You met the president of a company that produces semiconductors who wanted to hire you as an IS consultant. She told you about her company and its relationship with the customers. As she explained, in this industry the lead time for a customer's order is about 8-12 business days. The raw materials are imported from overseas by ships, and the lead time for raw materials is about 16 weeks. She told you she would like to consult with you about opportunities to improve her business performance by using information systems. After you introduced yourself and told her about your education and experience as an IS consultant, she asked you what benefits a company like hers may gain by using IS. The president was very pleased with the answer you gave her, so she decided to challenge you further. She told you that a friend of hers, a president of a manufacturing organization that produces aircrafts, told her that after implementing a new ERP system he saved a lot of raw materials holding costs. He told her that by using the MRP module along with the purchasing module of the ERP package, he can plan the raw materials purchasing in a way that minimizes the time raw materials have to be stored in the plant. As a matter of fact, by using these applications her friend can get the raw material supplies just in the time they are needed (JIT). The president of the semiconductors company told you that she usually has to store very high levels of raw materials in order to supply her customers' orders on time. She told you that the holding costs of these inventories are very high. She also told you that a sales representative of a well-known ERP software vendor, promised her that by purchasing and implementing their software, all of their clients were able to manage their raw materials purchasing JIT, and saved a lot of money. Then she asked you if she could use such an ERP system in order to get the raw materials just in the time they are needed, reduce the inventory levels and the inventor holding costs.

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What will you tell her?