Chapter 3: Burton Snowboards Speeds Ahead With Nimble Business Processe

1. Analyze Burton using the value chain and competitive forces models.

The value chain use by Burton is implemented and currently maintains SAP enterprise software, an Oracle database, a SUSE Linux enterprise server, and commodity hardware. Before making this upgrades, Burton’s information systems were a hodgepodge of inconsistently had to implemented and underutilized software. The company had to manually allocate product to customers and orders.

Burton explores basic functionalities of SAP enterprise resource planning (ERP) software and resolve IT problems without adding new layers of complexity to its IT infrastructure, and the company gained proficiency with SAP enterprise software in the process. Burton aims for standard, traditional versions of software whenever possible, realizing that with more bells and whistles comes increased maintenance costs and steeper leaning curves to understanding the software.

The competitive forces models used by Burton is substitute service, supplies and customers. Before that, Burton had to manually allocate product to customers and orders. Now, Burton substitutes it by using SAP that can improve communication between warehouses and supply chain efficiency. Both suppliers and customers could easily determine the up-to-date information which items were in stock at which warehouse.

2. Why are the business processes described in this case such an important source of competitive advantage for Burton?

SAP analysts helped Burton identify the top five transactions that were the most critical to its business operations and that needed optimization from a systems standpoint. Burton could identify unnecessarily complicated processes, backlogs, and design gaps in the flow of its business processes. Moreover, a management dashboard developed with the help of SAP shows how smoothly a critical process is running at certain point in time. Information from the dashboard helps Burton’s key users discover inconsistencies, gaps, or other areas that they should be monitoring more closely.

3. Explain exactly how these process improvements enhance Burton’s operational performance and decision making.

These process improvements enhance Burton’s operational performance and decision making during what Burton calls its “reorder” season. Burton’s dealers place orders to stock their stores well before winter sets in. As consumers start buying the merchandise, the dealers reorder with Burton to replenish their stock or to buy new products. Thus, they are able to see more timely product availability data, and receive orders more rapidly now.