- 7 -
and purchasing departments.
HSC began its operations on July 1, 1982, from a broadcast
studio located in Clearwater, Florida. HSC show hosts would show
items for sale through the televised programs. Viewers could
call in to order the items shown for sale. Items were then moved
to a mart distribution center maintained by HSC for customer
pickup the next day. In order to purchase merchandise, a viewer
had to enroll as a “member” of HSC. Once the viewer was assigned
a member number, the viewer could call and purchase the items
being shown on the television program.
As the number of HSC members grew, additional mart locations
were added by HSC, which, in turn, increased the complexity of
keeping track of the available inventory. It was important to
keep accurate and current records concerning the inventory sold
by HSC, because most of the items sold by HSC were unique, one-
time acquisitions that could not be reacquired. HSC’s original
customer base of approximately 2,000 members grew to 5,000
members by its second month of operation. By the spring of 1985,
HSC had approximately 88,000 members in its database, spanning a
two-county area in Florida.
Between 1982 and 1985, Pioneer upgraded its computer system
from an IBM System 34 to an IBM System 36 to accommodate HSC’s
expanding business. This transition required the modification of
the Local Software to enable it to run on an IBM System 36.
Pioneer hired an independent computer consultant for this
Page: Previous 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 Next
Last modified: May 25, 2011