PUTTING DATA TO COMMERCIAL USE

Despite the high level of investment in information systems by many retailers, senior management expectations are frequently not being met. The value of the information now available to the business seems not to be readily translated into commercial advantage. The challenge is to recognise that the value of information depends on the way that decisions are taken and the next level of return from systems investment may require cultural changes in how decisions are taken within the business. This in turn will require extension to existing retail systems architecture and a proposed model is presented. Senior management backing is often cited as a key success factor for operational systems;for senior management systems, however, the level of involvement and commitment will need to be proportionately greater.