Excerpts A Troubled President The Numbers Do Not Add Up Sleepless Nights Torn in Half! The Military Understands Already Beyond the Value Chain Aspirations and Opportunities Emboldening Customers and Strengthening Their Capabilities Boxes and Lines Distrust Bigger than the Boxes Rethinking the Model

Excerpts #2 of Chapter 1 Excerpts: Next | Previous The Numbers Do Not Add Up Turning back to the flip chart, Frank draws a question mark beneath the line. The vice presidents' attention shifts from the flip chart to his face. He continues. "But this just doesn't add up. Just like most of the information systems budget requests over the last five years, it bothers me. And I don't know why. "First of all, Vincent, I don't understand why that MRP II (Manufacturing Resource Planning) package that cost us a million and a half--not to mention countless hours of training--isn't up to the job. But you're telling me it can't control your discrete hour-to-hour scheduling needs." Vincent Gutierrez, VP of manufacturing, shifts uneasily in his chair. "Wesley, you tell me engineering has to have these new workstations so they can enhance their true solid geometry and a form- and feature-based CAD system. You also want to send your digital files directly to manufacturing and to our manufacturing suppliers and customers, and that'll mean more money for equipment so that manufacturing can read your files. "In addition," he continues, "MIS's budget is already going through the roof. Four-fifths of it's for maintenance. It's eating up our resources trying to jury-rig all our inflexible applications to meet user demands that keep changing." Excerpts: Next | Previous