fyi
(follow up to the thread about Oracle's claims to save
billions by converting business practices with internet
technology)
---original message follows---
Date sent: Thu, 10 May 2001 02:03:28 -0400 (EDT)
TODAY'S NEWS
* GE Scales Back Amid Struggle To Connect Suppliers
...
* OPINION: Rob Preston: There's No Shame In Realization That E-Biz Is Tough
...
***
GE Scales Back Amid Struggle To Connect Suppliers
General Electric Co., a harbinger of the e-business future for many companies, is
scaling back its expectations of the Internet. In the process, GE is calling into
question whether it's even possible to build a fully Net-enabled supply chain.
The $130 billion conglomerate, which boldly predicted last June that it would use
Internet technology to cut $10 billion in costs by mid-2002, conceded last week that
it will only record $1.6 billion in savings this year.
One big reason for the revised estimates: GE is having trouble connecting customers
and suppliers to Web-trading systems. While executives wouldn't say how many
suppliers it works with on the Web to perform critical functions, such as
order-taking and logistics management, experts placed the
figure at roughly 25 percent, or 7,500, of GE's 30,000 suppliers. Another 7,500 or so
connect to GE using electronic data interchange (EDI) networks that predate the
Internet. That leaves 15,000 that rely mainly on manual processes to conduct business
with GE.
GE executives wouldn't reset the timetable for 100 percent supplier Web-enablement,
but a step toward that goal will be reached in November, by which point GE will use
the Web to pay all suppliers electronically, officials said. --Chuck Moozakis
Read on:
http://update.internetweek.com/cgi-bin4/flo?y=eDfk0BdpN70V30Nma0Au
***
...
***
OPINION: Rob Preston: There's No Shame In Realization That E-Biz Is Tough
No one said e-business transformation would be easy. At least Jack Welch never did.
When Welch, General Electric's no-nonsense chairman, first marshaled his top
executives two years ago to drive most every company process and partner interaction
onto the Internet, the understanding--as with all Welch directives--was for swift and
unswerving compliance. But he knew that the
Internet wouldn't transform the 120-year-old company overnight, even if the execs he
had whipped into a frenzy proceeded to tout every incremental e-business milestone.
The company has come to realize that Internet-enabling its sprawling value chain of
strategic suppliers and business customers--the place where real e-transformation
takes place--will take longer than the internal stuff.
But there's no shame in this realization. E-business is a constantly moving target.
The best companies learn from their mistakes and miscalculations--and they move on.
--Rob Preston
Get the whole story:
http://update.internetweek.com/cgi-bin4/flo?y=eDfk0BdpN70V30Nmh0A2
***
...
Did someone forward this to you? Get your own issue...
http://update.internetweek.com/cgi-bin4/flo?y=eDfk0BdpN70V30LsY0Aq
...
--
Please see the official ORACLE-L FAQ: http://www.orafaq.com
--
Author: Eric D. Pierce
INET: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Fat City Network Services-- (858) 538-5051 FAX: (858) 538-5051
San Diego, California-- Public Internet access / Mailing Lists
To REMOVE yourself from this mailing list, send an E-Mail message
to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] (note EXACT spelling of 'ListGuru') and in
the message BODY, include a line containing: UNSUB ORACLE-L
(or the name of mailing list you want to be removed from). You may
also send the HELP command for other information (like subscribing).
