DEC is making strenuous efforts to improve its US marketing and sales operations in the face of a tough business climate, and has created 25 business units geared to improving its presence in a spread of vertical markets, and improving the profitability of its products – DEC is suffering not so much from a sales slump as a squeeze on margins. The new units comprise 15 application business units for sectors such as banking, media, insurance and general service, public sector and manufacturing, six product units to concentrate on improving profitability, and five cross-application units. The moves, which will come into effect with the start of the new fiscal year in July, will likely be accompanied by a new commission programme for the sales force, intended to put a higher priority on rewarding improved profitability. The present scheme ties bonuses to performance forecasts, customer satisfaction and profitability, and the company wants to enhance incentives for improved profitability while emphasising meeting customer needs in each sector. Each of the new business units will get some control over pricing in its own market. Separately, the company said it expects a small number of top-end VAX 9000s to be shipped by the end of June.
