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By Robert Moskowitz
The most common business operations and processes include the flow of: money, goods, supplies, and raw materials, advertising, product descriptions, and other information, customer requests and purchases, and behavior mandated by business laws and regulations.
Information or material that flows into your business probably includes some combination of:
* Requirements for payments from the landlord or mortgage holder, utility companies, and others.
* Sales calls, product offerings, catalogs, and so forth from your suppliers.
* Advertising and other communications from competitors, which helps you stay aware of the competitive environment in which you operate.
* Questions and requests from customers and potential customers, along with complaints, purchases, and payment for purchases.
* Tax bills, reporting requirements, and licensing or operating standards imposed by government.
As this flow arrives, it must be sorted and processed, perhaps something like this:
* Sales orders and revenues go into the accounting system, along with payments due for rent, mortgage, and utilities bills.
* Vendor sales calls, product offerings, catalogs, and other information are reviewed for possible purchase decisions.
* Competitors' advertising and other external communications help form one basis for decisions on pricing, advertising, and the like.
* Products and product information are shelved in inventory, and entered into the accounting system.
* Questions and requests from customers generate responses from sales people, and may also filter up to management, where they may trigger decisions to change the inventory, adjust prices, and so forth.
* Government regulations directly influence many aspects of how the business operates.
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