gross profit, calculated as a percentage. In an alternative program, the user is required to input accounting data and the program then calculates the gross profit. The same type of system applies to other key performance indicators also. Each key performance indicator is limited to a third data structure of standard key performance indicators. The link is made via another data structure which provides a basis for selection of the desired means of comparison.
  • the program presents a list of localities shown as Item 14 to the user for selection of one in order to compare the actual key performance indicator with the standard key performance indicator for the selected locality. If the hardware shop being considered is located in Toowoomba, then the user would most likely wish to compare the actual gross profit for the enterprise with the standard gross profit for other hardware shops in Toowoomba, and similarly for any other key performance indicator.
  • the standard key performance indicator data structure may provide various options for comparison, for example, rather than comparing on the basis of locality, it may compare on the basis of household income, ie whether it is in a high income area or a low income area. Alternatively the comparison may be based on population, or population distribution, and there are many other bases for comparison.
  • the program Upon selecting the standard key performance indicator to which the actual key performance indicator is to be compared, the program calculates a variance between the actual and standard key performance indicators, as shown at box 16. In another version, the variance is calculated manually and simply input at box 16.
  • the selected key performance indicator is linked to a fourth data structure shown as Item 17 which allows the user to select any one of a number of possible causes of the variance from a list to find out what actions can be taken to fix the problem.
  • Item 17 a fourth data structure shown as Item 17 which allows the user to select any one of a number of possible causes of the variance from a list to find out what actions can be taken to fix the problem.
  • the user believes that the problem is caused by staff theft and upon clicking on the relevant box, a list of possible actions to be taken is presented as shown at Item 18.
  • a list of steps for implementing that decision is presented as shown at Item 19.
  • Those steps may be general, or they may be linked to relevant legislation and provide the user with the information needed to comply with that legislation. That information may be comprehensive and provide a link to the relevant award or it may simply suggest that the award be checked or that the relevant department be contacted.
  • IYB on-line product
  • iYB which embodies the invention and provides a facility for businesses to carry out the method of the invention.
  • IYB has a number of modules the purpose of which is to collect tools containing similar functionality under a single banner.
  • the modules include the following: a key performance indicator "(KP"l)module; a content library; an IYB tools module; a business simulator; a market intelligence module; and a calendar module.
  • the KPI module is the core and contains the logic to calculate, store, benchmark, and review businesses KPI information. It will link to 'cause and solution' data within the content library.
  • the KPI module helps a business owner track the performance of their business, and makes recommendations on ways to remedy identified problems. There are a number of KPIs tracked by the KPI module, and the appropriate KPIs will be selected based on the business sector.
  • the KPI module contains a number of tools including, KPI calculator, KPI history, KPI analysis, KPI display on user home page, and KPI causes and solutions.
  • the KPI calculator, history, and analysis functionality is held within the KPI module, and the KPI causes and solutions are stored in the content library.
  • the content library module contains documents that are to be displayed to users. Typically the content will be static, with some documents utilising a link into the calendar module.
  • the content library contains KPI
  • the IYB tools module contains a number of small, self-contained calculators and tools for the IYB platform. This module will only present the appropriate content based on a particular users settings. Tools included within the IYB tools module are, mark- up tool, discount tool, trading up tool, inventory budgeting tool, cash flow budgeting tool, business feasibility analyser, goodwill calculator and mapping tool.
  • the business simulator module contains the iYB business simulator program.
  • iYB Users of iYB will be able to access market intelligence data through interactive searches, and retrieval of static content through the market intelligence module.
  • the static content will be stored within the content library.
  • the data will be placed within the market intelligence module.
  • the calendar module in this example is another core module and includes calendar functionality and event booking tool.
  • the purpose of the KPI process is to allow a business operator to identify areas of low performance within their business. This is accomplished by benchmarking the KPIs of that business against industry- accepted standards for that particular business sector.
  • the KPI module will perform a number of checks to ensure the benchmarks applied to an individual business are accurate and applicable to that business.
  • the KPI module supports a retail category and a service category.
  • the KPI's supported by the retail category include, gross profit margin, stocktums, sales per person, GMROI, net profit, and margin of safety.
  • the KPI's supported by the service category vary depending on the particular service industry. For example, in the real estate sector the KPI's would include sales per salesperson, advertising expense ratio, property manager to properties managed ratio, principal to staff ratio, net profit before principals salary per principle, and margin of safety.
  • the function of the KPI calculator is to collect data on business performance, calculate KPIs, select appropriate benchmarks, present preliminary results to user, and store results into history if required.
  • the business concerned collects data relevant to the business in its business category.
  • IYB presents the user with a series of questions requiring answers on screen so that the data required is obvious to the user and the relevant information can be entered.
  • background information in relation to time period the figures relate to (week, month, quarter, half year, year), high trade factor (for hardware stores only), men's or women's apparel (for apparel sector only), and identify postcode of business (from registration).
  • KPI information in relation to sales, gross profit, stock value, number of FTE employees, and net profit. In the service category, the information required will be different.
  • the real estate sector may only require background information in relation to time period and postcode and the KPI information in relation to total income, advertising expenses, staff wages, all other expenses, number of sales people, number of property managers, number of principals, number of properties sold, and number of properties managed.
  • the KPI tool will then calculate the KPIs for the particular business. This is accomplished by passing the collected values through formulas. The data is entered into the IYB system.
  • Benchmarks are selected from a number of sources and may include default sector benchmarks (regionalised), sponsor benchmarks (if they exist), and individual benchmarks (for that business). The user will then be presented with their calculated KPI values, with a comparison made against the selected benchmarks for this user. There will be a button to continue to the home page of the user, and before they select that, they will have the opportunity to save these KPI values into their KPI History. If they choose not to save these values in their KPI History, they can save them at a later stage. For a user to understand the improvement, or otherwise, of their business through the monitoring of KPI values, IYB provides for viewing the performance of their KPIs over time.
  • the KPI module will have a KPI history component which allows a user to store KPI data into the History file, view all KPI Worksheets entered into iYB, view a single KPI Worksheet, graph performance of a single KPI over time, delete a KPI Worksheet from the system, and edit a prior KPI Worksheet.
  • IYB provides an on-screen table by which a user can view a table with summary information about each KPI Worksheet they have entered over time. The table sets out information about each KPI analysis including, date the worksheet was completed, time period associated with the worksheet, and KPI values. From that page the user will have the ability to view or delete a complete worksheet.
  • KPI performance graph will display the performance of a single KPI over time. Due to the nature of KPI calculations, a KPI is calculated over a period of time. This requires the graph to have two axes. The KPI value is shown on the vertical axis and time is shown on the horizontal axis.
  • a horizontal line will appear on the graph for each KPI Worksheet, displaying the KPI value for that worksheet, and the length of the line will be determined by the period covered for that worksheet.
  • a single horizontal line in a different colour will indicate the benchmark associated to the KPI for this user.
  • the KPI value of the business owner will be compared against their benchmark in a graphical format. All graph types will be displayed as vertical bar charts although other formats would be possible.
  • KPI home page There will be a button on the KPI home page that will allow the user to jump into the KPI cause and solution content within the content library. This button will place them in the section of the content library that deals with this particular KPI.
  • the KPIs for a user will be placed on their iYB home page where the user will be able to view their KPI values from their last KPI worksheet.
  • KPI name, or value When a user clicks on a KPI name, or value, they will be taken to the appropriate KPI home page based on which KPI they selected.
  • the KPI analysis part of the KPI module establishes links between the KPI cause and solution content held in the content library.
  • the primary method of establishing this interaction is through the 'KPI home pages' that are displayed for each user.
  • a user will click on the KPI from the users' iYB home page.
  • One purpose of the KPI home page is to link a specific KPI with content within the content library while focusing on allowing the user to improve their businesses performance within the scope of that KPI.
  • the KPI home page presents KPI description, graph showing business performance against business benchmark value, A list of top articles that help improve that particular KPI and gives the ability to browse through the KPI cause and solution content library.
  • the purpose of the KPI calculation form is to allow users to manually calculate their KPI values, and to have a location to store their KPI values for later reference on the iYB web site. Once a user has calculated their KPI values, they will tell the system they are using the offline method of calculating their KPI values, and they will be shown their relevant industry benchmarks.
  • the iYB product contains a number of articles that are provided to iYB users covering topics such as KPI 'cause and solution' articles, startup business content, advanced business content, IYB news content, industry association content, sponsor content, and market intelligence static content.
  • topics such as KPI 'cause and solution' articles, startup business content, advanced business content, IYB news content, industry association content, sponsor content, and market intelligence static content.
  • tools are provided including article browser tool, article viewer tool, content search tool, and my strategies tool.
  • Articles held within the content library have static content. Some articles will interact closely with the iYB calendar via the event booking tool within the calendar module.
  • To group articles within the content library articles will be placed under content library categories. Articles within the content library will be placed under one or more categories.
  • IYB has the following rules:
  • An article can be listed under one or more categories
  • a category can only be listed under one category
  • View/Hide security will be applied to articles and categories based on everyone/public/subscriber access, business sector, and sponsor details.
  • Top level content library categories underneath the root category are:
  • the article browser tool is a standardised interface to allow iYB users to navigate through the content held in the content library.
  • the user ticks a box which will allow the user to select the top level category they wish to view. Changing this selection will immediately change the contents of the evel 2 Category List'.
  • the contents of the list box are defined by the selected item within 'Top Level Drop Down Box'.
  • the list may have article links within it as well as links to further categories.
  • the level 3 and level 4 list boxes will be presented based on the selection the iYB user makes, using a dynamic, overlaying technology such as DHTML.
  • level 4 is selected.
  • the final list box underneath level 4 only holds articles.
  • any category lists that may have expanded over the page will be removed, the level 2 category list will remain, and they will be passed to the article viewer tool.
  • Each article within the content library will have an associated document ID number. It is envisaged that the tool that has to display any article within the content library will reference the document to be displayed by its document ID number.
  • the main purpose of the article view tool is to ensure that the specific business store has access rights to view the document and to display the document that was selected.
  • the content search tool for IYB includes The boolean operators AND and NOT, the location keyword NEAR, quote marks to define a phrase, search string defaults to usage of the OR operator, for example, cash money balance would be treated as cash OR money OR balance, and weighting and sorting by weight of search results could be provided.
  • the 'My Strategy Tool' will allow users to flag articles for quick access. Users will add and remove articles into their 'My Strategies Tool' and then be able to quickly access those documents through their 'My Strategies' page.
  • the method for adding and removing documents from the 'My Strategy List' is: User opens an article so they can read its contents;
  • the Button will toggle between 'Add to My Strategies' and 'Remove from My Strategies' each time they press the button.
  • IYB also provides a My Strategies Page which allows the user to quickly view all documents currently flagged as their strategies.
  • the IYB tools module provides a number of single purpose tools and calculators.
  • the tools and calculators include a mark up tool, a discount tool, a trading up tool, inventory budgeting tool, cash flow budgeting tool, business feasibility analyser, and goodwill calculator.
  • the mark up tool shows what the mark-up on cost must be to give a desired profit margin and also displays a flow chart of consequences attached to incorrectly applying a mark up on a product. Additionally, the user will be presented with a list of selected articles within the content library that deal with issues relating to business concepts related to the use of this tool.
  • the tool includes a markup calculator which takes two inputs, desired margin and purchase price and calculates the selling price to achieve the desired margin.
  • Located on the mark up tool page will be a list of articles within the content library that relate to business issues related to the use of this tool. A user can select an article for reading by clicking on the title of the article.
  • the discount tool has a calculator which shows how many more units in percentage terms must be sold after discounting a unit, to earn the same gross dollars as at the previous selling price. Additionally a user will be presented on screen with a flow chart of consequences attached to discounting without properly understanding the financial position of the business. The user will be also presented with a list of selected articles within the content library that deal with issues relating to business concepts related to the use of the tool.
  • the trading up tool has a calculator which shows by how many percentage points sales could fall while keeping the same level of profitability (assuming variable costs remain the same). Additionally a user will be presented on screen with a flow chart of consequences attached to increasing the margin on a product. The user will be also presented with a list of selected Articles within the Content Library that deal with issues relating to business concepts related to the use of the tool.
  • the inventory budgeting tool (IBT)will enable a business to better manage their monthly expenditure on inventory.
  • the user of the inventory budgeting tool will have the ability to set the inventory budgets for each department of their business.
  • the user will input data for department name, sales target as $, gross profit margin target as %, opening departmental stocktake in $, stocktumtarget in XPA (stockturns per annum), and monthly sales target for a year in %. That information will be stored in the IBT for the user to reference and update at later times.
  • the IBT will then generate an inventory budget review document that will contain information for each department on target gross profit as $, and closing stock forecast as $.
  • the IBT will also report for all departments in the business on target sales in$, target gross profit in %, target gross profit in $, total opening stock in $, average stockturn in XPA (stockturns per annum), and total closing stock forecast in $.
  • the user will enter on a monthly basis actual sales for each department, and actual purchases for each department and the IBT will then report on monthly departmental overstock/understock position and suggested purchasing target for the next month to maintain target stockturn.
  • the user will have the ability to read, edit, delete, and report upon their IBT information as required.
  • the cash flow budgeting tool (CFB) will predict the monthly cash requirements of a business over a
  • the CFB tool will require certain information to create a cash flow budget, that information being predicted sales for the year (by month), debtor payment trends, prediction of non-sales related income (by month), inventory activity details, creditor payment trends, prediction of expenses (by month), and GST status. From that information, the CFB tool will generate monthly prediction of income
  • the CFB tool will have the ability for users to add and remove income and expenses categories such as other income, overheads (expenses), and other cash outflows (expenses).
  • the CFB tool will allow each user to have different categories but will populate the categories with a standard selection based on their sector. It will be possible for a user to save and retrieve previous CFB reports.
  • a CFB report may be generated on a month-by-month basis, showing cash sales, account sales, values for each income category, total cash in, purchases, cash level, payment to creditors, values for each expense category, total cash out, summary information such as opening cash balance, total cash in, total cash out, and closing cash balance.
  • the user firstly activates the tool and the system populates default accounting categories and has ability to edit them.
  • User enters data for accounting categories generates a cash flow budgeting prediction, saves their report on iYB and retrieves previous reports from iYB as required.
  • the iYB platform will determine if they have activated the IBT tool.
  • the IBT tool will import the information from the IBT tool including first month of the financial year (default to July), budgeted sales (as $), total sales planned for each month (as a % of budgeted sales), target margin (as a %), target stockturn (turns per annum), and opening stock levels (as $). If the user has not activated the IBT tool, they will need to manually enter the above data.
  • the CFB tool will have a table of appropriate income and expense categories for each business sector which will enable a user to quickly receive the appropriate categories for their vertical.
  • the user will then enter the appropriate dollar figures for each category in each month and the system can then generate the cash flow budgeting prediction based on the above information.
  • the report will be saved and the user will have the ability to enter the report and possibly change some initial values to fine tune the report.
  • the user will be able to view a list of yearly reports they have stored in the CFB tool and be able to view them again. When they view a report it will be in printable format, and they will need to specifically tell the system they wish to update the report to change any of the above-entered values.
  • the business feasibility analyser will allow a prospective purchaser of a business to analyse the business to determine the feasibility of the business before they start on the venture.
  • the BFA tool will allow a user to enter five financial figures for a business, and they will be presented with a simple feasibility report on that business.
  • the inputs for running a business feasibility analysis include, assets to be acquired in $, rate of return required in % (default to 25%), overheads for year 1 in $, salaries for year 1 in $, industry
  • the goodwill calculator calculates the value of the goodwill of the business and assists users understand that value. There are a number of methods for calculating goodwill, and the IYB calculator uses a method known as the 'Super Profit Method'.
  • the user enters information including assets to be acquired, stock as $, plant and equipment as $, other as $, business liabilities such as borrowings as $ and creditors as $, return required on equity as % (default to 25%), salaries required per year as $, annual profit currently being generated as $.
  • the goodwill calculator then calculates an indicative goodwill value for the business and presents a report.
  • the report includes information on total assets to be acquired as $, total business liabilities as $, projected shareholders equity as $, profit required to meet return as $, $ required from business to cover return and salaries, super profit figure as $, required rate of return as %, and calculated goodwill value.
  • the business simulator module is a tool/game that allows a user to go through the decision making process of running a business to help that user understand the impact of their decisions on the profitability of their business.
  • the user will be presented with a number of business decisions and be rated on their response to their choice.
  • the simulator will run a set of financial information for the business so the user can identify which parts of their business are being impacted by their choices.
  • the user will be presented with the KPIs of their business to help them understand the interaction daily business decisions have on the performance of their business.
  • the business simulatpr allows a user to select a business to simulate , and provides the user with a market analysis. The user then is presented with a number of scenarios and a game summary.
  • the setup game process will identify the mode for business simulator, business type to simulate, users overall business strategy, and review business information. Against each business type, there will be three possible business strategies the user can select for their simulation. The strategy they select will determine how their response to simulation questions will affect their business.
  • the user will have the ability to review information about the business they have selected which may include information introducing the user to the business, a market analysis report and a bar graph showing seasonality of sales for this business by month.
  • the business simulator will then go through the process of asking the user the questions relating to each business decision.
  • the process for asking a question is:
  • the decision scenario is displayed User is presented with multiple choice options
  • Optimal profit results are updated The simulator will then go through the process again until all questions have been asked. Upon completion of the decisions, the summary page is displayed, allowing the user to review their decisions. Information displayed to the user will include titles of all decisions they were given, selected response to decision (a, b, c, d, or e), optimal response for decision (a, b, c, e, or e), and ability to view users and optimal.
  • Each business within the business simulator will be created and maintained via a standard business template, and each scenario (question) will be created and maintained via a standard scenario template. Through this template process, the business simulator software will not need to be modified to support additional Businesses and associated scenarios.
  • Each business within the scenario has 'normal trading' figures associated with it, that define the standard month by month trading that the business goes through.
  • the affects of that decision will be applied to the business in addition to the normal trading figures.
  • these normal trading figures will be seasonally adjusted through a 'percentage of yearly trade' associated with each month.
  • the business simulator will be designed to operate in competition mode which will allow users of the iYB system (all businesses or a select group of businesses, eg. sponsored businesses) to compete in a special competition version of the business simulator.
  • the simulated business and scenarios utilised in the competition mode may be specially created for the competition.
  • the market intelligence module will contain statistical data for access directly by iYB users or by other iYB modules.
  • the data to be stored within the market intelligence module is Australian Bureau of Statistics data
  • ABS ABS Statistical Divisions of Australia, Region/Post Code information, and ABS Household Spending data in Australia.
  • the iYB system may interface with market research data held by companies such as Yellow Pages, with the use of this data focused on providing iYB members with additional information regarding their industry, region, customer base, supplier base etc.
  • Market Intelligence Reports will be held within two areas, those being dynamic content - within market intelligence module and static content - within content library. Dynamic content is searchable and is stored within a database which is then searchable based on user search parameters, for example, post code, business sector, product item etc.
  • the static content is data that is not searchable, but rather a report that the user can review at any time.
  • the calendar module is focused towards the iYB users' business and is intended as a calendar for booking and scheduling business related tasks, shared across all members of this business.
  • a prime goal of the iYB system is to take the business cycle driven view of operating a business, and breaking it down into itemised day-to-day tasks.
  • the calendar module will allow a user to manage all day-to-day tasks associated with the management of their business.
  • an event booking tool is provided which allows the user to follow four steps to schedule an event, these being, user views home page, user views calendar, user reads content library, and user schedules an event.
  • the iYB user From the home page, the iYB user will be able to read their current days calendar events. A user may choose to view the tasks for the current day, week, or month within this calendar space. A user will be able to see the list of events that have been booked for the day, and associated with each event will be the title of a document within the content library that has been associated with the event. The association of content library articles with events is organised via the event booking tool. A user can enter into their calendar across a full display if they click on a 'Show My Calendar' button from the iYB home page. A user will also be able to add an event to their calendar, change calendar settings (eg. daily, weekly, monthly) and possibly print their calendar for the month. Once an event is placed within the "store calendar", it can be edited and deleted by the user in the same way a calendar entry they created would be edited and deleted.
  • change calendar settings eg. daily, weekly, monthly
  • the event booking tool will allow an iYB user to add calendar events into their business calendar via a content library article and will operate as follows:
  • each event will have an unlimited number of related calendar bookings (eg.four calendar events must be booked for quarterly staff reviews, whereas only two are required for a product review, the event booking tool should be able to support this variance)
  • Each calendar event will have a number of content library articles associated with it.
  • Each calendar event will be booked based on its system set 'Offset' from the primary date. (eg. the second quarterly event will be booked three months later than the primary date)
  • the user reads the content library page by using a button placed at the bottom of a page that books the event which will link to the event booking tool with a reference ID relating to the particular event that must be booked.
  • the user schedules an event by entering a primary date and the tool then displays a list of associated events that will be booked. On that page the user will be able to enter the primary date, enter a custom title for the events (eg. hardware staff appraisals), select which of the associated calendar events will be scheduled
  • the IYB system also provides access to other services such as news services, weather services, commodity market services, chat services, bulletin board services, and classified advertisement services etc.
  • the IYB system may cover many industry sectors including the hardware sector, pharmacy sector, newsagent sector, electrical retailer sector, food services sector, agribusiness distributor sector, apparel sector, real estate sector, beef producers sector, general SME sector, and start-up sector.
  • the relevant modules some details of business sectors are shown below:
  • KPI Module Utilised with the following KPIs: Gross profit margin Stockturns Sales per person GMROI Net profit Margin of safety
  • KPI KPI 'cause and solution' articles Startup business content Advanced business content iYB news content (via news interface) Industry association content (if available) Sponsor content (to sponsored users) Market intelligence content
  • This sector will have access to all content library tools.
  • iYB Tools Module This Sector will access the following tools: Mark up tool Discount tool Trading up tool Inventory budgeting tool Cash flow budgeting tool Business feasibility tool Goodwill calculator
  • Calendar Module This module will be available to this sector. -16-
  • KPI Module Utilised with the following KPIs: Gross profit margin Stockturns Sales per person GMROI Net profit Margin of safety
  • KPI KPI 'cause and solution' articles Startup business content Advanced business content iYB news content (via news interface) Industry association content (if available) Sponsor content (to sponsored users) Market intelligence content
  • This sector will have access to all content library tools.
  • iYB Tools Module This Sector will access the following tools: Mark up tool Discount tool Trading up tool Inventory budgeting tool Cash flow budgeting tool Business feasibility tool Goodwill calculator
  • Calendar Module This module will be available to this sector. -17-
  • KPI Module Utilised with the following KPIs: Gross profit margin Stockturns Sales per person GMROI Net profit Margin of safety
  • KPI KPI 'cause and solution' articles Startup business content Advanced business content iYB news content (via news interface) Industry association content (if available) Sponsor content (to sponsored users) Market intelligence content
  • This sector will have access to all content library tools.
  • iYB Tools Module This Sector will access the following tools: Mark up tool Discount tool Trading up tool Inventory budgeting tool Cash flow budgeting tool Business feasibility tool Goodwill calculator
  • Calendar Module This module will be available to this sector. -18-
  • KPI Module Utilised with the following KPIs: Margin of safety Gross profit Net profit
  • KPI KPI 'cause and solution' articles Startup business content Advanced business content iYB news content (via news interface) Industry association content (if available) Sponsor content (to sponsored users) Market intelligence content
  • This sector will have access to all content library tools.
  • iYB Tools Module This Sector will access the following tools: Mark up tool Discount tool Trading up tool Inventory budgeting tool Cash flow budgeting tool Business feasibility tool Goodwill calculator
  • Calendar Module This module will be available to this sector. -19-
  • KPI Module Utilised with the following KPIs:
  • KPI KPI 'cause and solution' articles Startup business content Advanced business content iYB news content (via news interface) Industry association content (if available) Sponsor content (to sponsored users) Market intelligence content
  • This sector will have access to all Content Library tools.
  • This Sector will access the following tools: Mark up tool Discount tool Trading up tool Inventory budgeting tool Cash flow budgeting tool Business feasibility tool Goodwill calculator
  • Calendar Module This module will be available to this sector. -20-
  • KPI Module Utilised with the following KPIs: Gross profit margin Stockturns Sales per person GMROI Net profit Margin of safety
  • KPI KPI 'cause and solution' articles Startup business content Advanced business content iYB news content (via news interface) Industry association content (if available) Sponsor content (to sponsored users) Market intelligence content
  • This sector will have access to all content library tools.
  • iYB Tools Module This Sector will access the following tools: Mark up Tool Discount tool Trading up tool Inventory budgeting tool Cash flow budgeting tool Business feasibility tool Goodwill calculator
  • Calendar Module This module will be available to this sector. -21-
  • KPI Module Utilised with the following KPIs:
  • KPI KPI 'cause and solution' articles Startup business content Advanced business content iYB news content (via news interface) Industry association content (if available) Sponsor content (to sponsored users) Market intelligence content
  • This sector will have access to all content library tools.
  • iYB Tools Module This Sector will access the following tools: Mark up tool Discount tool Trading up tool Business feasibility tool Goodwill calculator
  • Calendar Module This module will be available to this sector. -22-
  • KPI Module Utilised with the following KPIs: Gross profit margin Stockturns Sales per person GMROI Net profit Margin of safety
  • KPI KPI 'cause and solution' articles
  • Startup business content Advanced business content
  • iYB news content via news interface
  • Industry association content if available
  • Sponsor content to sponsored users
  • Market intelligence content
  • This sector will have access to all content library tools.
  • iYB Tools Module This Sector will access the following tools: Mark up tool Discount tool Trading up tool Inventory budgeting tool Cash flow budgeting tool Business feasibility tool Goodwill calculator
  • Calendar Module This module will be available to this sector. -23-
  • KPI Module Utilised with the following KPIs (Retail KPIs): Gross profit margin Stockturns Sales per person GMROI Net profit Margin of safety
  • KPI KPI 'cause and solution' articles
  • Startup business content Advanced business content
  • iYB news content via news interface
  • Industry association content if available
  • Sponsor content to sponsored users
  • Market intelligence content
  • This sector will have access to all content library tools.
  • Calendar Module This module will be available to this sector.
  • the invention provides a usable tool in the form of a computer program which allows the operator of an enterprise to consider many different aspects of the enterprise to determine whether action needs to be taken for improvement and how that action can be taken.

Landscapes

  • Business, Economics & Management (AREA)
  • Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
  • Strategic Management (AREA)
  • Development Economics (AREA)
  • Economics (AREA)
  • Entrepreneurship & Innovation (AREA)
  • General Physics & Mathematics (AREA)
  • Theoretical Computer Science (AREA)
  • Game Theory and Decision Science (AREA)
  • Marketing (AREA)
  • Finance (AREA)
  • Accounting & Taxation (AREA)
  • Human Resources & Organizations (AREA)
  • Physics & Mathematics (AREA)
  • General Business, Economics & Management (AREA)
  • Educational Administration (AREA)
  • Tourism & Hospitality (AREA)
  • Quality & Reliability (AREA)
  • Operations Research (AREA)
  • Management, Administration, Business Operations System, And Electronic Commerce (AREA)

Abstract

Un procédé pour assister une entreprise dans l"organisation des affaires consiste en ce qui suit: sélectionner un type d"activité d"affaires à partir d"une première structure de données représentant plusieurs types d"activités d"affaires; sélectionner un ou plusieurs types d"indicateurs-clés de performance à partir d"une deuxième structure de données représentant les types d"indicateurs-clés de performance applicables au type d"activité d"affaires sélectionné dans la première structure de données; introduire des données pour lesdits types d"indicateurs-clés de performance sélectionnés en rapport avec l"entreprise nécessitant l"assistance; sélectionner un ou plusieurs indicateurs-clés de performance, qui correspondent audits indicateurs-clés de performance sélectionnés, dans une troisième structure de données représentant les indicateurs-clés de performance standard, qui se rapportent aux types d"activités d"affaires représentés dans ladite première structure de données; comparer lesdits indicateurs-clés de performance réels avec les indicateurs-clés de performance standard, sélectionnés dans ladite troisième structure de données, et ce pour fournir une variance pour ledit ou lesdits indicateurs-clés de performance; et sélectionner un ou plusieurs deuxièmes paramètres à partir d"une quatrième structure de données représentant les paramètres qui relèvent des raisons possibles de ladite variance.
PCT/AU2002/000190 2001-02-23 2002-02-22 Procede et programme informatique pour assister une entreprise dans l"organisation des affaires WO2002067153A1 (fr)

Applications Claiming Priority (4)

Application Number Priority Date Filing Date Title
AUPR3308 2001-02-23
AUPR3308A AUPR330801A0 (en) 2001-02-23 2001-02-23 Method of and computer program for assisting an enterprise in the conduct of business
AUPR9691 2001-12-21
AUPR9691A AUPR969101A0 (en) 2001-12-21 2001-12-21 Method of and computer program for assisting an enterprise in the conduct of business

Publications (1)

Publication Number Publication Date
WO2002067153A1 true WO2002067153A1 (fr) 2002-08-29

Family

ID=25646597

Family Applications (1)

Application Number Title Priority Date Filing Date
PCT/AU2002/000190 WO2002067153A1 (fr) 2001-02-23 2002-02-22 Procede et programme informatique pour assister une entreprise dans l"organisation des affaires

Country Status (1)

Country Link
WO (1) WO2002067153A1 (fr)

Citations (3)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
WO2000046721A1 (fr) * 1999-02-05 2000-08-10 Nval Solutions, Incorporated Systeme et procede de revalorisation d'une entreprise
EP1072988A2 (fr) * 1999-07-22 2001-01-31 VisonCompass, Inc. Analyse quantitative de performance d'entreprise
WO2001088769A1 (fr) * 2000-05-16 2001-11-22 Synergetic Engineering Pty Ltd Methode d'analyse des performances d'une entreprise

Patent Citations (3)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
WO2000046721A1 (fr) * 1999-02-05 2000-08-10 Nval Solutions, Incorporated Systeme et procede de revalorisation d'une entreprise
EP1072988A2 (fr) * 1999-07-22 2001-01-31 VisonCompass, Inc. Analyse quantitative de performance d'entreprise
WO2001088769A1 (fr) * 2000-05-16 2001-11-22 Synergetic Engineering Pty Ltd Methode d'analyse des performances d'une entreprise

Similar Documents

Publication Publication Date Title
Boudreau et al. Measuring intellectual capital: Learning from financial history
Quinn et al. Information technology: Increasing productivity in services
Reichmann Controlling: concepts of management control, controllership, and ratios
US10839321B2 (en) Automated data storage system
US20160171398A1 (en) Predictive Model Development System Applied To Enterprise Risk Management
Armstrong A handbook of management techniques: A comprehensive guide to achieving managerial excellence & improved decision making
US20080015871A1 (en) Varr system
US20080027841A1 (en) System for integrating enterprise performance management
US20040199445A1 (en) Business activity management system
Taschner et al. Management and cost accounting: tools and concepts in a central European context
McWatters et al. Management accounting in a dynamic environment
Karadag Strategic financial management for small and medium sized companies
Mard et al. Driving your company's value: strategic benchmarking for value
Lincoln et al. The role of microcomputers in small business marketing
Mulugeta Assesing The Factors Affecting The Performance of Micro and Small Scale Enterprises The Case of Yeka Sub-City, Addis Ababa
Sasvari A Conceptual Framework for Definition of the Correlation Between Company Size Categories and the Proliferation of Business Information Systems in Hungary
WO2002067153A1 (fr) Procede et programme informatique pour assister une entreprise dans l"organisation des affaires
AU2002234419A1 (en) Method of and computer program for assisting an enterprise in the conduct of business
Mukunju Impact of lean supply chain management strategies on the performance of commercial banks in Kenya
Coveney et al. Budgeting, planning and forecasting in uncertain times
Lawrence et al. Writing a successful business plan
Lal Advanced Management Accouting (Text, Problems & Cases)
Wisniewski et al. Management and Valuation in Real Estate Cyclea Decade of Experience
Suchánek et al. Intelligence decision support systems in e-commerce
Ежоввок Improving the management of marketing activities of the enterprise= Удосконалення управління маркетинговою діяльністю підприємства

Legal Events

Date Code Title Description
AK Designated states

Kind code of ref document: A1

Designated state(s): AE AG AL AM AT AU AZ BA BB BG BR BY BZ CA CH CN CO CR CU CZ DE DK DM DZ EC EE ES FI GB GD GE GH GM HR HU ID IL IN IS JP KE KG KP KR KZ LC LK LR LS LT LU LV MA MD MG MK MN MW MX MZ NO NZ OM PH PL PT RO RU SD SE SG SI SK SL TJ TM TN TR TT TZ UA UG US UZ VN YU ZA ZM ZW

AL Designated countries for regional patents

Kind code of ref document: A1

Designated state(s): GH GM KE LS MW MZ SD SL SZ TZ UG ZM ZW AM AZ BY KG KZ MD RU TJ TM AT BE CH CY DE DK ES FI FR GB GR IE IT LU MC NL PT SE TR BF BJ CF CG CI CM GA GN GQ GW ML MR NE SN TD TG

121 Ep: the epo has been informed by wipo that ep was designated in this application
WWE Wipo information: entry into national phase

Ref document number: 2002234419

Country of ref document: AU

WWE Wipo information: entry into national phase

Ref document number: 528243

Country of ref document: NZ

REG Reference to national code

Ref country code: DE

Ref legal event code: 8642

122 Ep: pct application non-entry in european phase
NENP Non-entry into the national phase

Ref country code: JP

WWW Wipo information: withdrawn in national office

Country of ref document: JP