Mahler's restructure, initiated in January, will see lines of authority and accountability terminate at his desk rather than those of the managing directors of the company's various brands. IT line managers are being forced to reapply for their positions.
Lisa Amor, Coles Myer's corporate affairs manager, information technology and supply chain, said that the restructure would bring IT departments currently answering to managing directors of the group's brands under a single hierarchy.
"Previously it was structured such that was a central corporate IT function but there were also IT departments in brands in our retail support area. [The restructure] brings them into the one, all reporting through to the CIO," said Amor.
The restructure, which is due to be completed by the end of the month, will see a number of existing roles go to make way for the creation of new ones.
However, the company, which presently employs around 800 staff throughout its IT departments and divisions, insists that slashing its human resources costs is not the goal of the exercise.
"In terms of reduction in head-count, that's not really something we're striving for in the restructure -- it's really to change the reporting lines," said Amor.
Amor said the re-application process would ensure that the roles are filled by individuals with the right technical skills.
"We wanted to ensure that the process was very transparent to the [employees]; that they knew that they'd gone through a process rather than a shoulder-tap," she added.
According to sources close to Coles Myer, the company is expected to issue a list of employees it wants to retain. Those not on the list will not be asked to reapply for their jobs.
"We can't guarantee that the head count will not be culled...if people are unsuccessful in re-applying for their positions we will try very hard to redeploy them in our organisation," said Amor.
The situation indicates that Mahler is close to implementing major technology overhaul hinted at in previous reports.
In April 2002, Coles Myer's chief executive officer, John Fletcher, said the company would standardise its process and platforms to support an end-to-end supply chain system to be in place by the end of 2004, as part of a five-year, AU$250 million overhaul of its IT infrastructure.
Amor said that new technolgy initiatives were "a little bit further down the track" but said the company would do whatever it needed to minimise its IT costs.
Coles Myer has nine retail brands spread under its control. Its retail divisions include Myer Grace Bros, Officeworks, and discount brands, Kmart and Megamart. Its food and liquor division consists of Coles, Bi-Lo, Liquorland, and two smaller liquor outlets. The company's online retail division, e.colesmyer undertakes distribution for a collection of its existing brands.
