The McKinsey Quarterly Newsletter: February 2002

Greetings from The McKinsey Quarterly!

We have only just said goodbye to the new economy, yet it's time to say hello to the "now economy." Never heard of it? You're not alone. Even technology gurus sing different tunes when describing the newest buzzwords.

The now, or real-time, economy is a complex set of enterprise software products and services that could transform the way companies work. This software could speed up supply chains, cut inventory costs, facilitate cross-company process reengineering, and put more oomph into CRM.

Does it sound too good to be true? The now economy may prove more hype than substance. But powerful innovations are building behind the buzz. Begin figuring it out by reading "When computers learn to talk"—a primer on Web services, the software standards that allow computer systems to exchange data more easily. The moment for this technology to start taking hold may indeed be now.

See you at the site!

Lang Davison
Editor, mckinseyquarterly.com

This month at mckinseyquarterly.com

Good money from bad debt

Bad debt is draining the profits of banks and industrial companies in Europe, where deadbeats owe more than $900 billion in nonperforming credits. But as the old saw maintains, there may be a pony in there somewhere: a few large banks are figuring out how to make money from Europe's credit woes.

Do retail brands travel?

Great brands should present one face to the world, or so conventional marketing wisdom contends. Yet a McKinsey survey of 40 retail and grocery brands finds that retailers relying on a single brand formula may be forced out of some markets—as Eddie Bauer, Marks & Spencer, and Wal-Mart can attest.

Learning from high-tech deals

If mergers and acquisitions are so unproductive, as many studies show, why are the most successful high-tech companies the most prolific deal makers? The answer: because they have figured out how to execute strategic transactions that deliver value. Click here to learn the secrets of these companies' success.

Emerging marketing

CRM applications are among the few software products doing well these days. Yet in emerging markets—where sophisticated IT systems, customer records, and marketing expertise are often in short supply—companies are too wary of introducing CRM.

Moving goods in China

China's transportation and logistics sector is only just starting to develop. Transporting goods is still costly, cumbersome, and slow, yet the business of getting products to market may soon become more competitive—with improved service the likely result.

A regulatory remedy for European broadband

Europe's digital dream has bogged down in the morass of debt that has stalled the region's telecommunications companies, nearly all of which have cut back on capital expenditures. As capital dries up, regulators should be worried—and start rethinking their fixation on low prices for consumers.