The Integrated Systems Solutions Corp subsidiary of IBM Corp reports that it signed an agreement with Jack Eckerd Corp, Clearwater, Florida retail drug chain, worth between $320m and $440m: the 10-year agreement is to develop and manage information systems including pharmacy and point-of-sale systems; the IBM unit will manage Eckerd’s entire information systems operation and the majority of Eckerd’s systems and computer employees will become employees of ISSC, swelling the IBM payroll that elsewhere the company is desperate to reduce; the deal also includes implementation of a new point-of-sale system with scanning capabilities, enhancing of the current pharmacy system with advanced technology and implementation of a new distribution system.
