CORONADO, Calif. -- Given a glimpse of technology developments that will transform the way people work and how customers communicate with companies via the Internet, retailers raised questions about managing the new demands during the Information Systems conference sponsored here this month by the Food Marketing Institute, Washington.
Esther Dyson, president, EDventure Holdings, New York, told executives during a general session that the rapid advances in technology -- and the Internet in particular -- will give birth to a new breed of employee and consumer whose skills in using information will give them a greater voice.
This shift in the balance of power obliges retailers to take extra pains to stay involved in the electronic dialogue conducted over the Internet.
"The great thing about a web site is you can let your customers talk to one another. They can talk about your products, they can talk about you and they can talk about your competitors' products" through the Internet, said Dyson, who served on Vice President Al Gore's U.S. National Information Infrastructure advisory council.
"A lot of companies have trouble with that idea. They like to keep control," she added.
An informal poll of the audience revealed that while many retailers had World Wide Web pages, only two companies had sites that enabled visitors to exchange information with one another. Dyson suggested that hosting such a forum and monitoring the dialogue could provide companies with insights into consumer perceptions they could not otherwise obtain.
"You certainly want a number of your employees hanging out in these discussion groups and in your competitors' discussion groups to see what's going on," Dyson said.
She encouraged companies to make use of e-mail to communicate with customers, a suggestion that raised concern by one retailer.
"Your comments led me to think there will be an enormous amount of activity where customers are talking to each other. Let's say I've got 6 million customers: How do I sort through all of that and get them an answer?" asked Danny Risener, vice president, information systems, Publix Super Markets, Lakeland, Fla.
Dyson acknowledged the task may require extra resources, but that it will be necessary for a company to add value and distinguish itself from the masses. She suggested that an automated response mechanism, a somewhat "canned" electronic reply, can be put in place to handle much of the load.
Another executive, Stan Whitcomb, senior vice president of information systems, American Stores, Salt Lake City, asked, "What do you do about unlimited employee access to the Internet?"
Dyson responded, "There are various kinds of blocking software that can prevent people from spending too much time on the Playboy site," for example. Companies can also discourage personal use of the Internet by implementing policies such as all e-mail will be considered company property and may be subject to review.
However, she added, "You don't want to do that too much because you are not going to attract the best employees if you limit their freedom."
Finding qualified technology professionals was a concern of Skip Smith, senior vice president, information services, Supervalu, Minneapolis, who said the ever-shrinking pool has him seeking out new sources.
"My observations, in our geographic area, are that there are many more job openings than there are qualified candidates. Colleges and universities in our area are actually turning out fewer graduates," he said.
"We need more people and the Year 2000 problem will suck up a large quantity of them," Smith added.
Dyson suggested looking beyond U.S. shores. "One possibility is to outsource. There is a lot of talent overseas. It's not easy to do, but that is a long-term source of IS talent."
