Page 29 - Sphere No.11 (Apr 2004)

S PHERE
1227
Group has been able to attract the brightest personnel in the
IT field.
“Our aim is to recruit the best, train the best and retain the
best,” says Nicholls. “Over a three-year period from the start of
EBIS, we invested over 100,000 training days for our IT staff in the
China region alone, ranging from overviews to detailed technical
courses which carry worldwide accreditation. As a policy we
encourage our staff to adopt a continuous training and learning
philosophy, supporting the development of new skills both techni-
cal and personal.”
AHEAD OF THE CURVE
Now that the building blocks are in place, Nicholls foresees
a future where HWL’s divisions across the globe can deploy com-
plex financial IT systems quickly and easily.
“We now have a new baseline,” he says. From this improved
starting point we can accelerate the pace at which we get better.
A.S.Watson and HPH can now rapidly roll out financial systems
anywhere in the world — all that is needed are lease lines, PCs,
training and templates.”
The next stage in the progression of EBIS will see continued
consolidation of financial systems across the different divisions to
provide even greater levels of interoperability.
A.S. Watson has implemented an Oracle-based IT system to
standardise its customer relations, merchandising, trade and distri-
bution management in accordance with the EBIS ethos. Other
divisions are following suit, harnessing the astonishing power of IT
to bring real benefits to the Group and its stakeholders.
“Individually our sub-groups are passionate about
deploying the right technology to maintain lead-
ing positions in each of the markets around the
globe,” Nicholls says.
“Collectively however, the combined power
of knowledge, experience and solutions
becomes far more powerful when applied
across the whole Group. We are doing more
and more to capture this additional energy
with regular technology events and discussion
forums across all levels in our organisations.The
results of having shared goals will be realised in
a number of areas – common skills, common lan-
guage, the very best corporate contracts and few but
clear policies and technology standards.”
This new way of working has also led to Group
sponsored projects.
“We build once and deploy many,” Nicholls explains. “Such
approaches allow our divisions to become even more focused on
providing state-of-the-art business solutions, more simply, more
quickly and with more support from the HWL community. The
result is that we will keep getting better and, more importantly,
keep all our companies two steps ahead of the competition.”
But as Hutchison continues to ably demonstrate, technology has
little value unless used effectively.The true value lies in the Group’s
ability to combine technological savvy with commercial acumen.
By realising and articulating its future business needs, the Group
has ensured that its groundbreaking IT initiatives will serve it well
in the fast-paced business environment of the 21st century.