Pre-Technology
Before the computer system was installed at Planet Skin, most business activities were performed manually. Bookings, client details, billing, prescriptions, and stock were all managed using a paper system. This created problems with filing and retrieving client details, and stock control was very difficult and time consuming. Staff theft was a problem, in the form of stock and cash from the till being stolen, because it was hard to reconcile the actual amount of cash or stock with how much there should have been. Reordering of stock often did not happen until stock had actually run out, because it would have required very frequent and time consuming stock-takes to have an accurate record of the stock on hand.
Beauty technicians often prescribe very individual-specific products for clients, and these products are then dispensed in much the same manner as in a pharmacy. Before the technology was implemented, a client would have to wait until their personal technician was available so that the receptionist could receive the technician's confirmation of the prescription. This could be very troublesome, especially if a client had just popped in off the street to pick up their prescription - if their technician was busy with another client they might have to endure quite a long wait, or if their technician was not in, they would have to come back another day.
The business processes before the technology was implemented are represented in Figure 1.
Figure 1: Information Flows at Planet Skin (before Technology)
→ Full Size Version of Figure 1 [11KB GIF file]
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