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 Sponsored by SAP When natural disasters strike Japan, Ōita University’s EDiSON is ready to act With the technology and assistance of SAP and Zynas Corporation, Ōita University built an emergency-response collaboration tool named EDiSON that helps the Japanese island of Kyushu detect and mitigate natural disasters. By Michael Kure, SAP Contributor Dec 07, 2023 5 mins Digital Transformation brandpost Sponsored by BMC BMC on BMC: How the company enables IT observability with BMC Helix and AIOps The goals: transform an ocean of data and ultimately provide a stellar user experience and maximum value. By Jeff Miller Dec 07, 2023 3 mins IT Leadership brandpost Sponsored by BMC The data deluge: The need for IT Operations observability and strategies for achieving it BMC Helix brings thousands of data points together to create a holistic view of the health of a service. By Jeff Miller Dec 07, 2023 4 mins IT Leadership how-to How to create an effective business continuity plan A business continuity plan outlines procedures and instructions an organization must follow in the face of disaster, whether fire, flood, or cyberattack. Here’s how to create a plan that gives your business the best chance of surviving such an By Mary K. Pratt, Ed Tittel, Kim Lindros Dec 07, 2023 11 mins Small and Medium Business IT Skills Backup and Recovery 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