William Amelio, president and chief executive officer of Lenovo Group, is losing patience with efforts to revamp the company’s supply chain—a critical part of the company’s ongoing restructuring drive.“It’s still not where I’d like it to be, and I’m getting impatient,” Amelio told analysts Thursday in a meeting that was broadcast over the Internet. Lenovo CEO Amelio The second quarter of Lenovo’s fiscal year, which ended on Sept. 30, was a tough one. The company reported a 1 percent increase in revenue, to US$3.7 billion, and turned a profit attributable to shareholders of $38 million—a drop of 17 percent from the same period last year.“It’s a tough, fiercely competitive market,” Amelio said. While PC shipments soared in China, Lenovo saw shipments fall in Europe and the Americas, where pricing pressure was acute. “Our operations outside China are still a work in progress,” Amelio said, adding that a transactional sales model that targets consumers and small businesses is being rolled out worldwide and should improve things.“We’re closing the gap, but it’s going to take a few more quarters and a lot more work,” Amelio said, noting that the company is particularly focused on improving its operations in the Americas during the current quarter. Part of the problem is Lenovo’s supply chain, which was hobbled during the second quarter by inadequate IT systems and too much “complexity,” he said.To remedy the situation, Lenovo has invested heavily in the rollout of an updated IT system based on software from SAP. That process is under way and will be completed by early 2008, Amelio said, declining to specify how much it will cost. “Suffice it to say, it’s a sizable investment,” he said.Lenovo is also cutting down on the number of models it sells and is changing the design process to reduce its reliance on components that come from a single supplier, he said.Once these changes and the rollout of the new IT system are completed, Lenovo’s performance will show significant improvement, Amelio said. “We will be a PC powerhouse like no other,” he said.-Sumner Lemon, IDG News Service (Singapore Bureau)Related Links: Lenovo CEO: The Action Is in Emerging Markets Lenovo Sees Slimmer Profit as Sales RiseCheck out our CIO News Alerts and Tech Informer pages for more updated news coverage. Related content BrandPost Are tech layoffs inevitable, or can your company avoid them? Despite tech industry layoffs, one ITSM company remains committed to growth and expansion of internal teams. The company’s successful endeavor is largely credited to one difference between TOPdesk and other tech organizations. By TOPdesk Mar 30, 2023 6 mins IT Leadership Analysis CIOs must evolve to stave off existential threat to their role With LOB leaders learning tech faster than CIOs gain business-savvy, IT leaders must strengthen advisory skills, build relationships, and embrace strategic transformation before losing out to business counterparts. By Yashvendra Singh Mar 30, 2023 10 mins Roles Opinion 5 ways AI will transform CRM Recent announcements by Microsoft and Salesforce on how they’re ramping up integration of AI tools into their software offerings mark the start of a revolution in the CRM marketplace. By Martin De Saulles Mar 30, 2023 4 mins Channel Sales CRM Systems Artificial Intelligence Interview From CIO to CX SVP, Cisco’s Jacqueline Guichelaar takes a road less travelled By David Binning Mar 29, 2023 7 mins Careers IT Leadership Podcasts Videos Resources Events SUBSCRIBE TO OUR NEWSLETTER From our editors straight to your inbox Get started by entering your email address below. Please enter a valid email address Subscribe