W.W. Grainger makes no secret of its dependence on IT, since the computer systems at this maintenance, repair and service equipment distributor handle about 95,000 transactions daily and help serve Grainger's 1.7 million customers. The fact that IT's strategic value is well understood makes Grainger an exciting place to work, IT employees say.
"There's always something new and interesting to work on," says Brian Wells, group manager for business systems at the Lake Forest, Ill., company.
Wells, who was recruited by Grainger six years ago from his previous job in IT consulting, says he came to Grainger as the company was going through a major SAP implementation. He was impressed with the project. "What intrigued me was Grainger's willingness to go after a lot of functionality at one time. It was energizing to work with so many areas of the business," Wells says. "It showed faith in the IT department."
Pratt is a Computerworld contributing writer. Contact her at marykpratt@verizon.net.