newsbytes@clarinet.com (02/04/90)
BRISBANE, AUSTRALIA, 1990 FEB 2 (NB) -- Medical supply company Johnson and Johnson has installed its OPAL (Order Placement by Automated Link) system in 20 percent of Australian hospitals. The system links J&J's minicomputer with a remote PC or network in client hospitals enabling them to place orders and receive deliveries within three days, rather than up to a month with other suppliers, claims J&J. In addition, the system allows users to maintain much lower inventories, reducing tied-up capital and out-of-date or unneeded stock. Users, they say, are experiencing ordering production cost reductions of around 40 percent as the system confirms price, availability and other information in real-time. (Paul Zucker/19900202)