Adventures in Data Processing

The man’s tone was solemn; his usually voluble partner was silent.

“Our consultant projected a sales increase of 300 percent. We significantly boosted spending to handle it.”

“And what sales increase are you seeing?” I asked.

He paused. “We’ve had a 25-percent drop. We’re nearly bankrupt.”

Catalogers put a lot of time, money and emotional effort into fine-tuning their positioning, design, circulation and product line. But when it comes to data processing (DP), most catalogers simply trust that all will be well.