CyberGuide
Dr. Tim Rhodus
Department of Horticulture and Crop Science
The Ohio State University
e-mail: Rhodus.1@osu.eduWelcome to the Electronic Industry
Let me begin my first article on computers and the nursery industry by thanking Editor Sally D. Benson for extending an invitation to join the American Nurseryman team. Hopefully, my contributions will be up to par with the other fine articles in this publication, as well as provide useful information on a topic that has become so important to all businesses: How to use computers to our best advantage. There are many aspects of business that can separate successful companies from the unsuccessful ones In some cases, success is related to having an ideal location. In other instances, a company's success is related to its development of a proprietary process or unique product. Finally, there are many examples of successful firms that merely listen to what the customer wants and work hard to consistently and reliably deliver those products and services.
Some of you might be wondering, "What does this have to do with computers?" The point is this: Paying attention to outside factors, making investments to improve the company's products and services, and listening to the customer are three ways management can actively help its company increase its chances of success. Long-term success occurs through a continued series of these types of investments, each requiring time, effort, money and a commitment from many people in the organization. It's not easy to stay successful -- you have to work at it. And today's green industry is particularly competitive -- nursery owners and operators do far more than just raise and sell plants.
Computers and their software can help business meet -- and overcome -- many of today's challenges. By generating information about customers, suppliers, employees, finished products, goods-in-process, marketing programs -- even the weather -- the computer provides the critical input a decision maker needs.
For example, a landscape designer can incorporate an actual photo of the client's property in a design, as well as photo-realistic images of specified plants and hardscape material. Aging the project to simulate five or 10 years' of growth can show a client how the design will evolve.
After the design phase, a landscape contractor can save time and minimize bidding errors using a computer. By tracking labor, material and equipment expenses -- and comparing actual to budgeted expenses -- a business can fine-tune its estimates to obtain a desired level of profit.
For the nursery manager, it is possible to rapidly generate product availability reports by incorporating a bar-code scanner with a portable data logger or portable computer to do field or greenhouse inventory. By copying the inventory information directly into the company's marketing database, managers will not only see a reduction in typing errors, but they'll be able to immediately supply sales managers and customers with exact counts of salable material. Garden centers that offer incentive programs to "preferred customers" can track specific purchases and link these sales to customer demographics through the use of bar-code scanners and point-of-purchase software. Tracking the relative success of different types of promotions enables a garden center manager to design more cost-effective promotions and increase customer satisfaction.
Another way computers can assist all businesses is in the arena of job training. Using relatively inexpensive hardware and software, companies can greatly enhance their employees' chances of success through the use of interactive multimedia training programs on CD-ROM. By incorporating text, video and/or audio segments, these programs can be customized for each business and provide a comprehensive information-resource center for the entire company's use.
A more recent development is interactive communications. Advancements in desktop video conferencing and multimedia software allow customers, suppliers and employees to use their computers to communicate, buy and sell products, and seek out solutions to problems. Investments in this technology by software, telephone and cable companies increases the likelihood that we will all be using these systems in the near future. It will seem as commonplace as sending a fax or picking up the phone.
In future articles, I will present information on various hardware and software options and examine how these tools can assist you in meeting your organizational goals. Starting with the basics, I hope to inform you on how to exploit computers to your advantage and view them as a critical element of your strategic plan for success.
Dr. Tim Rhodus is an associate professor in The Ohio State University Department of Horticulture & Crop Science. For a biographical sketch of Rhodus, see the Editor's Page, page 4.
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