MKIS will refer to a comprehensive & flexible, formal & ongoing system designed to provide an organized flow of relevant information to guide marketing decision making.(Marshall & LaMotte,1992)

Basic MKIS COMPONENTS (in its simplest form, a MKIS has basic 5 components, these are-

THE INTERNAL ENVIRONMENTThe manager who use the systemThe types of decisions they must takeThe corporate objectives that must guide decisionsThe cultural, social & internal political factors that influence the organization’s activities & decision making. USER INTERFACE The types of computer that users are willing to useThe way of information displayed on paper or screen of terminal / microcomputer.The types of knowledge that may require to use the systemThe printers & other form of technology by which report are produced to document the analysis underlying a decision. DATABASES, A database is well organized collection of data files that can be used in conjunction with one another. 2 categories of data are available to marketing managers. Internal & External.APPLICATION SOFTWARE These are the program that marketing managers use to access data in the database system & to analyze the data so as to provide information to guide marketing decision. ADMINISTRATIVE SUPPORT. Provide the guidelines, processes, procedures and personal needed to maintain system integrity & to support managers using the system.

MARKETING ACTIVITY (we can identify 7 general types of activities marketers must carry out to create successful exchange opportunities. Marshall,1994)

Identify potential marketsConceive new productsCoordinate with other functional areas organizationDevelop appropriate pricingDevelop and coordinate a distribution systemDevelop effective communication programsDevelop ongoing research programs

EXTERNAL ENVIRONMENTAL SCANNING is the process of monitoring the environment for events that may influence the organization. ENVIRONMENTAL ANALYSIS is the process of accessing & interpreting data gathered by environmental scanning. THE COMPETITIVE ENVIRONMENT includes the structural features of the industry & the activities & capabilities of competitors. Kotler, 1991.THE TECHNOLOGICAL ENVIRONMENT encompasses a wide range of fields in which physical innovations & new ways of carrying out activities can affect business operations & market needs or can create new business opportunities. CUSTOMERS environments includes the organization’s current & potential customers. They provide product ideas, recommendations for improving distribution systems & many other suggestions that can help organizations develop competitive advantage. Fortune 1993abc.THE ECONOMIC ENVIRONMENT are the financial & monetary systems that influence the firm & its markets.THE POLITICAL ENVIRONMENT consists of government & legal forces that influence business. These includes legislation, regulatory agencies, judicial rulings etc.THE SOCIAL /CULTURAL ENVIRONMENT includes the cultural & demographic characteristics and trends of the markets in which the organization might participate.

INTERNAL ENVIRONMENTAL of a firm are diverse accordingly the MKIS planner needs a systematic approach to reviewing information requirements related to the internal operation of the organization. INBOUND LOGISTICS DATA considers how the firm obtains needed resources from the environment & from suppliers.

Purchasing & Account payable System Receiving Systems Raw materials & parts inventory systems.

PRODUCTION OPERATION DATA information on the production operations of the firm also influence marketing programs. OUTBOUND LOGISTICS DATA the physical & procedural systems for warehousing goods & transporting them to customers can also lead to competitive advantage.

Monitoring & internal warehousing of finished goods. Shipping & external warehousing.

MARKETING & SALES DATA a well-organized system for sales records can allow the marketer to monitor sales & allocated costs at each aggregated level of analysis.

Lead & prospect systems Quotation systems Order entry Sales commission Accounts receivable systems Service

CUSTOMER SERVICE DATA records are another important source of information for marketing managers who must monitor product quality & customer satisfaction. Service records can suggest how customer use the products, the features they value, the types of person who actually use the product.

Types of external MKIS data source

Exchange with business partnersSales data, order data, inventory data.

Marketing environment data subscription servicesGovernment, private, online

Single source data servicesPanel date services, Scanner data.

Marketing research projects.

EDI

EDI the transmission of standard business documents, can speed sales activities, make just in time inventory systems possible among manufacturers and allow automatic recording systems by which manufacturers restock retailers & wholesalers. Sophisticated EDI systems can cement strategic alliances among business partners & transform the structure of an industry.

A Decision Support System (DSS) is a computer-based information system that supports business or organizational decision-making activities. DSSs serve the management, operations, and planning levels of an organization (usually mid and higher management) and help to make decisions, which may be rapidly changing and not easily specified in advance.

Reporting and inquiry systemsInformation display Geographic data systems

Analytical ModelsForecast, simulation, Optimization

Executive support systems Group DSS Artificial Intelligence systems

Expert systemsNeural networks

Characteristics of DSS

1. Incorporating models2. Providing information to higher level management to support unstructured decision.3. Providing user with powerful yet simple to use languages for problem solving.

Reporting and inquiry systems provide the marketing manager with the ability to inspect company records regarding what has occurred. At the lower level historical data on business activities are provided in printed forms or reports. For the purpose of effective DS Reporting and inquiry systems also need to allow marketing managers to design their own reports & to display them quickly on a video display terminal.

Exception reports Inquiry system Geographic data mapping systems

Exception reports : An example of a low level Reporting and inquiry systems is an Exception reports, in which one or more quantitative indicators of business performance are reported and compared to a standard.

Inquiry system : printed reports are sometimes cumbersome and time consuming to produce & distribute. An alternative method for reviewing historical data is through inquiry systems, computer base systems that allow a manager to obtain desired information from an appropriate database whenever that information is needed.

Geographic data mapping systems : are a special new approach to inquiry systems, one allowing data that is coded with an address, zip code, or longitude and latitude coordinates to be located and displayed on a Geographic map of the world.