Vin Melvin joined Arrow in 2006 as vice president and chief information officer (CIO), and a member of Arrow’s Executive Committee. He is responsible for leading Arrow’s global information technology systems, services and capabilities. Vin discussed his role as CIO and Arrow’s global ERP initiative.
Q: What is the role of the CIO?
A: The CIO drives technology for the company’s benefit, such as improving efficiency, customer service and competitive differentiation. My role includes understanding where the company wants to go and positioning technology to help get us there. Part of what my department and I do is making sure the technology infrastructure functions properly, so that when people come in each day, their computers work. There also are security issues, such as protecting customer account data. Because of the business we’re in, IT plays a huge part in how effective Arrow is at linking to customers and
suppliers, and delivering what they need in the time
frames they want.
Q: How did you approach this task when you came to Arrow?
A: I had to first understand the existing infrastructure and application environments and where we could improve. I had to build a roadmap of these IT basics. Then I had to understand the business strategy and move to align the IT roadmap with that strategy.
Q: What are the biggest assets that you have observed at Arrow?
A: We have a tremendous number of talented individuals in the IT organization and throughout Arrow in general. They care about the company. They are highly engaged in understanding what Arrow needs to do to compete effectively in the marketplace. I think that’s our greatest asset.
Q: What is the biggest challenge you see?
A: It’s the complexity of the environments that exist across Arrow. There is a need to pull the infrastructure and our different technology environments together in a way that gives us true competitive differentiation. So one of the key elements immediately on the radar screen is moving toward a more common set of tools through a global ERP environment. That’s what we are driving toward.
Q: What is the ERP project?
A: At a general level, ERP is Enterprise Resource Planning. The term really refers to a software package that provides the core functions required to run a global company, from financials through order entry or human resources. Arrow has a set of legacy systems that were developed to meet specific needs within a geographic region or a functional group. The ERP effort is targeted at replacing these with Oracle’s Enterprise Resource Planning software, referred to by Oracle as its Enterprise Business Suite. For Arrow, it allows us to establish a common language or foundation for the company to build on – whether it’s how we do quotes, value inventory or any number of activities. ERP allows us to start with a common language and foundation and eliminate those differences so we can leverage process improvements globally. ERP also provides capabilities that will provide us with better visibility into our customers’ needs, and make us more efficient in our supply chain and how we run our overall business operations.
Q: How will Arrow be better off as a result of ERP?
A: We’ll be far more efficient. We’ll have better access to information and be better able to share information among ourselves and with our customers. The company will be operating on a platform positioned to enable Arrow to grow consistently and deploy improved processes more quickly and efficiently. That platform will be built on a foundation of capability and technology that will allow us to strengthen Arrow for the next 30 years.
