Paisano Pharmacies, a fictitious business in the pharmaceutical services industry, is owned by VictorPaisano. Currently, Paisano has two pharmacieslocated in Killeen and Temple, Texas. Victor's goal had always been to open three more pharmacies in central Texas (Waco, Hillsboro, and Gatesville) and would like to achieve that within the next few years.

While their business had been very successful, Victor realizes that their business processes have not evolved to meet customer expectations or the demands of the business itself.They have experienced a decrease in customer retention from 87% to 35% in recent years and a decrease in profit of 45% due to various factors including lost prescriptions, poor customer service, out of stock medications, etc. As a result, Paisano has recognized the need for an integrated pharmacy management system which will allow them to manage all operations more efficiently. They are seeking help from a consulting firm to automate their manual business processes which are described below.

Paisano employs, at each pharmacy, two pharmacists, three pharmacy technicians, two sales associates, one pharmaceutical purchasing agent, and several assistants. Some of these positions require shift work as they are open from 8am to 8pm on most days. All purchasing agents must be licensed as a pharmacy technician and have practiced as a tech for at least 3 years. Paisano has experienced high turnover in this position. The job description for a purchasing agent includes purchasing pharmaceuticals, making payments, updating inventory levels, and recording cost and setting pricing. The purchasing of pharmaceuticals is done in bulk in order to reduce the cost per item. Below is a description of the business processes typical of each pharmacy.