14.8. An i-bay Used to Expedite Processes: Samson's Farms
Samson's Organic Farms delivers fresh produce to The Pagan Vegan every week. Samson's and TPV use an i-bay to improve the ordering and delivery process. TPV has created an i-bay for Samson's called "samfarms". It is accessible to the external Internet but password-protected so that only staff at TPV and Samson's Farms can read it. Anyone on TPV's local network can write to it.
Here's how the process works:
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Each week, Mr. Samson updates his online order sheet to include only produce that will be ripe and ready for the next delivery date. He saves it in ".html" format and e-mails it to The Pagan Vegan's administrator.
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Upon receiving the e-mail, TPV's administrator saves the file directly into the html directory of the "samfarms" i-bay.
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The chef accesses the samfarms i-bay, reviews what produce will be available, and plans menus.
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The chef's assistant then reviews the menus, checks against existing inventory and determines what should be ordered. The assistant enters TPV's order directly onto the order sheet in the samfarms i-bay using an HTML editor.
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The day before delivery, the chef reviews his assistant's order (as shown in the image below) using a web browser and makes any last minute adjustments.
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On the day of delivery, Samson's shipping staff accesses the i-bay over the Internet, prints out TPV's order from the samfarms i-bay, and fills it.