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The Citizen, 1986-01-22, Page 5/o dool A new generation of Oldfields, Jim's son Stephen watches Nora Stephenson operate a new generation of electronic equipment, an MSI machine that speeds the job of ordering stock and takes the mistakes out of it too. THE CITIZEN, WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 22, 1986. PAGE 5. Computers change world of retailing Jim Oldfield runs the computer operation at Oldfield Pro Hardware, a network that ties in the Brussels store to other stores across the country and with Pro Hardware headquarters. This computer keeps all the store's records and provides a wealth of information on the operation of the business. stock control in Pro Hardware stores. Until recently, staff at a store would go around writing down the list of items that needed to be ordered then someone would have to call in the order, a phone call that could last a half hour to an hour. The call would be taped at the head office then staff there would take the order off the tape, and type it into the computer. Today instead of pencil and paper, the staff at Oldfield's walks around the store with the MSI machine when it's time to make an order. Each item has a number posted where it regularly goes and if the stock is getting low, the order number of the item is punched into the machine. When all the items have been entered in the memory of the machine, the MSI computer is taken back into the tiny office, hooked up with the Pro Hardware computers and the order is trans- mitted in seconds. The machine does more, how- ever. It prevents mistakes because if the wrong order number if punched in it will reject the order. The machine also tells how many of the item must be ordered to get an economical price and how many to get the best available price from the chain. But the double edge of techn- ology is evident even in this operation. While the machine has simplified work for the local stores, there have been jobs lost at the chain's mein office for the people who took those orders by phone. Buoyed by the success of the MSI machines, Pro Hardware has recently put yet another computer device to work in some stores, the Oldfields being among the first to use it. Called a Display phone it looks like one of the modern telephone panels that has an assortment of buttons except that a television screen takes up a large area of the panel. In front of the screen are a few buttons to control the machine but there's also a computer keyboard that can be pulled outfrom under the machine. The machine is rented from Pro Hardware for $60 a month but gives direct access to information in the chain's computer even when there isn't normally someone at the head office. What if, Jim Oldfield explains, someone comes in on a weekend wanting to buy a present for someone, say a barbecue. If the item is not in stock the store used to have had to tell the customer they didn't have any and weren't able to say when they could get one. The customer, who had to get the item in time for the birthday or whatever occasion, would go away unhappy and the sale would be lost. With the Display phone, the store can call up head office, even on a Saturday afternoon, and find out if the barbecue is available, when it could be delivered and what the price is. The Display phone lets the local store write letters to personnel at the head office and have them delivered in order of the priority given to the item if the computer is backed up. Jim expects that at some time in the future the units won't be optional anymore but compulsory for all Pro stores and at that time the chain will move to electronic mail, with all correspondence going through the Display phone system. Another advantage of the sy- stem include the fact that a half hour after the order is phoned in, the Oldfields can use the Display phone to check to see what parts of Oldfields embrace new technology the order are in stock and what will be delayed for shipment and what substitutes can be obtained if the particular item is out of stock. The Display phone also allows them to know when the first items of a shipment will be available. For instance, this April there will be a show of hardware to be sold next Christmas and orders will be placed at that time. The computer hookup allows them to find when the first of these items will be available. They can also compare sales from one period to another: how many of an item were-sold-this year compared to last in the same month, how many sold in each quarter, etc. This is a valuable aid in knowing how many of any particular item to order to make sure they won't either have inventory tied up for months unsold or be out too quickly and have customers wanting what isn't available. This is particularly helpful for items that aren't ordered often or in large quanti- ties. The Display phone allows in- stant communications about cred- its, such as when an order says you should have received two bicycles and you've only received one. It provides delivery information and can give a list of new items the chain is stocking. It can be programmed to provide reminders of when to make a telephone call or when to mail a cheque. An additional service available through possession of the Display phone is a tie-in with INET (Intelligent Network) which can provide information on everything from the stockmarket reports to what shows are playing in New York to information on the latest developments in science and tech- nology. But the Display phone is just the latest addition to the Oldfield's complicated computer operation. A Radio Shack computer, equipp- ed with a hard disk storage system sits farther down the desk on the little office. It stores information on the operations of their own particu- lar store, the general ledger, accounts payable, accounts receiv- able, even letters that they may want to use more than once. Contrary to popular conception, Jim Oldfield says, computers don't necessarily save a lot of time because it takes a lot of time to enter the information into them. What they do is allow the computer operator to have far more informa- tion about his business than would be ordinarily possible given the amount of time he would have. It allows him to save money in other ways. For instance the Oldfield's computer stores information on each of the accounts they owe to suppliers, what discount is avail- able for early payment, what is the deadline to get that discount, etc. The discount is automatically calculated by the computer and it will make up the cheque to pay the account exactly in time to get the discount. It also allows them to keep close tabs on accounts owing that might be overdue. At some time in the future this computer will likely be hooked in to the Radio Shack headquarters in much the same way the Display phone now connects them to the Pro Hardware computers. In many ways it makes the Brussels store as close to company headquarters as a shop just around the corner in London or Toronto or wherever. It has brought small towns the same kinds of communi- cations advantages the big city stores have had. In the long run it may be the kind of advantage small towns need to compete. The Oldfields are counting on it. So much is written or broadcast about the electronic revolution that is changing the modern office or manufacturing plant through com- puters and robots but usually it seems too far away from us in smaller centres. But computers are becoming a bigger and bigger part of the local scene as they find their way into everything from drug stores to car dealerships. General Motors deal- erships, for instance, will soon be hooked up by computer to the GM network across the country. The coming changes in the retail level are already here at Oldfield Pro Hardware in Brussels. Al- though hardly evident in the sprawling building on main street, the heart of the operation has embraced the electronic revolution and is turning it to its advantage. At the rear of the store is a tiny office, (hardly able tohold more than two people at a time) filled with electronic equipment that hooks the Brussels store not only with Pro Hardware headquarters in London but with information banks across the country. The electronic side of the operation is the special province of Jim Oldfield, the second genera- tion of the family who runs the store with his father Max and mother Jean. His interest in computers is easily evident when he starts showing you all the things the wonderful machines can do. Being a Radio Shack affiliate and selling computers, the Oldfields were particularly ready to go along with the ideas from the Pro Hardware chain when it wanted to adapt computers for the far-flung merchandising network. The first revolution the company introduced was the MSI machine. Looking somewhat like a pregnant hand-held calculator the machine has revolutionized ordering and The little Display phone packs big effects. It can provide everything from electronic mall to stock market information to information on shows playing on Broadway simply by punching a few buttons.