Liverpudlian problems again

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Of course there is another possible cause for deteriorating IT quality.---- This is just speculation but I've seen it happen a number of times. Company wants a custom IT solution and being watchful of the cost is happy to allow an enthusiastic employee to develop the solution in-house. Being well versed in how the company operates said employee produces an excellently customised piece of software. In the process however employee meets others working in similar roles for software houses and realises his true value, looks at the job ads in "Computing" and "IT Week" and sells his services to the highest bidder. Company now has a unique piece of software but no longer has the services of its author, so has to try to fit its changing business model to an unchangeable bit of software. Oh dear, oh dear. Let's just hope that this is purely speculation.

[GWR_fan]

John,
I fail to see how the store can operate a flawed stock control system. My ex-wife was an IBM trained computer programmer from the good old days back in the early 1970's. In a sea-change move she relocated to the countryside to live the life of a hippee. To supplement her income the local bowling club needed a stock control programme written to cover all their food, cigarette and alcoholic beverages.

As the club did not use an IBM machine, she was required to completely learn a new computer language (basic from memory) with just the resources of a local public library at her disposal. Bear in mind that she did not even have a computer to test run the system on until the club purchased the computer after the programme was written and did not even have electric power onsite at her property. she relied on just a couple of programming books from the library. The programme ran immediately with no bugs. In three months she wrote the club's stock control programme and received the princely sum of $600.00 for three months work including rights to the copyright on the programme. Over thirty years later the club was still using the same programme with no alteration since its initial writing.

Now if she could write a programme forty years ago using just the resources of a local library and without even a computer to test run the system, how is it that a modern very large enterprise cannot even maintain a workable stock control programme?

[GWR_fan]

Keiron,
personally I do not have a major issue with the 'preowned' stock presentation, although it does get a little tedious wading through all the rubbish to get at what I wish to see. Rails presents all its used stock on eBay these days at ridiculously high prices. While the store in question does match Rails as regards used pricing levels, at least VAT is removed making the sale a little more attractive.

My simple request is that if an item is listed as instock then I expect it to be available. Rails website is little better as when one wades through their new stock inventory, most of the items are either preorder or 'to be ordered' (out of stock). Both stores really need to embrace the IT age and improve their stock inventory display software.

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how is it that a modern very large enterprise cannot even maintain a workable stock control programme?

[rant]Happens regularly, management regularly fail to recognise what work is involved. Everybody knows about computers these days don't they, probably took a 16 hour evening course in IT literacy 20 years ago, I taught a few! It's particularly bad amongst politicians at local and government level. Don't know what's going on the other side of the screen, fail to understand the limitations [/rant]
Your wife had the perfect situation, clearly defined requirements, writing off line to run on a brand new machine. Modifying a system whilst it's running, without access to the original code and an ill defined set of requirements is a bigger job than actually writing the code in the first place. The Liverpudlian problem would make a smashing case study for first year undergraduate systems analysts.
No disrespect to you good lady intended, she would have got the job on my team.

[Admin4]

Of course there is another possible cause for deteriorating IT quality.---- This is just speculation but I've seen it happen a number of times. Company wants a custom IT solution and being watchful of the cost is happy to allow an enthusiastic employee to develop the solution in-house. Being well versed in how the company operates said employee produces an excellently customised piece of software. In the process however employee meets others working in similar roles for software houses and realises his true value, looks at the job ads in "Computing" and "IT Week" and sells his services to the highest bidder. Company now has a unique piece of software but no longer has the services of its author, so has to try to fit its changing business model to an unchangeable bit of software. Oh dear, oh dear. Let's just hope that this is purely speculation.

Had the same situation at work, when i first started the job control system had just fallen flat on its face and was unusable - it was build using access by the old office manger who knew how to use it. The office manger who took over from him didn't but was expected to fix it anyway (even got her a 'Access for dummies book' ) my first job when starting was to rebuild it (knowing a basic amount of access from uni) as the company would not pay for an outside agency to look at it. This system is crucial to the running of the business!

My solution lasted for ~3 years before it run into issues with the version of access it was running on & was not allowed to upgrade so this time around i rebuilt it all as a web app as i have full control over it but feel sorry for whoever it is who needs to look after it if / when i move on

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I have full control over it but feel sorry for whoever it is who needs to look after it if / when i move on

As happened to me when the doctor said "go home and don't go back till I say so". Plaintive email from no2 "where do I start?" to which I replied "shut yourself in the server room, tip all of the backup tapes out of the caddy that fits the safe, then read on" On a sticky label under the bottom of the tray were the password to my admin account, the root password to the main server and the number for the support hot line. All luxuries I didn't have when I started.

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IT's best written...............by Stephen King !
Thanks
End2end

[stuartp]

I don't suppose there's any danger that everyone could just calm down a bit and give Hattons some credit for not actually being in a complete IT-driven tailspin ? If they are consolidating all their operations in one place then stuff is bound to drop out of sight while ever they're operating out of two locations, and not be where it should be once they get everything in one location. That's got nothing to do with IT and everything to do with employing people - it matters not how good the IT is if there's a crate of something left in a corner somewhere, even temporarily.

This is the company that wrote the model railway retailing book as far as accurate stock control and flexible discounting linked to stock levels is concerned. Even if they are having a few hiccups they're still way more efficient than most of their competitors.

No, I have no connection with Hattons other than a customer. Yes they've done it to me, (no £29.95 Gresley brakes in stock despite the computer saying yes, would I like the £35 one with a different number (yes please)). They drive me mad sending stuff by Yodel when I've very clearly written "NOT BY YODEL UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCES" on the order, but they even sorted that out without any fuss.

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Even Mr King could not write horror stories as bad as some companies are run, not realising that they are relying on one or two overworked individuals who alone have the key to the companies most important secrets. Is you IT technician an anti social nerd? Be grateful he's the one who won't come down with Salmonella on the day after the staff binge.
Horror stories over lets get back to the Liverpool question or just wait and see.

[Lancastrian]

What a lot of employees don't realise is that, at least one IT bod has full access to all e-mails sent and received, even the ones that they think are 'private'.

[Firefly16]

The problems of cyber-communication, which I don't pretend to understand, are one thing. But the bottom line is that model trade retailers are dealing in artefacts with a small physical presence in a real world in which all of them have to be accounted for without the problems associated with keeping an actual as opposed to virtual track on stock in the course of changing premises; I don't envy Hattons the task they have undertaken. I don't have a problem with their mixing new and used stock online - if anything it adds to the pleasure of browsing and makes for easy comparisons of old and new versions of models. As to ordering, two low-value secondhand orders I placed in the last few weeks have been delivered promptly and efficiently.

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I think this topic has now been chewed to death. The best course of a action with a stock control system that has got out of kilter, is to leave it for a while and see if it can sort itself out. Surprisingly many do. So let's give Hattons some breathing space and come back to the topic in a few weeks time.
John W.