A hardware association's view of electronics

By Otto H. Grigg Managing Director Pacific Southwest Hardware Association

EOR SEVERAL reasons, the ad- I vent of electronic business svstems will not be as difficult in the harbware/ homecenter industry as some leaders felt it would be a friw years ago.

First, the ability of industry dealers to adapt to change has been defined as one of the key factors.

Second, the need for sophisticated controls has been brought to the attention of hardware/home center retailers by other segments of the retail industry.

Third, the results accomplished by pioneering dealers with the application of electronic controls makes such application alluring to other dealers.

Fourth, the trend by the industry to recognize the requirement, not just need, of controls in their business as the result of continued srowth outmoding "dark age" man-ual controls has given dealers the push to seek better controls.

With these four basic reasons enlightening dealers and the industry, the attitude has now reached the acceptance of basic electronic business controls. Naturally, the present climate of the retail industry gives little area for error either in purchase control or sales control, and has acted as a stimuli to makine individual dealers move into proced-ures that best fit their business. You will note the use of the word "individual" dealers. This is the result of a suided action by the association to encdurage dealers to apply electronic controls.

While the industry in total has recog- nized the use of retail electronic controls, none of the wholesalers have advented to supplying a "total" system to the dealer. They have provided parts such as visable stock control, bin tickets, reorder procedure that supplies performance data, but no total application of an electronic control system applicable to a modern retail hardware/home center operation.

The first word usually heard here is WHY! Well, no doubt a little responsibility can be slanted back to the dealer. The reason is, of course, his access to more than one source for his merchandise, and, in this light, his reluctance to give up some of the advantages to gain a single benefit with questionable total ability; in this case accepting one system of wholesaler program, and attempting to penetrate the system, or program with additional noncompatible SKU numben. Further, the retailer is better equipped to adjudge his stock mix when he does not find himself strapped to an actual non-total functioning electronic system.

- In the past decade the continual

Story at a Glance

Hardware/home center industry ready for electronic systems association encourages retailers necessary in five years to survive.

cry of the total industry has been a guide line of fine line identification. This in total was never actually accomplished because of interventions by components of the industry. As explained, the need for such fine line identification is not too important today if the retailer actually desires to establish his conhols into an operating system. There are now individual manufacturers of electronic equipment who by their interest in the hardware/home center industry have created for the retail industry the necessary systems and programs, and within a price range that almost any growth store (i.e., a store doing at least $500,000 volume) can afford.

One of the most active in the retail hardware/homecenter industrv todav is Triad Systems of Sunnyvile, Ca. Not only working with the industry, they are closely coordinating their work with the various regional affiliates of the National Retail Hardware Association, which in this area is Pacific Southwest Hardware Association.

John Halapoff, my assistant in this association of approximately 700 retail hardware/home center members, reports that about 271 are at fresent ready to go with total application of an "on premises" electronic system with complete "on line" application. The balance of dealers have to determine their current status, subjected to continued importance of controls. The association will aid in the adop(Please turn to page 45)