By 1963 the obvious economies were in effect. Management was then challenged to rout out the hidden or long entrenched extravagances. Tighter budgets inspired a search for even greater savings, and a larger return from every piece of equipment and every employee. A Profit plan and Expense Budget scrutinized every detail of the business for profit improvement. Many accounting, purchasing and other administrative procedures duplicated among the subsidiaries were consolidated. Many field offices were combined. Computer centers mechanized hundreds of work functions and processed data for fast answers to work-a-day inquiries. Clerical details were automated in payroll handling, raw materials purchases, credit card handling, the processing of dividend payments and even the storage and plotting of geological data used in foreign and domestic oil field exploration. Computations too intricate for the more modest processing centers were synchronized with the big IBM 7044 in New York.

Each new step in the economy drive led, as expected, to the disclosure of hidden opportunities for savings, or suggested new sources of revenue. Altogether, the self-scrutiny and tightening of the entire enterprise contributed greatly to Sinclair's profit comeback. Earnings bulged 32 percent in 1962 and again by an identical percentage in 1963, despite the problem of declining products prices.

[ Previous | Index | Next ]