Re: Is ERP dead?

Joel,

In a message dated 5/30/00 7:40:09 PM Eastern Daylight Time, 
JFritz@sharperimage.com writes:

> I think the Toys 'R Us problem _was_ a result of neglecting the operational
>  side of the business.  They knew how to keep stores supplied, but didn't
>  know much about the mail order business.  Shipping small orders is entirely
>  different from putting pallets of stuff on trucks.  I suspect that in the
>  rush to get the web site up, they thought they could get away with
>  improvising the fulfillment part.  I think that most established mail order
>  companies have an operational edge in selling stuff on the internet.  Once
>  you take the order, the fulfillment part is no different from any other
>  order.  

Yes and yes.  Fulfilling orders to a store is certainly different from 
fulfilling orders to customers -- BUT (a BIG but, like mine) tracking 
individual store sales to figure replenishment orders certainly shouldn't be 
new territory for TRU (having tried to find a "Furbee" there though, I know 
it _IS_).  And yes, mail order companies should certainly have an e-business 
advantage over their "brick and mortar" counterparts -- except that companies 
like Walmart that already have store-level inventory tracking could kick 
their tails should they ever figure out how to enter the game with a legible 
web site...

JMHO,

Dean Asmussen
Enterprise Systems Consulting, Inc.
Fuquay-Varina, NC  USA
E-mail:  DAsmussen@aol.com

"The truth of the matter is that you always know the right thing to do.  
Doing it is the hard part." -- H. Norman Schwarzkopf
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