``One of the great advantages of technology is the power of information on inventory. Years ago you wouldn't have known about the problem until after the fact, but now you can track sales and inventory around the world daily. You have to really be asleep at the switch not to know what's going on,'' said Ralph Larsen, chairman of Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ - news), which makes pharmaceuticals, medical devices and consumer staples such as Band-Aids and Tylenol.
This reminds me of Ted Siebel's comment at H&Q. Referring to the poor visibility so often mentioned by CEOs, he said there was no excuse and that anyone who didn't see what was happening should come and see him. "I had visibility," he said. "Not that I liked what I saw. But I knew what was happening. . ." He went on to explain how Siebel revamped its spending 6 weeks before the end of Q1. They cut salaries (execs by 20% and others by 10%), trimmed hiring, and did everything necessary to meet analysts's expectations. He all but said any corporate managers who didn't have systems in place to track their company's progress were living on some other planet.
I've heard it said NT could be among them.
At any rate, IT spending is a big issue, and there's a good argument for productivity gains paying for benefits received. This goes for cost of bandwidth and speed, too.
Pat |
