Throwback Thursday: The year of computers

The year was 1984. Apple had introduced the game-changing Mac. And the July 2, 1984 issue of National Home Center News -- the forerunner of HBSDealer -- reported: "Home center industry awakens to expanded computer offerings."

It turns out, hardware and building supply dealers of the eighties sought some of the same technology-induced improvements of their descendents in the 21st century. The article states: 

"Accurate tracking of inventory turns, avoidance of stock outs, rapid access to stock levels, prompt credit authorizations, speedy estimates and faster movement of customers through checkouts are seen by home centers as advantages they can obtain from computerization to help them either retain or increase market share."

However, unlike today, the article revealed an industry that yet to embrace the basics. According to estimates from Dataline, only 25% of home centers doing more than $2.5 million per year had been computerized to include point-of-sale equipment. And only 10% of home center companies under $2.5 million were POS computerized. 

Some of the new-fangled options hitting the market included "puchase order modules" from Dataline, and "Promotional pricing modules" from Computer Systems Dynamics.

HomeClub president Bob McNulty summed it up in the 1984 article: "You can't run a warehouse operation unless you are computerized."