tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8254683.post110556512098754555..comments2023-07-28T01:46:10.478-07:00Comments on The Registration Doctor: Technology, Do I Really Need It?Unknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger1125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8254683.post-1106075608650299182005-01-18T11:13:00.000-08:002005-01-18T11:13:00.000-08:00Pamela Brubaker found an article from "Baseline, D...Pamela Brubaker found an article from "Baseline, Dec 1 2004" that describes the dangers of huge IT investment without bringing all external systems into the project first:<br /><br /><br />HEADLINE: Triumphs & Trip-Ups In 2004;<br />Here's a look at the winning and losing technology projects of 2004. Toyota, Ameritrade and Wal-Mart are among the winners. Losers: Wal-Mart suppliers, Wells Fargo and Ford.<br /><br />BODY:<br />Of course, self-interest can go too far if it doesn't serve constituents. Wal-Mart's sheer girth makes whatever it deems to be its self-interest everyone else's. Hence, the race to meet its radio-tagging mandate. But even that could change if its suppliers find, over time, that they don't get a return on the effort.<br /><br />Ask Ford. The company couldn't get suppliers to buy into an e-procurement system and had to pull the plug after a $220 million investment. <br /><br />"In the auto industry, it's historically club versus carrot," says AMR Research analyst Kevin Mixer. "Without the carrot, suppliers walk away."<br /><br />Here's a look, in numbers, at the year.<br /><br /><br /><br /><br />$220 million estimated sum Ford lost on installing an electronic purchasing system.<br /><br /><br />When Ford Motor Co. launched a procurement system dubbed Everest in 2000, the game plan was simple: exchange information on orders, accounts receivable and inventory status with suppliers electronically.<br /><br />The system, based on Oracle 11i e-commerce software, was announced in 1999-and dismantled in August 2004.<br /><br />"We evaluated it and decided to transition back to our current legacy systems," says Paul Wood, Ford's manager for global purchasing and information-technology public affairs.<br /><br />AMR Research's Mixer estimates the auto giant spent about $220 million over four years on Everest, and pulled the plug when it realized more heavy investment was needed. The big issue: Ford's suppliers were already tied to the automaker's systems via electronic data interchange applications and didn't see a benefit in changing to Everest.Rick Borryhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14322324146752328509noreply@blogger.com