Firestone’s big commitment to computers

Press, 1 May 1984, Page 21

Firestone’s big commitment to computers

Firestone Tire and Rubber Company of New Zealand, Ltd, has started implementing microcomputer systems throughout the country in one of the largest commitments to microcomputers yet seen in New Zealand. By the end of the year there will be 47 Burroughs 821 microcomputers Installed in Firestone tyre service stores and warehouses around New Zealand. They will be used to record sales, produce invoices and keep track of stock at 43 locations and use the resulting information to assist in production planning and monitoring. The system has been developed by computer staff at Firestone’s head office in Papanui, Christchurch. Since February, B2ls have been installed in the company’s Moorhouse Avenue store and Selwyn Street warehouse as a test of the new system. Last month a number of other stores received microcomputers. By the end of this month there will be 15 microcomputers installed. “The expressed satisfaction of our users has exceeded our best estimate,” said Mr Bill Little, computer manager at Firestone. Firestone had been looking for four years at putting some form of terminal in its retail stores. “Until the microcomputer arrived there was nothing that could do the job the way we wanted,” said Mr Little. The company could not justify putting terminals in its stores connected to the company’s mainframe in Christchurch, which would have involved an expensive network based on leased telephone lines. Firestone started evaluat-

ing microcomputers for the application late in 1982. By January 1983 it had a short list of three microcomputers which were exhaustively evaluated before the Burroughs 821 was finally chosen. The 821 is one of the more sophisticated microcomputers available in New Zealand. It was chosen, according to Mr Little, because the users liked its screen and keyboard, because Burroughs was able to supply all the necessary hardware and software and maintain it on-site throughout New Zealand, and because the 821 has a good COBOL programming environment. Each Firestone microcomputer will have a five or ten megabyte hard-disc drive to hold a product file, a stock file, and customer files. At night the Christchurch mainframe will automatically dial-up each microcomputer in turn to receive a transmission of the day’s transactions at that store.

The microcomputer will receive back from the mainframe any changes for its product or customer files. All this happens after the staff at the store have gone home and after 11 p.m. when the telephone charges are at their lowest. When the staff come in the next morning the machine will be waiting to start the new day’s business. Previously sales dockets were sent to Christchurch for processing and the store received sales reports up to three days later. Now the store will be able to print sales reports directly off its microcomputer and also

will have an up-to-the-min-ute record of its tyre stocks on the machine. “The microcomputer saves a lot of time and paperwork, is more accurate and more up-to-date,” said Miss Felicia Cree Brown, an analyst-pro-grammer on the project. “It gives the users more time to do their selling to the customers.”