As recently as 2000, Home Depot's stores were still standalone units without any electronic connection to one another (Holstein, 2004, p. 1). When Bob Nardelli came on as CEO in December of that year, he asked how he could send an e-mail to the managers of all his stores across the country and was told "There is no way" (Holstein, 2004, p. 1). In the warehouse, employees were hand-counting boxes and manually processing their invoices and bills of lading, and bar codes were not in use at the stores (Holstein, 2004, p. 1). Like Kuiper Leda, Home Depot was having difficulty managing its supply chain effectively and efficiently.
Nardelli resolved Home Depot's problems by introducing $2 billion worth of new technology linking his stores via fiber optics and coaxial cable that runs "from Atlanta to San Francisco and back" (Holstein, 2004, p. 1). The installation of 90,000 desktop computers and NCR self-checkouts, plus cordless scan guns enable the store to capture point-of-sale information that provides the data needed to keep his supply chain informed (Holstein, 2004, p. 3).
The outcomes of the company's response to the issue have been mixed. On one hand, Home Depot now has an integrated supply chain and far greater technological capabilities than before. On the other hand, however, the supply chain system is set up to bring a "full truckload to the store" that the store had to sell to keep from being crammed full of products (Holstein, 2004, p. 3). Home Depot still needs to "force discipline on its suppliers, as Wal-Mart has done, to deliver various sizes of shipments as demand warrants" (Holstein, 2004, p. 1). In addition, the personal touch has been reduced by the technological advances (Holstein, 2004, p. 1). Home Depot still has work to do to get its supply chain working efficiently and effectively and keep customers satisfied. The company's experience demonstrates that while technology can do mu...