The North Dakota Department of Public Instruction (NDDPI) prides itself on its leadership position in the education of North Dakotans. As part of this effort, Child Nutrition Director Kathryn Grafsgaard led an initiative to bring Child Nutrition business processes to the internet. This ambitious goal has been realized through the use of public domain software obtained following the implementation of a similar system for the state of Minnesota. The final phase of this system, managing food distribution services, was implemented by Albertson Consulting.

Re-engineered Business Processes

Commodity distribution to North Dakota schools was based on the NDDPI making purchasing decisions and distributing commodities to the sites. Although the supply driven process was efficient in distributing foods to local schools, it did not allow them the choice in food products they desired.

Albertson Consulting helped NDDPI meet this challenge by leading a business process re-engineering effort focused on converting to a demand driven process.

Local districts are now able to enter their commodity choices in a secure online environment, allowing state administrators to make better choices on purchases from the USDA.

The Solution

Albertson Consulting rebuilt the Minnesota system to fit the improved North Dakota business processes. The application includes a fully functional warehouse management and inventory control module. It also features a billing system that allows the state to record payments made to the warehouse and allows the warehouse to view any outstanding invoices.

The application utilizes a custom system for recording, managing, and reporting on discrepancies as they occur in the system. Inventory that is damaged or lost is written to reports that are sent to the state administrator by email along with an explanation from the user entering the information. This portion of the system allows the state administrator to make any necessary adjustments in the system.

Reaping the Benefits

The J2EE compliant web application includes customized features such as automatic email notifications, integrated real time reports, and online billing and invoicing systems. These advanced tools facilitate communication between the state and its customers and provide an integrated audit trail for state and federal requirements.

Contact Albertson Consulting to learn more about its products or services.