Each store constituted an investment center and was evaluated on its profits
relative to its inventory investments. Store-level data on sales, expenses, and
profit and loss were collected, analyzed, and transmitted electronically on a
real-time basis. The data could be analyzed by region, district, store, department
within a store, or even at the level of an item within a department' The
company made heavy investments in technology to automate ordering, ship - ping,
communications, and logistics. Managers in stores mined point-of-sale iniorJation
to obtain insights about consumer purchasing patterns'