X

Short Take: Hershey blames computer problems for low earnings

Hershey posted a 19 percent drop in quarterly net earnings, citing continuing warehouse and order-taking problems. The company, which uses German software giant SAP's business applications, said net income slipped to $87.6 million, or 62 cents a share, compared to $107.5 million, or 74 cents a share, in the year-ago quarter. The company said computer problems have created a backlog of orders and slower deliveries. The software the company is using is expected to help automate customer services, warehousing, and order fulfillment.

Kim Girard
Kim Girard has written about business and technology for more than a decade, as an editor at CNET News.com, senior writer at Business 2.0 magazine and online writer at Red Herring. As a freelancer, she's written for publications including Fast Company, CIO and Berkeley's Haas School of Business. She also assisted Business Week's Peter Burrows with his 2003 book Backfire, which covered the travails of controversial Hewlett-Packard CEO Carly Fiorina. An avid cook, she's blogged about the joy of cheap wine and thinks about food most days in ways some find obsessive.
See full bio
Kim Girard
Hershey posted a 19 percent drop in quarterly net earnings, citing continuing warehouse and order-taking problems. The company, which uses German software giant SAP's business applications, said net income slipped to $87.6 million, or 62 cents a share, compared to $107.5 million, or 74 cents a share, in the year-ago quarter. The company said computer problems have created a backlog of orders and slower deliveries. The software the company is using is expected to help automate customer services, warehousing, and order fulfillment.