Briefs

DM Direct Special Report, March 7, 2006, By Jim Ericson

For all the buzzwords, we learn again and again that the latest information strategy is really trickle-down knowledge gained over time from the biggest, brightest companies that have been there, done that, and moved on.

This has ever been the case with Procter & Gamble. I recall chatting years ago with then-CIO Steve David when P&G began offering its own proprietary product lifecycle technology and methodology to consumer packaged goods (CPG) competitors through a technology partner. In this case, P&G had determined the present value of a continuing project and offloaded the cost of future development to competitors while it forged new opportunities. The takeaway in this case was that P&G was far enough ahead of the market that it didn't mind sharing previous innovations that might still be new to most of the industry.

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