DESIGN AND IMPLEMENTATION OF DRUG PROCUREMENT SYSTEM

(A CASE STUDY AL-IHSAN PHARMACY NUMAN)

BY

YAKUBU, Mijah Moses

IMT/17U/2115

A RESEARCH PROJECT SUBMITTED TO THE DEPARTMENT OF INFORMATION

TECHNOLOGY, FACULTY OF SOCIAL AND MANAGEMENT SCIENCE, MODIBBO
ADAMA UNIVERSITY (MAU) YOLA. IN PARTIAL FULFILMENT OF THE
REQUIREMENT FOR THE AWARD OF BACHELOR OF TCHNOLOGY (B. TECH)
DEGREE IN INFORMATION MANAGEMENT TECHNOLOGY.

DECEMBER, 2023

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 APPROVAL PAGE

This project work has been read and approved as meeting the requirement of the Department of
Information Technology, Modibbo Adama University Yola, in partial fulfillment of the
requirement for the award of Bachelor of Technology ([Link]) degree in Information
Technology.

Mr. Fred Fudah Moveh Date

(Project Supervisor)

Dr. M.B Ribadu Date

(Head of Department)

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 DECLARATION

I hereby declare that this project report entitled “Design and implementation of drug
procurement system, a case study of Al-ihsan pharmacy Numan” was written by me and it is
a record of my own research work for the award of a degree to the best of my knowledge. All
reference cited have been duly acknowledged.

YAKUBU MOSES MIJAH Date

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Table of Contents
APPROVAL PAGE..........................................................................................................................................ii
DECLARATION.............................................................................................................................................iii
ABSTRACT..................................................................................................................................................vii
CHAPTER ONE..............................................................................................................................................1
INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................................................................1
1.1 Background of the study....................................................................................................................1
1.2 Statement of the problem.................................................................................................................2
1.3 Aim and objectives of the study........................................................................................................2
1.4 Significance of the study....................................................................................................................2
1.5 Scope of the study.............................................................................................................................3
1.6 Definition of terms.............................................................................................................................3
CHAPTER TWO.............................................................................................................................................4
LITERATURE REVIEW....................................................................................................................................4
2.1 Introduction.......................................................................................................................................4
2.2 Drugs Management and Drugs Management Information System...................................................4
2.2.1 Drugs Management........................................................................................................................4
2.2.3 Drugs Management Information System........................................................................................5
2.3 Automation in Drug Management Information System....................................................................5
2.4 Requirement for Drug Management Information System.................................................................6
2.5 History of Drug Management Information System............................................................................7
2.6 Drug Procurement.............................................................................................................................7
2.7 Drug Distribution...............................................................................................................................8
2.8.1 Manual Procurement Procedure....................................................................................................8
2.8.2 E-Procurement................................................................................................................................9
2.8.3 Types of Procurement..................................................................................................................10
2.9 Automation Procurement Procedure..............................................................................................11
2.10 Management Information System.................................................................................................12
2.10.1 Types of Management Information System................................................................................12
2.10.2 Technical Component of Management Information System......................................................13

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 2.10.3 Benefits of Management Information System............................................................................13
2.11 Database Management System (DBMS)........................................................................................14
2.11.1 Component of a Database Management System.......................................................................14
CHAPTER THREE........................................................................................................................................16
MATERIALS AND METHOD.........................................................................................................................16
3.1 Introduction.....................................................................................................................................16
3.2 Method of data collection...............................................................................................................16
3.2.1 The Primary Collection..................................................................................................................16
3.2.2 The Secondary Collection.............................................................................................................16
3.3 Database Design/Structure..............................................................................................................16
3.4 Modeling Tools................................................................................................................................17
3.4.1 Use case Diagram.........................................................................................................................17
3.4.2 Data flow diagram........................................................................................................................17
3.4.3 Class Diagram...............................................................................................................................17
3.5 Programming Tools..........................................................................................................................17
3.5.1 Propose System Requirements.....................................................................................................18
3.6 Proposed System Analysis and Research Methods..........................................................................18
3.6.1 Proposed Functional Requirements..............................................................................................18
3.6.2 Proposed Non-Functional Requirements......................................................................................19
3.7 Proposed Software Development Methodology to be Adopted......................................................19
CHAPTER FOUR..........................................................................................................................................21
SYSTEM DESIGN AND IMPLEMENTATION..................................................................................................21
4.1 Introduction.....................................................................................................................................21
4.2 Analysis of the Existing System........................................................................................................21
4.2.1 Limitation of the Existing System..................................................................................................22
4.2.2 “As-Is” Process Model of the Existing System...............................................................................22
4.2.3 “To-Be” Process Model of the New System..................................................................................23
4.2.4 Expectation of the Re-Engineered System....................................................................................23
4.3 Database Design/Structure..............................................................................................................23
4.4 System Design..................................................................................................................................25
4.4.1 Login Menu...................................................................................................................................26
4.4.2 Home Page....................................................................................................................................26

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 4.4.3 Procurement Page........................................................................................................................27
4.4.4 View Drug Page.............................................................................................................................28
4.4.5 Tracking Page................................................................................................................................29
4.5 Testing.............................................................................................................................................30
4.5.1 Unit Testing...................................................................................................................................31
4.5.2 Integration Testing........................................................................................................................33
CHAPTER FIVE............................................................................................................................................34
SUMMARY, CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS..............................................................................34
5.1 Summary..........................................................................................................................................34
5.2 Conclusion.......................................................................................................................................34
5.3 Recommendations...........................................................................................................................34
REFERENCES..............................................................................................................................................36

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 ABSTRACT

Pharmaceutical procurement is a major determinant of drug availability and total health

costs. Moreover, effective and efficient pharmacy procurement systems are essential for the
achievement of millennium development goals and the promotion of sustainable development.
The general aims and objectives of the study is to evaluate the current status of drug
procurement and management systems in Al-ihsan pharmacy. The study set out to understand
the policies, guidelines and practices governing drug procurement in the pharmacy, and develop
a procurement system and design of a database for stock taking to improve procurement
activities on the overall operation and effectiveness of the pharmacy services. This is developed
using C# to efficiently handle process like register new drug, view drug, record sales drug, and
view drug stock available at a particular time. The most effective measure, which can improve
the efficient and effectiveness of the procurement control process, is the introduction of
computerization (automated system) and implementation which will improve productivity in the
business and increase the general rating among others. The methodology used to develop the
system was based on waterfall model to ensure a standardized object-oriented program in its
entire ramification, the study developed a database using MySQL and uses C# for programming.
After which MySQL are used to call up the database which is a pseudo relational database
management system from MySQL. It is also recommended that further research should be
carryout on the implementation of this system as there may be improvement on it. In conclusion,
the medicine procurement system in Al-ihsan pharmacy should be strengthened and should
incorporate continuous supportive management in order to facilitate and encourage adherence
to good procurement practices, and therefore the constant availability of good quality, cost-
effective essential drug in the pharmacy.

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 CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

1.1 Background of the study

Computerization as the control of processes by computers and its peripherals, today it

would be difficult to think of any process, business or action that could not have profited from
the numerous benefits of the computer system. Controlling process or devices with computer
started long ago since the invention of computer. In the 20 th century inventors tried to make
processes easier with the use of computers. Computerization has been greatly applied or used in
controlling process that requires frequent action some of such processes include but not liability
to drug procurement, drug management and drug distributions in pharmacy.

There is growing interest in pharmaceutical supply chains and distribution of medications

at national and international levels. Issues of access and efficiency have been called into
question. However, evaluations of system outcomes are not possible unless there are contextual
data to describe the systems in question. Available guidelines provided by international advisory
bodies such as the world health organization and the international pharmacy federation may be
useful for developing countries like Nigeria when seeking to describe the pharmaceutical system.

The ability of the computer to store and retrieve information at a very fast and efficient
rate makes its application useful in management operations. Drug management involves drug
procurement, drug tracking and its information management. Drug tracking is concerned with the
continuous monitoring of the actual quantity of drugs held in the pharmacy or any other drug
warehouse/store. It also controls the stock level.

Pharmaceutical unit is concerned with drug management activities. They carry out the
responsibility of making appropriate selection and drugs used by formulating an annual,
monthly, weekly or daily list of drugs requirement and management reports. However, in some
pharmacy today, some pharmacists still use the manual system of operation which leads to
inappropriate drug management errors due to problems of handling voluminous file within a
short period of time. This could make data to be easily inaccessible and also delivery of drugs
can lead to misplacement of drug data files (Burt 1999)
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1.2 Statement of the problem

Drug procurement and tracking, in this regard are routine processes carried out in various
pharmacies across Nigeria. It is a common place to observe that these routine processes are still
preformed manually or are minimally computerized even in most pharmacies. This manual
approach to these routine operations has a lot of problems associated with it, ranging from poor
handling of drugs data, lack of good storage information system for drugs and drug dispensary,
delays, to the difficulty in retrieving information on drugs purchased. In view of all these
problems, it becomes necessary to develop computer-based drug procurement information and
tracking system. This is what the research project addressed by computerizing the routine
processes in pharmacy.

1.3 Aim and objectives of the study

The aims and objectives of this research project are design and implement computerized
drug procurement and tracking system using Al-ihsan Numan pharmacy as a case study. This
includes:

(i) Analysis of the existing system.

(ii) Designed database for procurement system.
(iii) Develop the procurement system using a local host server xamp.
(iv) The implemented system.
1.4 Significance of the study

The benefits derivable from this work include the following:

(i) Procure the most cost-effective drug in the right quantities.

(ii) Select reliable supplier of high-quality product.
(iii) Ensure timely delivery.
(iv) It serves as a reference to other researchers.
(v) It provides a database for stock taking of drugs procured and dispensed any moment.

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1.5 Scope of the study

This research work covers only the pharmaceutical department of Al-ihsan. It presents an up-to-
date and comprehensive design of the following:

i. Planning and control system which includes inventory control.

ii. Drug procurement and tracking.
iii. The Database of all kinds, types and names of some drugs that would be stored and
operate on.

1.6 Definition of terms

Procurement: is the place of order for the goods from the manufacturer.

Tracking: refers to the process of determining drug in store and out of stock.

Pharmacy: The Al-ihsan pharmacy Numan where drugs are purchase to be administered to sick
patients

Inventory control system: a list of orders to be filled prompts workers to pick the necessary
items and provides them packaging and shipping information.

Database: A collection of logically related data to meet the information need of organization.

Management Information System: collection of people, database and devices produced to use
in providing routine information to manager and decision makers in the Al-Ihsan pharmacy.

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 CHAPTER TWO

LITERATURE REVIEW

2.1 Introduction

This chapter contains the review of related literature and studies of drugs overview
with regards to drug management, drugs management information system, automation in drug
management system, requirement for drug management information system, history of drug
management information system, drug procurement, drug distribution, e-procurement,
automation procurement procedure, management Information system, benefit of management
information system and components of database management system.

The presence and role of computers in our society cannot be over emphasized. The positive
impact of computing in the area of health care services has brought significant help to the
society. According to (Silverman, 1990), drug availability, distribution and control are the
major concern in health development as drugs constitute an important aspect of health
development technology. Chandrasekaran and Sam Jay (1983:201) described an approach to the
design of medical decision-making system based on nation of conceptual structures for
knowledge representation. They pointed out that within in a decade since the beginning of the
modern electronic computer age, many attempts to use the power of computer in the difficult task
of medical decision making.

2.2 Drugs Management and Drugs Management Information System

2.2.1 Drugs Management

The management of drug supply been organized around five basic functions of the Medicines
Management cycle namely, selection, quantification, procurement, distribution, and use. At the
center of this cycle is a core of management support systems, which include organization,
financing and sustainability, information management, human resource and quality assurance
management.

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The success of drug management will depend upon the ability to reliably and consistently supply
the standard quality drugs at affordable rates to health facilities at all levels of the pharmacy
system.

2.2.3 Drugs Management Information System

The Drug Management system otherwise referred to as the pharmacy information system stores
data systemizes and controls the use of the medication process with the pharmacies. The Medical
Technology and Information technology is growing day-by-day. The system developer makes
use of this golden opportunity to help the pharmacist in controlling their procurement and
choosing the right drug by using the computer program.

2.3 Automation in Drug Management Information System

As more pharmacies move in the direction of computer access, the profession must identify more
pharmacy applications for computer programming. The roles of the pharmacist and pharmacy
technician are changing, and the profession is moving in the direction of increased drugstore
involvement. The computer is becoming the mainstay of pharmacy practice. Enhancement of
computer technology is essential to assist the pharmacist in assimilating all relevant data in order
to provide optimal oversight of drug therapy. As more data become available on drugs, optimal
purchase of drugs and tracking available drugs, therefore placing less reliance on committing all
facts to memory and recognize that the computer is a necessary solution to optimizing pharmacy
records.

The word computerization simply means converting a manual process of an activity to a

mechanical or electronic process in such a way that data processing is no longer done manually.
Several works or studies have shown that applying computer technology to health centers
reduces cost of medication, improves storage of drugs and can also avoids duplication of records
(redundancy). It provides unique identification of clinical data, security and speed (Fedena,
2013).

Drugs systems can also provide physicians with specific details including the use of dosage,
potential reactions to drug and details of drug cost. In a large hospital, computerization could
improve day to day work. Complex management would be made easier. Computerization could
be effectively applied in drug inventory, drug procurement and drug management to ease the
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manual method of recording data and ensure adequate prescriptions of drugs to each ward
respectively.

2.4 Requirement for Drug Management Information System

The documents that form the basis of the information system can be grouped into three areas:
record-keeping documents, information reporting forms, and feedback reports

i. Record-keeping documents: A combination of registers, ledgers, and filing systems

(manual, computerized, or both) is used to maintain data about the activities of a specific
organizational unit. Normally, records stay in one place and are not circulated to other
departments or levels. An efficient record-keeping system enables its users to quickly
retrieve information about activities and simplifies the job of aggregating data for
reporting purposes.

ii. Data compilation/aggregation tools: these tools are in specially designed formats (manual
or computerized) that facilitate data processing. Examples include tally sheets, summary
registers, and computer programs to compile data.

iii. Data-reporting forms: for reporting information differs from the data records described
above because they are designed for transmission to other parts of an organization. Copies
of forms filed at various points in the distribution network help establish the audit trail for
tracking the flow of pharmaceuticals and funds. These forms typically include
requisition/issue vouchers to document stock transfers and periodic status reports, such as
monthly or annual reports. Status reports can be descriptive and principally qualitative
forms or they can be standardized, quantitative forms designed to transmit data on specific
indicators to others. In a standardized reporting chain, individual health facilities typically
report to district offices. These, in turn, report to provincial offices, which report to the
central office to project future pharmaceutical needs, revise budgets, and assess medicine
use at the central level.

Feedback reports Analytical reports are produced from data reported by other units. These
feedback reports have two main purposes: to address issues highlighted by status reports, and to
analyze how each reporting unit has performed relative to other similar units. The reports are

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usually fed back to the units that first collected and provided the data. Experience has shown that
regular and corrective feedback is one of the best ways to improve data quality and reporting
compliance (Hoseini 2012).
2.5 History of Drug Management Information System

A decade prior to the introduction of National Health Service Trust, the management of hospital
drug involved a therapeutic committee referred to a pharmacy system. This committee set up a
research on management of drugs, as part of large evaluative study on the management of drugs.
The committee aimed to describe the system that currently existed for managing drugs in a
hospital. A non-general hospital was used as a case study in 1997. They centered their study at
different administrative levels. Greater or lesser emphasis was placed on the chemical directorate
and this appeared to demonstrate some difference in pharmacy and medical roles in drug
management.
To provide a drug inventory control system, this aids in decision on what drug to be ordered.
Drugs to order were classified according to their therapeutic value. This system was adopted in
Philippine hospital. Problems related to limited financial resources, shortage of drugs and
supplies in government hospital like UNTH. Varied prices of drugs purchased by health, non-
health sectors and non-compliance to Philippines national drug formulary (PNDF) prompted the
provincial pooled procurement program (PPPP) in 1998. The peoples were to ensure quality
drugs were procured systematically at lower costs. Drug prescription or administration errors are
most common cause of adverse effect on patients but drug management information system can
be effective in reducing these errors (Essien 2000).
2.6 Drug Procurement

Procurement is an important part of efficient drug management and supply and is an important
procedure for all levels of health care institutions. An effective procurement process ensures the
availability of the right drugs in the right quantities, available at the right time, for the right
patient, at reasonable prices, and at recognizable standards of quality. Thus, procurement is not
simply the act of buying but encompasses a complex range of operational, business, information
technology, safety and risk management, and legal systems, all designed to address pharmacy
needs. Specifically, individuals involved in pharmaceutical procurement must determine,
accredit, and monitor appropriate supply sources, evaluate suppliers, performance, choose a

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buying strategy or approach, monitor drug delivery, assess pharmaceutical and use outcomes,
and evaluate new products and the drug market (Singh 2013). Procurement of drugs should be
done in a timely manner and in reasonable quantity in order to minimize interruption in supply
while at the same time avoid overstocking all procurement activities should be performed by
qualified staff while special drugs should only be received and handled by staff with relevant
training. In Hong Kong, during the drug receipt process, essential information such as brand
name and chemical name, potency, dosage form, Hong Kong registration number, etc. Of the
drug should be checked against the purchase order. The expiry date, pack size, product
appearance and storage condition of drug should also be audited. Should there be any non-
conformity in product appearance, pack size, volume etc., such drugs will not be procured
(Essien E. Daniel, 1997 automated drug inventory control system BSc project work Futo pp14.).

2.7 Drug Distribution

Drug distribution is one of the key processes in hospitals. The process involves the continuum of
prescribing, reviewing, preparing, dispensing and administering drugs. The physician prescribes
a drug in a certain dosage in the name of the patient to support his treatment; the pharmacist
checks the information and sends a definitive medication order in the patient’s name to the
nursing unit. A nurse will administer the drug to the patient on the basis of this definitive order
and register that she has done so. The pharmaceutical industry renders the drug identifiable by
labeling the drug package with the drug name, strength, and batch and expiry date the material
flow is initiated by the medication order. Drugs are purchased from the pharmaceutical industry
or wholesaler, transported to the pharmacy, where they are stored and then delivered to the ward
or patient. The drug may be dispensed in either the central pharmacy or the nursing unit. When
the drug is administered, the patient and drug information is coupled and registered as a trend in
drug distribution (Colen ,2008) PhD, pharmd EP Journal Vol., 12.).

2.8.1 Manual Procurement Procedure

The supply and management of drugs is a continuous cycle. The drug management cycle
includes the selection of drugs, quantification of drug needs, procurement, storage and
distribution.

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 i. The selection of drugs for procurement should be based on the national essential
drugs list.
ii. Quantification necessary to avoid wastage through over-stocking or stock outs of
pharmaceuticals.
iii. Procurement through competitive tenders aims to provide quality drugs at the lowest
possible cost when needed. The procurement system is in compliance with the
requirements of the Government Procurement Agreement of the World Trade
Organization.
iv. Correct storage of drugs is essential to avoid deterioration and waste. It also includes
the use of drugs, quality assurance and monitoring and improving the drug
management cycle.

Given the impact of procurement activities on the operation and effectiveness of a pharmacy, it is
essential that these activities be performed by qualified staff with high professional and ethical
standards and using sound procedures anchored in appropriate policies and regulations.
Pharmacists involved in hospital procurement of medicines, whether directly or indirectly, must
be knowledgeable about medicines as well as the interacting issues and many stakeholders who
can potentially affect the process or who may have legal responsibility.

Key areas of attention include transparency, cost containment, technical capability, operational
principles of good pharmaceutical procurement, purchasing for safety, ensuring appropriate
selection, timely, accurate and accessible information, ensuring quality products, and proper
budgeting and financing.

2.8.2 E-Procurement

Electronic procurement has been widely described, in its most basic form, as using electronic
means (the Internet, Web, e-mail) to buy products and services over the Internet. Within this
context, electronic procurement entails electronic ordering, bidding and rendering via portals,
extranets, private platforms, marketplaces, and/or electronic data interchange (EDI), it can also
involve the use of purchasing cards, reverse auctions, and/or integrated automatic procurement
systems. Overall, EP facilitates, simplifies and enhances the corporate buying process on several
levels and includes all forms of electronic infrastructure that connects two organizations in the

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purchasing process (Galle 2003). Articles provided various illustrations, such as electronic
procurement enabling individual employees to make purchases in real-time directly from their
own PCs, thus cutting costs, improving operational effectiveness and improving customer
service (Johnston 2003).

2.8.3 Types of Procurement

i. Single procurement

Single procurement set off by a specific customer order and initiates the suppliers process of
production.

ii. Stock procurement

Stock procurement means that goods are shipped to stock in periodically defined terms without
any specific order of a customer. The important premise is that the demand can be forecasted.
When finishing the production process, the goods will be stocked until the next order is received
from the customer. One way of applying stock procurement by the customer is to define the
minimum stock level. If the stock level falls below this defined limit, the procurement process is
initiated. This type of procurement offers high flexibility to the customers, but the procurement
costs tend to be higher.

iii. Vendor Managed Inventory (VMI)

By using the VMI-concept the supplier is responsible for the stock at the customer’s company. A
crucial premise to achieve optimized processes, lower costs and high flexibility is a close
network with the supplier.

iv. Just in time procurement

This integrated concept is based on the production system of Toyota / Japan. Toyota Just-in-
Time-System

Just in time procurement is characterized by low stock levels at the customers’ company. This
leads to a reduction of costs and to lean and balanced processes. The entrepreneurial appliance of
just in time delivery only makes sense, if the suppliers' place is in the maximum radius around

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100 km to the customers’ place. In times of global sourcing, logistic centers are therefore
established in strategic areas close to the customer.

v. Just in sequence procurement

This concept is based on the just in time concept. It is extended by the supply of goods in the
required sequence at a defined time. This leads to a very efficient and lean way of procurement.

vi. Ship to line

The goods are directly delivered from the last value-added process of the supplier to the first
value added process of the customer. That means that only few logistical steps are needed.

2.9 Automation Procurement Procedure

i. Purchase Requisition

Most of the time purchase requisitions get stuck and consume a lot of time to move through the
complex hierarchical structure. Procurement process automation will not only cut down the time
of approval cycle but also remove redundant steps in the process and enable purchasing staff to
do more in less time.

ii. Purchase Order

In a recent survey, nearly 43 percent of organizations admitted having immediate inadequacies in

their PO practices despite having a formal purchase order system in place. Procurement process
automation allows organizations automate the entire purchase order cycle to deliver
improvements in productivity and process efficiency, while saving costs.

iii. Invoice management

There’s a problem with manual invoice management. Too often, procurement teams have to deal
with misplaced or poorly managed purchase orders, missing goods receipts, submission delays,
uncontrolled (maverick) spending, tricky spreadsheets, and insufficient transparency as far as the
spend culture is concerned.

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Manual invoice management usually means, practically, delayed payments and compliance
issues.

By going digital, invoice management becomes buttery smooth, with features ranging from
touch-free auto-approval of standard low-value invoices to extended functionality through
integrations with finance and accounting tools.

iv. Vendor Management

Without a clear line of disclosure and process transparency, organizations will end up making a
strain in their vendor relationships. With automation, procurement teams can streamline vendor
selection and pick the best vendor available. By automating vendor management process,
organizations can quickly identify and resolve grievances, forming a better relationship with the
vendor.

v. Contract Approval

In manual contract management, all contracts are just dumped in the same filing cabinet or the
local drive. As it is disorganized and unstructured, finding contracts or even keeping tabs on
them can be a real challenge. Procurement automation organizes all contracts in a central
repository that can be accessed in a single click. Additionally, it also ensures that all contracts
stay consistent and accurate.

2.10 Management Information System

It is an organize collection of data, information resources, procedures, people, database and

devices used to provide routine information to managers for decision making in an organization.
It provides standard report generated with data and information from the transaction processing
system.
These management information systems began to develop in 1960s and are characterized by the
use of information to provide managerial reports which can be produced –daily, weekly, monthly
or yearly (George 1999).
2.10.1 Types of Management Information System

i. Operational level systems

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Transaction Processing Systems (TPS); handle elementary business data and functions. Usually
have tight performance requirements and are critical (i.e. if they stop, the business stops).

ii. Knowledge level systems

Office Work Systems (OWS); application suites to support document editing and sharing

Knowledge Work Systems (KWS) support qualified workers in the creation and integration of
new knowledge into the organization.

iii. Management level systems

Decision Support Systems (DSS) combine data and analytic models to support non-routine
decisions.

Management Information Systems (MIS) support planning, control and decision based on routine
or exception summarized data reports.

iv. Strategic level systems

Executive Support Systems (ESS) designed to assist in non-routine decisions, using several data
sources - both internal and external to the organization and graphical representation techniques
when properly aligned in an Enterprise Architecture, all these types of systems play a role in the
organization, assisting its people and their business processes and integrations.

2.10.2 Technical Component of Management Information System

The technical components of the Information systems include the following:

i. Hardware – The peripherals i.e., physical portion of an information system – the part you
can touch. Computers, keyboards, disk drives, are all examples of information system
hardware.
ii. Software – software comprises the set of instructions that tell the hardware what to do.
Unlike the hardware, the software is not tangible – it cannot be touched.
iii. Data – you can think of data as a collection of raw facts needed to run the information
system

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2.10.3 Benefits of Management Information System

According to Dobler, and Burt, 1999 the disintegration of record management program in
organizations has led to the inefficiency in administration and loss of vital information needed
for decision making in hospitals. Therefore, to ensure proper records of drug, information
management system should be integrated into the pharmacy such that;
(i) Database is seen as a warehouse of information, where large amount of data can be
stored. The common examples in commercial applications are inventory data, personnel
data, etc. it often happens that a common man uses a database management system,
without even realizing, that it is being used.
(ii) Changes in schema: the table schema can be changed and it is not platform dependent.
(iii) The unique data field in a table is assigned a primary key.
(iv) The database can be used simultaneously by a number of users. Various users can
retrieve the same data simultaneously. The data in the database can also be modified,
based on the privilege assigned to users.
(v) Data is the most important asset. Therefore, there is need for data security. Database
management system help to keep the data secured.
2.11 Database Management System (DBMS)

A database management system (DBMS) is a software package designed to define, manipulate,

retrieve and manage data in a database. A DBMS generally manipulates the data itself, the data
format, field names, record structure and file structure. It also defines rules to validate and
manipulate this data.

Database management systems are set up on specific data handling concepts, as the practice of
administrating a database evolves. The earliest databases only handled individual single pieces of
specially formatted data. Today’s more evolved systems can handle different kinds of less
formatted data and tie them together in more elaborate ways.

2.11.1 Component of a Database Management System

Brain (2006) Explains that DBMS engine accepts logical request from the various other DBMS
subsystems, and it convert them into physical equivalent, and actually accesses the database and
the data dictionary as they exit on a storage device. He further stated that the Data Definition

14
Subsystem helps a user to create and maintain the data dictionary and define the structure of the
files in a database.
Data Manipulation Subsystem helps users to add, change and delete information in a database
and query it for valuable information. Software tools within the data manipulation subsystem are
most often the primary interface between user and the information contained in a database. It
allows user to specify its logical information requirements.
Application Generation Subsystem contains facilities to help users to develop transactions-
intensive applications. It usually requires that user perform a detailed series of tasks to process a
transaction. It facilities easy-to-use data entry screens, programming languages and interfaces.
Data Administration Subsystem helps users to manage the overall database
environment by providing facilities for backup and recovery, security management, query
optimization, concurrency control and change management. (Fedena2013).

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 CHAPTER THREE

MATERIALS AND METHOD

3.1 Introduction

This chapter introduce and describe the methodological approach and procedure including
the systematic theoretical analysis of the methods applies to the implementation of the
project, It comprises the method of data collection quantitative or qualitative techniques,
database design, modelling tools, programming tools and software methodology.

3.2 Method of data collection

In this project research work, there are two main type of data collection, which include primary
collection and secondary collection. These two categories of data collection type were used in
this project.
3.2.1 The Primary Collection

The primary collection which is also known as interview method are the original collection of
material or study unit from which information is to be collected on first hand basis through
interview. But here the researcher will only interview the director of the pharmacy and various
staff in the department in Al-ishan pharmacy, reviewing and sharing their experience about the
problem of the existing system. Through this useful information is collected, analyzed and
recorded.
3.2.2 The Secondary Collection

The secondary collection is a method whereby the data are collected or obtained indirectly unlike
the primary collection. Here the researcher reviews the existing document and forms. The drugs
master list file and patient medication forms were reviewed and data were collected. Also make
use of existing literature, research report, internet downloads and so on, in order to understand
the diagnosis system.

3.3 Database Design/Structure

The Database design for the propose system contains the field and datatype needed for each
Field it contains the user login Table, Stock table, procurement table, stock is arranging

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hierarchical by order either ascending or descending these projects implement use local host
server known as xamp. And unified modelling technique is use to draft the database design
structure for the propose system.

3.4 Modeling Tools

Modelling tools are classified design tools is use for this project in designing diagrammatic
system structure and the database structure for the propose system known as unified modelling
techniques set of standard ways to visualize the design of a system, the system structure
implemented is on the following models: Use case diagram, Data flow diagram and Class
diagram.

3.4.1 Use case Diagram

The purpose of a use case is to define a piece of coherent behavior without revealing the internal
structure of the system Use Case Diagram typically represents a sequence of interactions
between the user and the system. The use case explains the high-level function of the system
where the user can add, delete, update stock record

3.4.2 Data flow diagram

These diagrams represent how data in the system flow from the top to bottom also show level of
grant access of the propose system

3.4.3 Class Diagram

Represent the static structure of the system overview of how the object communicated and share
resource within the system shows level of access of the system.

3.5 Programming Tools

The propose system programming tools use for this system implementation which is appropriate
for the requirement of the organization include the following

1. PHP (communicating with the database)

2. HTML(static structure of the system,)
3. XAMP MySQL (defining field and record, local host server )

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3.5.1 Propose System Requirements

The proposed system requirements are divided into two hardware and software.
The hardware requirements are:
i. Fast and reliable computer: desktop, laptop or tablet.
ii. Central Processing 2.4GHz or at least a 1GHz processor.
iii. Install memory (RAM) 4.00GB
iv. Peripherals: Keyboard, Mouse, Webcam, Microphone, Headphones etc.
The Software requirements are:
i. Local server (xamp)
ii. System type: 64-bit Operating System (windows 8,10,11).
iii. Database engine: My SQL (Structured Query Language)
iv. Visual Studio Code (IDE)
v. Programming language: HTML, CSS, JavaScript, MyPHP.
vi. Web browser: Google chrome or any browser.

3.6 Proposed System Analysis and Research Methods

This phase will involve outlining the functions that the proposed system can achieve, and an
ideal working environment in which the System is delivered. Also, in this stage, the researcher’s
aim is to understand the workings of users in relations to the system requirement and how they
would want to use the proposed System. The analysis stage involved a detailed learning of the
existing system, leading to requirements of a new system.
3.6.1 Proposed Functional Requirements

Requirements for the proposed system are divided into functional requirements and non-
functional requirements. Functional requirements are as follows:
i. The users will be able to access the Systems platform via android phones and
personal computers from a remote location at all times.
ii. The admin will be able to upload current stock record in System
iii. The admin can able to reset password once forgotten

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3.6.2 Proposed Non-Functional Requirements

i. The System will be able to keep up-to date information at all times.
ii. The frontend application will be a responsive web enable site.
iii. User level permission will be required for security measures to restrict authorized
accessibility.
3.7 Proposed Software Development Methodology to be Adopted

Software development research comprises a diverse set of approaches used to analyze and
enhance the software development process. In particular, the life cycle and the Software
engineering development methodologies can contribute meaningfully because it creates well
established approach and technique for the development processes. In this regard, there are a
number of Software engineering development methodologies, which include waterfall, agile,
spiral, DevOps, prototype, Feature Driven Development (FDD), and Rapid Application
Development (RAD) among others.
Despite these the numerous development methodologies, the spiral development methodology
will be used as the appropriate models for the design and development of the System will adopt
spiral model is a combination of both, iterative model and one of the SDLC model. It can be seen
as if you choose one SDLC model and combined it with cyclic process (iterative model). This
model considers risk, which often goes un-noticed by most other models. The model starts with
determining objectives and constraints of the software at the start of one iteration as shown in
Figure 1.

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Figure 1: Spiral Model

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 CHAPTER FOUR

SYSTEM DESIGN AND IMPLEMENTATION

4.1 Introduction

System implementation involves the actual installation or putting into place a new/improved
system that has been designed for the workability of this new system. The research work will be
meaningless if after design and the system is not implemented. Thus, in ensuring smooth
implementation of this research work to develop computerize drug procurement and tracking
system for the project (AL-ISHAN PHARMACY), there is an effort to document all the
necessary steps taken to complete the design, and also provision of a proper documentation that
would assist in implementation of the new software.

Documentation and implementation are principal stages of software development;

documentation is a well-defined description of what a program will accomplish with hope of
making future amendments easier. Implementation is a process involved in changing an old
system to a new system. These are important systems in the software development that must not
be undermined.

4.2 Analysis of the Existing System

System analysis is a process of investigation, analysis, design, installation and evaluation of

information system either for change or modernization. The main objective of a system analysis
is to study the requirement by putting into consideration what the system manage, its problem’s
and ways of improving their differences. Information management system, information is
gathered on facing the existing system (manual).

The existing system which has been manually operated over years, it is a system comprises
manual approach of controlling drugs management. Critical analysis of this system reveals that is
prone to errors. Careful analysis also shows that due to the complexities of the manual system,
records of drugs kept are inaccurate and manually operated; thereby making a staff handles two
or three jobs at a time.

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4.2.1 Limitation of the Existing System

From the information gathered during the system investigation it was discovered that the
existing system operated manually and relied heavily on the ability of the pharmacy staffs and
clerks who keep and collected the drug records in the pharmacy.

i. Due to manual method of recording which is tedious and sometimes leads to

inaccurate records of data.
ii. Numerous files make search of a particular date or record difficult, which could lead
to late delivery of drugs. Some files could also get missing.
iii. In accurate records of number of drugs.

4.2.2 “As-Is” Process Model of the Existing System

An “As-Is” process model is a representation of how a process currently flows. The existing
system of the Al-Ishan Pharmacy is a manual paper based whereby all information is checked on
a paper record. The first step is manual inspection of the drug by the pharmacist; drug name,
drug quantity, expiration date and a lot of number. After recording them on a paper log, a
separate log for re-ordering the drugs are created. Then, a regular manual schedule is done for
counting the inventory which all happens on a paper log. These files are then archived for further
referencing by all staffs of the Al-Ishan Pharmacy. As shown in Figure 2 is a diagram illustrating
the “As-Is” process model of the existing System

Manual Recording Receiving the

inspection of details in Drugs
Drug paper log

Regular
Re-ordering
schedule for
the Drug
inventory

Figure 2: “AS-IS” Process Model of Existing System

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4.2.3 “To-Be” Process Model of the New System

A “To-Be” process model is a representation of how a process currently works. It visualizes how
existing process have been improved, with all ideal steps, activities, and resources. An “To-Be”
process model is a great tool for planning and designing new processes. In context to the new
system, the “To-Be” process model will start from the login process by the admin, after which
the next interface to come up is the Dashboard which displays buttons for Drug details (Brand,
Category, Product), Report for inventory purpose and then the Logout process.

4.2.4 Expectation of the Re-Engineered System

Due to problems observed from the existing system, the new system will be designed to easy up
the Problems of manual recording of drug (data), location of files and record files and
management of drugs, that will enable the system to be;

a. Flexible
b. User friendly
c. Ease to use

With the new re-engineered system, users of the system will be able to order for drugs without
mistake of procuring more than required, to know the quantity of drugs remaining and to ensure
accurate record keeping of drugs.

4.3 Database Design/Structure

Database design contain tables that include collection of related data held in a table format as
shown bellow

Field Name Data Type

User name Varchar

Password Varchar

Table 1: Login Menu

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Field Name Data type Field Size Constraint

Add Product Text 30 Primary

Search Text 30 Required

Drug Photo Text 30 Required

Product Name Text 30 Required

Rate Text 30 Required

Quantity Text 30 Required

Brand Text 30 Required

Category Text 30 Required

Status Text 30 Required

Options Text 30 Required

Save Text 30 Required

Cancel Text 30 Required

Table 2: Drug Table

Field Name Data Type Field Size Constraint

Order Date Text 30 Required

Client Name Varchar 30 Required

Client Contact Varchar 30 Required

Product Varchar 30 Required

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 Rate Text 30 Required

Available Quantity Text 30 Required

Quantity Text 30 Required

Total Text 30 Required

Sub Amount Text 30 Required

Total Amount Text 30 Required

Grand Total Text 30 Required

GST 18% Text 30 Required

Paid Amount Text 30 Required

Due Amount Text 30 Required

Payment Type Text 30 Required

Payment Status Text 30 Required

Payment Price Text 30 Required

Add Row Text 30 Required

Save Changes Text 30 Required

Reset Text 30 Required

Table 3: Procurement Table

4.4 System Design

The program was designed in forms and acts which compares together to give the desired
output requirement. The forms are concerned with the design of the structure and the output
format of the new system.

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Forms created in the program include:
i. Login menu
ii. Home page
iii. Procurement
iv. View drug
v. Track
4.4.1 Login Menu

This is the login page of the program that allows users gain access to the system by entering their
user name and password or by authenticating, which is shown in the figure bellow.

Fig 3 Login menu: comprises of username text box, password text box, and sign in button.

4.4.2 Home Page

This is the primary page a user navigates to different forms and it serve as leading page to attract
users, it contains links to other pages or forms. It is shown in the figure bellow.

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Fig 4 Home Page: Contains nine different button (Dashboard, Brand, Category, Product, Orders,
Report, Setting, Add User and Logout) and links connecting each button to a page or form.

4.4.3 Procurement Page

This form involves preparing processes for buying or purchasing new drugs, it helps set order for
new drugs. It is shown in the figure bellow.

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Fig 5 Procurement Page: comprises of different entries such as Order Date, Client Name, Client
Contact, Product Name, its Rate, Available Quantity, Amounts and buttons (To Add Row, Save
Changes and Reset).

4.4.4 View Drug Page

View drug: Is a form where new drug information can be added and view all information about
drug that has been bought.

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Fig 6 View drug Page: comprises of text entry for new drug, table to view drug information.

4.4.5 Tracking Page

Tracking is concerned with identifying pharmacy needs in order to determine the next quantity to
purchase.

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Fig 4.5 Tracking Page: contain a table that display drug information, Order Date, Client Name,
Contact, Total Order Item, Payment Status, and Option to Edit or Remove Item.

4.5 Testing

Testing is the process of executing a system program or application with the intent of finding
software bugs. The accuracy of the program was tested with some varying data. It gives
assurance that the new system will achieve its objectives and purpose.

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4.5.1 Unit Testing

TEST OF DATA EXPECTED TEST RESULT ACTUAL TEST

RESULT

Login Menu Form Expected to see the login form immediately the When the software is
software is run. run, a form will appear
where you supply your
username and
password.

Homepage Contain 5 buttons. After login, 7 buttons

appear.
1rd button: DASHBOARD

2nd button: BRAND

Drops down ADD BRAND, DRUG NAME,

STATUS and OPTIONS of ACTON (EDIT and
REMOVE).

3th button: CATEGORY

Drops down ADD CATEGORY, CATEGORIES

NAME, STATUS and OPTIONS of ACTON
(EDIT and REMOVE).

4th button: PRODUCT

Drops down ADD PRODUCT, PHOTO,

PRODUCT NAME, RATE, QUANTITY,
BRAND, CATEGORY, STATUS, and OPTIONS
of ACTON (EDIT and REMOVE).

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 5 button: ORDERS

Drops down ADD ORDERS and MANAGE

ORDERS

6th button: REPORT

Drops down START DATE and REPORT DATE

with GENERATE REPORT button.

7th button: USER

Drops down SETTINGS, ADD USER and

LOGOUT

Brand Expected to enable user to set brand of drugs to be Allows the user to
purchased. input the brands of
drugs available.

Category Expected to enable user on drug inventory aspect. Allows user to register
new drug, view
balance of drug,
update and delete
drug.

Expected to enable the user input the products Allows the user to
available with the rate, quantity an category. input purchased drug
Product
record.

Expected to enable the user view drug orders from Allows the user to
clients with full details. view drug orders.

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 Order

Report Expected to allow user print records of drug Allows the user to
inventory. print drug record.

User Expected to enable the user to add new user, Allows the user to add
change settings and close the system. user, makes setting
and exit from the
system.

Table 4: Unit Testing

4.5.2 Integration Testing

After test running varied data, which is after running the program, the output was shown on the
monitor. The output can also be printed on paper. These show that the new system was perfect
and effective.

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 CHAPTER FIVE

SUMMARY, CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS

5.1 Summary

This project was on Design and implementation of drug procurement system for Al-ishan
pharmacy. The current and previous system used by the pharmacy for procurement processing
and documentation was examine in chapter one to determine loop holes with the system. Some
of the previous work relating to this project was reviewed as well in chapter two; the study also
researched on ICT tools used by auditors and accountants (people that are mostly involve in
procurement and supply chain management principle) in doing their work. The method that is
use in developing this project is discussed in chapter three, the languages used for development
are HTML, CSS, JavaScript, MyPHP, a local host server (xampp), Visual Studio Code (IDE) for the
interface design and MySQL database was the database used. The system development testing and
debugging of errors encountered was discussed in chapter four. Then the whole work was
summarized in chapter five, conclusion and recommendation were also made. With this system it
is expected that if implemented, Al-ishan pharmacy would be able to register new drugs,
purchase new drugs and view available drugs etc. processing will be done with ease thereby
minimizing the cost incurred in the present system use in processing stock inventory in Al-ishan
pharmacy.

5.2 Conclusion

The benefit of using drug procurement and tracking system cannot be over emphasized. This is
because the system increases the speed and accuracy of procurement and tracking of drug in
pharmacy. It will also eliminate the case of misplacing record of drugs and reduce the pilling up
of papers in the office. Although procurement practices at the pharmacy were not thoroughly
exploited, the practices at pharmacy level have outlined medicine procurement practices in Al-
ishan pharmacy, therefore; the study objectives have been met. Study limitations and
recommendations were included.

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5.3 Recommendations

The outcome of this research work is not only limited to this functionality alone, there are other
functionalities that are needed to be captured. Therefore, anyone who might want to build on this
project should look carefully to these additional functionalities and possibly others that are not
mentioned.

1. It is recommended that further studies should improve the system by providing a menu
that have list of drugs and a sign to show that the drug is available or not in order to make
work easy in the pharmacy.
2. Need of Menu for drug distribution should also be considered.
3. Seminars and tutorials on the usage of the system should be provided to all the users of
the system on how to use the system for efficient and effective result.
4. Further research should be carryout on the implementation of this system as there may be
improvement on it.
5. The system should also be used alongside with existing system for a period of two to
three years before full implementation of the system so as to determine the reliability and
accuracy of the result provided by the system.

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