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Technology Stocks : Compaq -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Night Writer who wrote (21893)	3/15/1998 11:37:00 AM
From: Jack T. Pearson	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 97611

Night Writer, "As I understand it cpq is not going to BTO, but ODM." That's what I understand Compaq to be saying, now. I believe that last summer they were talking about BTO, but that may just be what the press was calling it. As I understood it, they were going to build to order for large sales that would be credited to a distributor or retailer, and ship partially built PCs to distributors that could be completed to order by the retailers (HD, CPU, etc.). This would give them flexibility at the retail level, reduce inventory somewhat, and enable them to deliver an order faster, but the problem with obsolescence of components in the distribution chain, either in the computer or in boxes next to the computer, while reduced somewhat, still remains the big problem. Jack

To: Night Writer who wrote (21893)	3/16/1998 12:22:00 AM
From: Nicholas	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 97611

Optimizing Manufacturing and Delivery (from Compaq Annual Report-1997) To achieve our long-term goal of being best-in-class in customer satisfaction, we must be best-in-class in the way we manufacture and deliver products. In mid-1997, we launched a major new initiative which has redefined the way we, and the industry, do business. Through our Optimized Distribution Model (ODM), we're re-engineering our entire supply chain - from product design, supplier relationships, order management and manufacturing processes to distribution and delivery - to give our customers products built to their specifications, when and where they want them, at the lowest total cost. The first Compaq products to utilize ODM were commercial desktops and the results have been very positive. Most notably, our increased efficiencies have enabled us to reduce desktop order cycle times, with the resulting cost savings passed on to customers and shareholders. In 1998, we're implementing the second major element of ODM and another key competitive advantage: in seamless partnership with our supply and distribution channels, Compaq will give customers the opportunity to purchase custom products that are configured to their exact specifications. Further, customers will benefit from the flexibility of having their new Compaq products configured-to-order and manufactured in-house by Compaq or assembled by our channel partners. We are aggressively pursuing build-to-order and configure-to-order to service all of our worldwide markets. Doing so will allow us to add further value to our relationships with our suppliers, channel partners, customers and you. Can someone please explain the difference between configure-to-order and built-to-order? TIA, Nicholas