An eye for IT - People - Common Talk Weekly

An eye for IT
December 10, 2003
By Yayu Wu
Photos by Yao Fan

“一个优秀的CIO必须是一个全面的人，要了解公司的核心商业，竞争优势和外部商业环境。他需要执行一个综合性的IT系统，这个系统能使公司在高度动荡和不确定的市场上进行竞争和发展。在西方国家，CIO已经迅速上升为公司策略的重要决定者之一。”被评为中国前50位优秀的CIO之一的宝岛光学集团总经理王智民如是说，上月该集团又荣获中国信息化测评中心颁发的“特别成长奖”。

Mr. Jim Wang, Managing Director of Baodao Optical Group

In November, the Baodao Optical Group, along with 9 other Chinese companies, was awarded the "Special Growth Award" by the National Informatization Evaluation Center. Earlier this year, China's IT field crowned a group of IT professionals China's first Top 50 CIOs (Chief Information Officers). They were awarded for contributions to their companies' competitive strength. Among them, Mr. Jim Wang, Managing Director of Baodao Optical Group was selected as one of the first Top 50 CIOs of China. Mr. Jim Wang was the only awarded CIO from Fujian Province. We were able to have a face-to-face conversation with him regarding his work and the awards.

11月，首家引领眼镜时尚潮流的眼镜时尚精品店在厦门锦绣广场登陆，这就是“宝岛眼镜”新开设的旗舰精品店。
Recently, a new Baodao Optical chain store was opened in Xiamen. The store is located on Jinxiu Square. Various world famous brands of glasses can be found there. The products are leaders in the fashion world.

Q: Mr. Wang, how did you feel when your company was awarded the "Special Growth Award"?

A: We are certainly very happy about this award, which is so important and special for our company. As a well-known company in this field, we are in the leading position of informatization. We have now gained recognization from the Evaluation Center. Strategically speaking, it will greatly add to our confidence for future development.

Q: Mr. Wang, your job title is managing director, and yet you were awarded the top CIO of China, why was that?

A: Actually if you look into the top 50 CIOs, many of them do not have CIO as their formal job title; they are usually high-ranking officers who have a very strong influence in their company's major decisions.

Q: In your opinion, what makes a good CIO?

A: A good CIO needs to be an all-around person, and needs to understand his/her company's core business, competitive advantages, and the external business environment. He/she needs to implement a comprehensive IT system, which enables the company to compete and grow in a highly turbulent and uncertain market. CIOs in the west have risen very quickly to become one key decision makers for company strategies. As Chinese companies become more IT savvy, CIOs will get involved more in making corporate strategic decisions.

Q: What have you done for your company then?

A: Baodao Optical is the largest Chinese operated optical retailer in the world. We began our operation in China in 1997. Our operations are located in many cities in China, thousands of miles apart. I launched a project to implement an IT system to run our national offices, and we (at the headquarters) cannot see what each office is doing. It is like we are blind and deaf, and reaction to the market is very slow. The new IT system gives very up-to-date market information so that we can adjust to market changes very quickly. Apart from the basic operation, we also are building various sub systems to improve our core competencies, and provide better services to our customers.

Q: How do you feel about being the only awarded CIO in the Fujian province?

A: Frankly speaking, I was quite surprised to be nominated and awarded. Fujian province is not a big province on the IT landscape. Enterprises' IT level here is still far behind compared with other cities such as Shanghai, Beijing, and Guangzhou. However, I am seeing more companies implementing IT projects to improve their companies' competitive advantage. I think I owe this award to our entire company's IT team and many other people.

I believe we were awarded for a few reasons: Firstly, we are the first retail company to implement the SAP retail system. Secondly, our company has a very clear vision on how IT will help us improve our competitive advantage, and therefore we are able to implement and roll out our IT system to help our company compete and grow.

Q: How does your IT system help your company?

A: Our IT system really will become the backbone of our company's business strength. The company's operation (logistics, finance, sales, etc) is done on a highly integrated level. Our information arrives in real time, thus providing us with very quick market response time. It also provides us with a standardized management platform on a nationwide scale, which means that our operation can be supported from any other offices; we can work jointly to tackle any problems.

Q: What are your main duties in your company apart from IT?

A: Apart from IT, my main job is concentrated on training top-level managers for our national expansion. In addition, I am responsible for testing new marketing strategies, and providing all necessary product procurement for our regional markets.

Q: What do you suggest other companies do before they implement a large scale IT system?

A: Implementing an IT system for a company must be considered a "do or die" decision. The Chinese market is gradually becoming more in line with global business. Therefore the competitive level is getting higher and higher. IT systems must be implemented and managed by a very high-ranking manager, with very strong support from the highest authorities. I've seen many IT projects which failed miserably because of insufficient empowerment of the implementation team.

Secondly, the implementation team must encompass talents from each segment in order to understand the necessary scope of implementation, and what functions the company needs. Many software providers will say that their software can do everything. There is no "silver bullet" solution to each company's IT needs. A feasibility study about the company's internal needs and whether the proposed software can sustain the company’s requirement needs great attention.

Thirdly, a team of software and business process consultants need to be involved in the implementation process to ensure that what is required is implemented.

Fourthly, do not see IT as a magic wand. At the end of the day, business is still conducted by human beings. No machines or software can replace the human touch to business activities.