Matthew Hicks

Inside a converted conference room in Greenwich, Conn., Greg Polcer huddles with his team of procurement experts as they plan their next attack on costly supply redundancies and inefficiencies at consumer packaged goods giant Unilever. The walls of the room are lined with white boards and electronic displays covered with up-to-the-minute procurement information. One wall […]

Even when everything web was cool, Web developers at systems integrator Quadrix Solutions Inc. never carried a special title. They were simply known as applications developers. Little did CEO and co-founder Ben Reytblat know what a favor he did his developers by keeping their job titles broad. Today, Reytblats brand of Web developers—those who can […]

While many IT executives noticed the economy slowing and recognized the need to rein in technology spending long before Sept. 11, the uncertainty resulting from the terrorist attacks in New York and Washington forced IT budgets down further and faster. “What is wild is its almost like last-minute stock selling,” said Howard Rubin, executive vice […]

The National Aeronautics and Space Administration can send a man to the moon. Youd think the agency could secure the core IT systems on which it depends to stay aloft. Not necessarily so, as top NASA IT officials discovered to their dismay four years ago. Separate security audits by both NASAs own Inspector General and […]

Corporate IT executives are planning even deeper cuts in their 2002 budgets and are trying to squeeze better pricing out of technology vendors to meet that goal, according to survey data compiled this week from Meta Group Inc. Sixty-two percent of IT executives surveyed this month by Meta Group said that they plan to further […]

Corporate IT largely remains unprepared for preventing and overcoming breaches of information security despite the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, a recent survey found. Computer Sciences Corp., of El Segundo, Calif., found in a post-Sept. 11 survey that IT organizations lack basic procedures that could help prevent security breaches. Almost half—46 percent—didnt have a formal […]

Smart shoppers know that price isnt everything. the same wisdom applies to retailers implementing price optimization software. As retailers use new analytical tools to adjust prices on merchandise, experts say, they cant ignore the resulting ripple effect on supply and demand. The last thing they want is to run out of a highly profitable item […]

Like almost every retailer, ShopKo Stores Inc. is holding its breath this holiday shopping season. The chain of 141 discount stores depends on the last two quarters of the year for the majority of its sales. This year, however, with the economy lagging and war ongoing, officials at ShopKo dont know exactly what to expect. […]

One of Ameritrade Holding Corp.s co-chief information officers is leaving the online brokerage to pursue an IT leadership post at another company, Ameritrade announced on Thursday. Mok Choe announced his resignation after serving for almost five months as co-CIO along with Raymond Dury. The two had been promoted to the shared post in June after […]

Last November, toward the end of a nine-month companywide e-procurement rollout, Cindy Morrell knew something wasnt right. Employees at Union Bank of California in San Francisco, where Morrell is vice president of e-procurement, began issuing a storm of complaints about the companys new e-procurement system based on Ariba Inc.s Buyer application. Users fumed that it […]