Chicago, Chicago... a wonderful show

摘要

Another year, another Retail Systems/VICS Collaborative Commerce Conference & Exposition, in marked contrast to the 2002 edition of North America's biggest retail IT trade show, which saw retailers hesitant to implement all but the most critically required systems, this year's model featured retailers willing to deploy new technologies as long as they could deliver that most elusive of results: ROI. Ah yes, ROI, Three tittle letters that financial executives love, and IT managers dread. On the surface, a CFO's request that a CIO show hard proof of how a proposed systems implementation will increase revenues is reasonable enough. Retail is a business, and businesses rarely embark on any course of action unless it is expected to be profitable.