When an item is scanned through the till, the price is received through a Local Area Network, from the database. The data received from the database is outputted with a screen, to show the customer what they’ve purchased. The information of what the customer has purchased is then sent to the companies HQ via a Wireless area network, to tell them what their customers are buying. If the price needs to be altered, it can be done so easily. For example, with manual methods, if an item needs to be altered, you have to change the price of every single item.

However, with automated methods you can change the database to the correct price, then, once it’s scanned through the till, the correct price is received from the database. You must also change the price on the shelf as customer’s can grow angry if it’s misleading to the customer. The benefit of this is that you can easily alter the price of one product on all items. However, if the system/database grows bugs/glitches then it may lead to the wrong prices being outputted.

This means that you may be losing money as you’re selling goods for much cheaper than originally proposed. Just-in-time stock is where you can re-order stock just before it has all been sold. This is good because it improves cash flow as you don’t have order large quantities of stock, and keep it in a store room. You are buying and selling with low risk, for example, you can order 15 new bottles of Coca Cola if there is low demand, however, if there has been a high demand for it recently as it has become hotter, then the company can quickly order 50 more bottles.

If sales depreciate in Coca Cola over the next week then they won’t be at too much of a disadvantage as they bought it in low quantities, whilst if you order in high quantities you may loose profits considerably as you’re wasting store room space with bottles of Coca Cola know body is buying. However, there are disadvantages to Just-in-time stock control. The first method is that it may not come in time, so may be risky. For example, if you’re very close to selling out of Coca Cola, you will re-order a batch of say, 15 bottles.

If by any chance these do not arrive on time, may it be due a car accident or by any other means, then the supermarket do not have this product in stock to sell. Therefore, this means reduced profits for the supermarket because they can’t sell the product. Also, true stock may differ because of thefts. For example, when an item is passed through the till, one of those products is deducted from the database. However, if an individual stole 5 tins of beans, the supermarket may think they have 5 tins of beans left, however, as they have all been stolen they can’t sell any of that product.

This means that the supermarket now has to go without stocked beans, leading to complaints from customers and a deduction in sales. Transfer of funds is the transfer of money from a bank account to a company. It is often used in supermarkets when people use their credit card (pay using credit) or debit cards (pay using your own money) to pay for the products they’re purchasing. You can either pay for your product using a chip and pin machine or a magnetic strip. The disadvantage of a chip and pin machine is that it can take longer than using a magnetic strip machine , and the chip can become damaged as they aren’t very durable.

However, it is much more secure, as cards have a unique pin number. This is different to a magnetic strip as there are no further security measures. Online shops can be easily set up by many people. Firstly, the company must register their domain with a search engine, for example, www. google. co. uk. This makes it easier for people looking for the company to be redirected easily. The second procedure a company can do is pay for an advert. They have two options, the first method is to become partnered with a company, such as “Google Adsense”, and then they place adverts with registered Google Adsense websites.

The advantage of this scheme is that your company is advertised on a diverse range of websites. The second option could be to put your advert on a specific website, and make a deal between the two companies. For example, if I were to set up an E-Commerce store online, I could e mail theregulus. co. uk directly and ask them if they could host my advert. However, this means that only people visiting theregulus. co. uk will know about the company im advertising, whilst with schemes such as Google Adsense, your websites is being advertised throughout the internet.

Global positioning systems, often known as GPS, have a profound effect on our life. It can tell us location and time information, regardless of weather effects. It is maintained by the United States government and is freely accessible by anyone with a GPS receiver. Its primary use is to be installed into modern cars, and to give the general public information on how to get to a location. It does this by giving them road instructions, such as, ‘follow the road for 5 miles’ etc. A speed limiter is a piece of equipment which is installed into cars to limit their top speed.

This will reduce deaths caused by speeding drastically, as the operator of the car cannot go above a certain speed. However, this agitates users as they’re being constantly restricted, in their own vehicle. Should companies have the right to restrict users in their own vehicle? Traffic congestion zones are often used in large built up urban locations. If operators (in vehicles) need to get somewhere, then they can pay a small fee to get past traffic. The impact of this is that users can move past traffic if they’re willing to pay.

However, if you’re not willing to pay, you will have to stay in congested traffic. Data mining is sorting through data to identify patterns and establish relationships. The effect of this in business is that we can spot patterns in sales. This means that business’s can spot trends, to make better informed decisions. For example, if Apple has sold 400,000 more tablets than phones for the last four years, they can predict demand for the new phone they release this year. This will improve cash flow because they can predict demand.

Price comparison sites are brilliant for customers wanting to compare products. For example, if I were to look at car insurance prices, I could compare the same deal with several other companies all from one website. This means that I can conveniently shop around for the cheapest deals. The effect of this on people’s lives is that we can now get the cheapest deals. However, sometimes, companies aren’t registered with them, meaning that you aren’t necessarily always getting the cheapest deal!