[Info-vax] OT: Demise of Target in Canada

[Jan-Erik Soderholm]

Den 2016-01-31 kl. 22:44, skrev JF Mezei:
>
> A few years ago, Target USA decided to setup shop in Canada. Instead of
> buying the existing Zellers business from Hudsons Bay Corp, it only
> bought the leases to stores and built its operations from scratch (not
> even bringing in systems from its existing US operations).
>
>
> The business failed spectacularly with constant stream of complaints of
> unstocked shelves ins stores turning away customers. Considering that
> Target in USA has a very good reputation on that aspect, people were
> surprised.
>
>
> http://www.canadianbusiness.com/the-last-days-of-target-canada/
>
> The above article is worth a read in a "how to not fail" scenario that
> could happen to any company.  It does include the 3 letters S A P.
>
>
>
> I am amazed that SAP is still in business and still being deployed
> considering the number of spectacular failures caused by the move to its
> software.
>

I just read the full article, and it doesn't realy blame SAP *as such*.
This was a fault within Target itself. Most blame is on the buyout of
124 facilities from Zellers for $1.8 billion. That put a preasure on
Target to open their stores according to plan even if their operetions
and systems wasn't ready yet.

In no place does that article say that there was specific problems
with SAP, a part from that "it was a new system", the Target people
never got enought time to learn it and that the time schedule was
to anyway for an SAP installation.

But the largest fault seems to have been within their systems
that planed and calculated store shipments, and it seems to have
been an inhouse (?) application (its not fully clear).

They also had major issues with the POS system that did not
function fully as it should. That had nothing to do with SAP.

So it was a big management fuck-up. Part of the blame can also be
put on the US company structure, where it seems as "whistleblower"
are not that welcome. It says in a number of places that "everyone"
knew it wouldn't work, but noone dare to say at the board meetings.

So, this could have happend with any business system other
then SAP also, the way Target run its operation in Canada.

Thare are many and much better examples of where an SAP
installation have created severe issues for companies.
But in this case, as it is described in the article, the
same thing would have happend with any business system.