Consultancies at A&A Computers Ltd. Alex Righolt, April 2008

Introduction In the past four years we have had five consultants assisting us with improving the management systems at A&A Computers. This presentation summarizes the outcomes of the consultancies It also points out which consultancy recommendations should be revisited and possible be taken action upon.

Introduction The consultancy areas were: PeriodConsultantArea April 2008Mr. Jeroen Bogaers Financial systems January 2007Ms. Merav …Customer Relations Management June 2005Ms. Candida Mele Help desk / workshop procedures June 2003Ms. Ineke …Marketing and Organizational February 2003, June 2007, April 2008 Mr. Anton Bogaers HRM and HR development

Anton has visited us three times. He was sponsored by the Netherlands’ PUM organization. Through his involvement, we have now in place:  Staff appraisals  Salary Scales  HRM database  Awareness of conditions for team work

HRM and HR development Anton arranged visits to two similarly sized firms in the Netherlands. These visits taught me that:  Our systems at A&A are of an international level and standard.  Stock problems can only be adequately controlled through bar codes and a serialized inventory system.  Management challenges in Tanzania and Holland are very similar.

HRM and HR development We should follow up in these HR areas:  A systematic approach to staff development.  Better tracking of sickness and absence.

Marketing and Organizational consultancy Ineke was preparing her thesis for a degree in Business Administration, and visited several Dutch companies in Arusha. She stayed with us for a week, free of charge.

Marketing and Organizational consultancy Ineke developed for us:  A client questionnaire  Presentation “Move towards the future”  Her final conclusion was “To build a sustainable business, A&A needs to realize growth with a more commercial approach”

Marketing and Organizational consultancy The outcomes of her research and report were:  An increased commercial approach, for example: Initialization of the CRM function Organizing strategic planning meetings Improve staff training

Marketing and Organizational consultancy The outcomes of her research and report were:  Understanding how PPM activities contribute to our financial results.  Understanding the need to expand our product range and service provision.

Marketing and Organizational consultancy We should follow up in this area:  Positioning of A&A computers in the changing market.

Technical Services consultancy Candida volunteered to advise on improving our help desk and workshop systems. The outcomes of her research and report were:  The database needed more fields for technical reporting, and indicating priority.  Improve distribution of jobs among technicians.  Technicians needed to more completely fill in the reports.

Technical Services consultancy We should follow up in these areas:  Indicate priority or repair jobs.  Improve quality through pre and post testing.  Clean up the workshops – and keep them clean.  Present the report’s findings and discuss with management and technical staff.

Customer Relations Management consultancy Merav volunteered to define a CRM system for us, and wrote a report for us outlining such a system.

Customer Relations Management consultancy Merav’s report resulted in:  Establishing a function “Customer Relation Management” in A&A Computers.  Development and implementation of a CRM database.

Customer Relations Management consultancy We should follow up in these areas:  Reach more potential clients  Get more client feedback

Financial systems consultancy Mr. Jeroen Bogaers is a financial advisor and trouble-shooter in the Netherlands. He agreed to fly to Tanzania, and advise us during two weeks on improving our financial systems.

Financial systems consultancy The outcomes of his research and report were:  Accounts have been kept in a very disorganized way, making it impossible to control costs, and to plan for expanding our business.  It will be possible to get accurate accounts with relatively simple changes in procedures.  Accounting data can be entered by our administrators and sales staff. We should hire external accounting expertise to check, and keep our accounts organized.

Financial systems consultancy We should follow up in these areas:  Implement the many advises of the consultant, that will result in a clear and useful state of accounts.  Hire external accounting expertise, to keep our accounts to the required standards.

Conclusions A&A computers Ltd. has learned very much from the consultants. The company now has several sound administrative systems in place, allowing it to take better care of its staff, including their training needs, keeps better relations with it customers, and actively adjusts its position in the IT market.

Conclusions We should regularly review consultancy reports, and assess what advise we should still implement. These reports are available in our A&A library system. We should continue attracting consultants, as they will assist A&A to improve its operations in the fast- changing Tanzanian IT market.

Consultancies at A&A Computers Ltd. The End.