Back on the Chain Gang

摘要

Robert W. Moffat Jr. Is IBM'S Clark Kent. A Lumbering Guy Who Still Revels In his past as a college track star, he has worked there since 1978, toiling in backwaters like manufacturing and operations. Last year Moffat won another unsung role, overhauling IBM's massive supply chains. Suddenly he was Superman, whacking an astounding $5.6 billion in annual cost―or so IBM claims. More amazing, Moffat did it in his spare time, while running IBM's Personal Systems business. That $5.6 billion includes a couple billion in savings from falling component prices unrelated to any makeover. A better figure: $3 billion or so, still remarkable in a company with just over $80 billion in revenue. Moffat did it by selling off three factories, shifting manufacturing to cheaper locations such as China and Ireland and simplifying product designs.