This chapter discusses the answers and explanations to the sub-topics in Chapter 1 such as the Statement of the Problem and the Objectives of the Study. It also presents and explains the results of the data gathered and their analysis. This chapter also elaborates the overall analysis of the proposed system based on the data flow diagrams and the system flowcharts of the current and proposed systems. Moreover, system design specification is also presented in this chapter. The design specification is based on the Hierarchical Input Process Output (HIPO) chart of the proposed system which graphically represents the general functionalities of the proposed system. Additional topics are also given emphasis on this manuscript section such as the required hardware and software in developing the system and the manpower requirement for the operational proposed system.
a. Answer and Explanations of the Statement of the Problem
Based on the results of the data gathering procedures carried out by the proponents, the following resources are considered to resolve the constraints and limitations of the current manual sales and inventory system employed by the Bahandi Pasalubong Center:
Since the proposed system includes the computerization of the current inventory system of the concerned business establishment, the store should be equipped with one (1) set of computer for carrying product inventory processes. The computer is also used
to perform modifications of products displayed online as well as making modifications on some related data such as information for each product featured online.
Online store/shop policies and bylaws should also be considered with the online store implementation. This also includes the setting up of online payment schemes with the assistance of online payment gateways such as PayPal to allow online payment of business transactions. This makes possible for the inclusion of an online shopping cart for the proposed system which would allow customers to purchase products online. Although the online transaction will incur additional charges such as shipping fees and payment gateways service charges, the customers will be able to avoid travelling expenses, effort and time if the transaction will be carried out personally.
The following are the constraints and limitations of the current manual sales and inventory system employed by the Bahandi Pasalubong Center:
1. Product consignment monitoring and stock counting is very tedious and prone to record discrepancies;
2. Products subject to expire needs a constant monitoring;
3. Record logbooks are subject to wear outs and at times may be misplaced;
4. Products display is crowded and are not categorically arranged which makes it hard for the consumers to look for a specific product without the help of a shop sales representative;
5. Product information and pricing are not readily available to the customer; and 6. Consigners have difficulty in tracking the sales status of his/her consigned products;
Among the alternatives that could be considered to resolve the constraints and limitations of the current manual sales and inventory system of the Bahandi Pasalubong Center is the implementation of an online shopping portal and a computerized inventory system. The requirement specifications needed to transform the functional specifications of the current manual sales and inventory system include the inclusion of an online shopping cart, a gallery of products with their corresponding information, a built-in inventory system that is capable of effectively managing consigned products, and a routine that tracks the expiration dates of products that are subject to expire.
The implementation of the requirement specification will be facilitated through the utilization of several computing resources such as hardware, software and networking protocols. Considering the constraints and limitations of the current manual sales and inventory system employed by the Bahandi Pasalubong Center, the implementation of an online shopping portal for the said business establishment is deemed justifiable.
b. Answer and Explanations to the Objectives of the Study
The main objective of the study is the development of an online shopping portal and computerized inventory system that will address the problems encountered in the manual system.
To ascertain the foundations for the development of an adjacent online shopping store for the Bahandi Pasalubong Center, the proponent conducted several data gathering procedures through personal interviews, direct observations of the sales and inventory processes of the shop, and related documents from books, articles and those that are downloaded from the Internet.
c. Results, Explanations and Analysis of the Data Gathered
The number of online shopping websites is getting bigger and bigger. However, many online stores invested a lot of money and human resource in setting up websites, but the outcome does not meet their expectation. Sellers have to learn the influence of website design quality on customers in order to overcome the issue. When customers browse a website, first thing that affects their interest is the website’s appeal. If a website is not attractive, customers would not want to browse it. According to the factor of unique design, the proponents learned that if the design of a website is unique, customers would feel more curious and fresh about the website. A website can also combine featured pictures, making unique website scenario and leaving customers good impression of the website while using it.
The appearance, the interface design, and color application of a website are all factors which determine if a website can attract customers. Besides, website appeal has significant influence on customer trust and purchase experience when browsing the website (Chen and Chang, 2003). Among factors of website functions, the ease of use affects customers’ mood of browsing the website. If the website can provide guidance to customers for using the website and increase convenience of searching information, customers can sense the usability of the website. Interaction between a website and customers can impress customers. Although buyers and sellers can only communicate through the website, if a seller’s response meets customers’ expectation, they usually can increase customer satisfaction and purchase intention. Website can also use e-paper or massage board to respond to customers’ questions, which also increases the interaction between buyers and sellers. Other than improving website quality, sellers should also
learn how to invest their resources in order to increase customer satisfaction, trust, and commitment.
d. Over-all Analysis of the Proposed System
The proposed e-Commerce Site for Bahandi Pasalubong Center will be composed of a number of components consistently adhering to the principles of a good website design presented in the Results, Explanations and Analysis of the Data Gathered section of the research manuscript. Based on the current needs and business scope of the business entity concerned, the following conveys the preliminary outcome for the functional analysis of the proposed system: (1) the focus of the proposed e-commerce site is product search and online buying, (2) product content experience is unique for each user, (3) the proposed ecommerce site creates sales incentives by giving “Why shop with us” reminders, (4) products are given much exposure as possible by providing product image galleries, (5) the site doesn’t make the user feel as some products/services are being forced on them, (6) the site has important sections easily accessible at the appropriate time, and (7) the site makes the shopper feel comfortable and in control at all times.
The proposed ecommerce site will have a consistent interface theme in all the pages. The theme will be based on the categories of products currently being sold in the physical store. Since it is the products that should be given emphasis in the proposed ecommerce, product galleries should be interesting enough for the user. This will be facilitated through the inclusion of an interactive image gallery with the utilization of a client-side scripting framework, the jQuery, along with its asynchronous execution capabilities of sending and receiving content requests to and from the server.
SHOPONLINE: A
Figure 3. Context Diagram of the Proposed System
stock out threshold
stock out alert
System Flowchart of the Proposed System
Figure 5. Home Module [1] Processed Food [2] Home Style and Living [3] Beverages
[4] Organic, Herbal and Natural Products [5]Handicrafts, Gift Wares and Holiday Decors
[6]Post Harvest Facilities and Food Processing Equipment Display
S2
Enter user id and password
Verify Password Bahandi
Database
User ID and Password verified?
Try again?
User U
True
False
Bk
True Bk
False End
Figure 6. Login Module
e. System Design Specification
The proposed ecommerce for Bahandi Pasalubong Center features the following functionalities:
Product Search and Online Purchasing. Users of the site can perform searches for a particular product. Search filters could be defined so as to speed up the search process and display only related items. Online purchase allows users to place their selected items in the shopping for processing.
Categorized Items Display. Products of the proposed ecommerce site will be displayed in a categorized manner to make easy for the user/customer to browse for specific product selection.
Recommended Items Based on Prior Activity. This feature necessitates the cookies be allowed in the client browser where the user is on. This will allow the web application to fetch for product based on product browsing history of the user. This features simply anticipates browsing patterns of the current user/customer.
Various “Why Shop With Us” Reminders. These are little reminders which can be found in the little corners of the page to give the users/customers justifications in shopping with the site. This will display various guarantee statements, discount packages and purchase rebates that could be available for some specific period of time.
Prices Compared to Suggested Retail. The Bahandi Pasalubong Center also accepts bulk orders from their customers. While the products’ retail prices are already reasonable, bulk orders will give the customers the privilege of availing more discounts.
The pages in the proposed ecommerce site for the Bahandi Pasalubong Center include the following:
Home Page. The home page will give visitors an overview of our services.
Products List. This page will give an overview of the site’s products.
Product Image Gallery. This page will allow the user to individually browse for the site’s products.
Products Detail Pages. For each product there will be two pages. The first will provide a detailed summary of the product including prices and photographs. The second will contain a detailed specification.
On Line Shop. Basic shopping card features for Each product page will to have a link that will allow visitors to place an order on-line.
About Us. Details about the business entity and its personnel.
Contact Us. Full contact details including a map.
Site Map. A site map should be provided showing the structure of the site and linking to every page on the site.
f. Hardware Requirements
The following table shows the minimum hardware requirements required to develop the proposed system:
Areas Minimum Specification Recommended Specification Processor Intel Pentium 4 "E" 520
Prescott,2800/200,P35,533, Socket
CORSAIR 2GB (2 x 1GB) 184-Pin DDR SDRAM DDR 400 (PC 3200) Dual Channel Kit or higher Hard Drive WD Blue WD5000AAKX 500GB
Desktop Hard Drive - 3.5", SATA, 7200RPM, 16MB Cache
g. Software Requirements
The following are the software requirements in developing the proposed e-commerce site for Bahandi Pasalubong Center:
Areas Recommended Software
Operating System Windows XP or higher
Integrated Development Environment (IDE)
Delphi for PHP Development, Macromedia Dreamweaver, Microsoft Expression Web 4
Script Editor Notepad++
Browser Mozilla Firefox, Google Chrome, Internet Explorer 8 Relational Database
Management Server (RDMS)
MySQL Server Community Edition Database Management MySQL WorkBench, PHPMyAdmin
Web Server Apache
Word Processor MS-Word
Graphics /Image Processor Macromedia Fireworks, Adobe Photoshop CS6, Paint
h. Human Resource Complement
There are basically two types of users for the system: the system administrator and the customers. The system administrator will be in-charge in the maintenance of products being sold online. He/she also has the privilege to cancel customer accounts as may be deemed necessary. He is also responsible in managing product sales and inventory, both offline and online.