We are going to introduce a company called Not Just Widgets (NJW) to use as an example throughout this book. NJW resells software and hardware products, and offers some limited services to its customers. It is currently using a combination of an old small accounting package and many Excel spreadsheets. Let's go through the list in the previous section for NJW:
Start at the beginning: What does the company do? NJW has been in business for five years and it resells software and hardware products that it purchases from other companies or distributors. Many smaller or fast moving items are kept in a small warehouse on premises and larger or infrequently sold items are drop-shipped directly to customers. Some consulting services, such as system audits, network planning, and implementations are performed either by employees of NJW or independent contractors hired as needed.
Understand the vision: What is the plan for the next few years? There are currently...