IND Says “IT and E-Business Enablement Can Be Trick or Treat!”

"Trick or Treat" are words associated with Halloween. However CEOs are finding that the same words can be related to the consequences or advantages derived from attempting to leverage technology to drive their business. An IT asset purchased at the tactical technical level outside of the strategic business plan and without P&L level control can result in a "Trick" that the company did not anticipate. However e-business enablement that has been integrated into the strategic business plan and managed at the CEO level can result in significant "Treats" for the company defined by reduced costs, increased efficiency and greater profit margins.

Parsippany, NJ (October 28, 2003) -- “Trick or Treat” is what will be heard across America as children celebrate Halloween. Unfortunately “Trick or Treat” may be what company CEOs may face unless they know how to protect themselves from the “Trick” and gain the “Treat” benefits that can come from properly leveraging IT to drive their business.

In 1999 the Hershey Foods Corp got the “Trick.” The company had invested $115 million in an enterprise resource planning (ERP) system that was expected to automate the company's sales, customer service and distribution system generating millions of dollars in savings for the company. When the system went “live” in July of 1999 the system failed to work. TRICK! The consequence to the company was a loss of the Halloween, Christmas and Valentine candy season, $150 million in lost sales and a decline of $20 in the company's stock value.

Another “Trick?” In 2000 the McDonald's fast food company initiated its $1 billion world wide IT Innovate Program called “eMac Digital” with the expectation that all of the McDonald's restaurants world wide could be electronically monitored for quality, performance and efficiency leading to millions of dollars in business gains for this fast foods giant. After two years of effort and $170 million in expenses the company determined that the task could not be completed as planned. TRICK! In January 2003 Jack Greenberg, McDonald's CEO was fired, the company took a right-off of $170 million and the project was canned.

How could these major businesses have been Tricked? How can a company facing the prospect of “Trick or Treat” avoid this kind of disaster? A review of the Hershey Foods case study may offer some answers. Following the 1999 failure Hershey made some changes in their approach to the ERP installation that turned the situation around making it possible for Hershey to achieve the efficiencies and cost savings that had been anticipated when the project was initiated.

An article in the Philadelphia Inquirer newspaper based on interviews with key Hershey executives explained how they turned their “Trick” into a “Treat.” The article quoted Hershey executives as saying “The business and technology divisions worked more closely together.” They went on to state “We made sure there was alignment between information technology and the business.” Finally, they noted that “We had the proper (top) management commitment.”

The lessons that company CEOs need to learn about IT projects can transform a high risk of “Trick” into the savings and competitive advantages “Treat.” Those lessons may come from the Philadelphia Inquirer article and restated as follows.

Lesson #1: IT decision making must be escalated from the tactical technical level in the company organization to the strategic business level to ensure that both the business and technical sides of the company work together to achieve the common goals of the company.
Lesson #2: IT must be integrated into the company strategic business plan as a key and powerful business driving resource with the IT mapped to the strategic business goals of the company.
Lesson #3: That the CEO and P&L level executives most become intimately involved in IT decision making and deployment, and demand the high level of quality performance on IT initiatives as they would other important business decisions.

Apparently the top level executives at McDonald's did not learn the lesson that could have been gained from the Hershey “Trick.” An article in Baseline Magazine suggested, ““…McDonald's past success created a sense of arrogance … that enabled it to operate in a vacuum, unencumbered by the realities… of the digital economy.”

If company CEOs wish to capitalize on the “Treat” of increased competitive advantage and decreased costs from IT e-business enablement, and be protected from the “Trick” that can come when IT decisions are considered as “point solutions” at the technical tactical, they must learn from past experience.

IND has been a pioneer in helping companies and their strategic P&L level decision makers protect against the “Trick” and capitalize on the “Treat” associated with e-business enablement. Dr. John T. Whiting, IND's Director of E-Business Enablement Services noted that companies have responded to the “Trick or Treat” challenge. He notes “There has been a dramatic shift in the IT buyer market from the tactical technical level to the strategic business level due to concerns of CEOs about past IT failures, the cost of IT resources and the inability of IT to live up to performance expectations based on a ROI criteria.” He noted, “Most CEOs know they need to be taking some affirmative steps to remain competitive, but lack the breadth of understanding of IT issues to know what actions to take.” “IND has developed the IND E-Business Enablement Methodology™ as a process that CEOs can easily identify with to guide the e-business enablement process without fear of “Trick” and to capitalize on the “Treat.”

About IND
Since 1990, IND has provided the complete range of E-Business, Network and Web Services required to become fully E-Business enabled. IND is the recognized leader in providing a strategy to guide the integration of technology into the strategic business plan via the IND E-Business Enablement Methodology™, a road map for businesses to gain control and manage their e-business assets. As a direct result of our corporate governance and employee's dedication to uncompromising quality, IND was awarded 2003 New Jersey's Finest by NJBiz Magazine.

For more information about IND, visit http://www.indcorp.com, e-mail sales@indcorp.com or call 973-227-5020.

Press Contact:
Eric Speidel
Tel: 973-227-5020 ext. 130
E-Mail: customercare@indcorp.com

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