Lost Pines Outfitters: The Relationships Between the Parts of a System

Analyze the scenario. The following scenario describes the system used for fulfilling an online order at Lost Pines Outfitters, a medium-sized outdoor clothing store. Once you have mapped this system, you will map relationships contained within the system.

When a customer places an order through LPO’s online portal, the order is sent directly to the warehouse, where an associate takes (pulls) the selected items from warehouse shelves. Warehouse associates use a single computer to track incoming orders, locate items in inventory, and pull inventory for fulfillment. Once LPO’s warehouse associates have pulled the items from inventory, they manually update the inventory tracking system, and the item is sent to the fulfillment department. In the fulfillment department, associates package the items for delivery to customers and assign the shipment a tracking number through the U.S. Postal Service.

Once the order has shipped, an associate in LPO’s fulfillment department manually checks the tracking information and updates the order’s delivery status. Once the customer receives the order, an associate sends a card thanking them for their purchase and requesting they leave a review of the item and their experience shopping with Lost Pines Outfitters. First, identify relationships within your system diagram that represent feedback loops, and represent those loops within your model. Then, identify a relationship within the system that could be modeled with a stock and flow or causal loop diagram and model that diagram in Visio.