CPJ calls in new IT experts after asset write-off, one manager gone

arising from surcharges on a backlog of its containers at the port, linked to the delayed system. Still, while CPJ closed the September first quarter with a net loss of US$1.3 million, its sales weathered the disruption, albeit with only a marginal uptick of US$11,000 to US$24.315 million for the quarter.

CEO David Lowe said the sales numbers performed as expected in what is seasonally the slowest period for the company. company’s fiscal year.

The new system was part of a two-track effort to expand CPJ’s footprint and integrate its three operational sites in Miami, Florida; Montego Bay, Jamaica; and St Lucia.

The second part of the programme, a new 56,000square-foot distribution centre, at the Montego Freeport – which is CPJ’s main operating base – will be finished on budget and ahead of schedule, said CEO David Lowe. The facility will be commissioned by December, well ahead of its original February deadline.

Full accountability

Lowe declined to name the vendor that supplied the IT system and the manager who was held responsible for the failure, saying only that there had been full accountability.

“We saw the hiccups, but we were being given the assurance that the appropriate fixes would be applied and there would be successful integration,” he told the Financial Gleaner.

“We were under the impression that this vendor could sell us a system that could operate on multiple levels at different sites working together, plus manufacturing and supply chain management.”

CPJ gradually re-transitioned to its legacy platform, upon which they layered a homegrown system developed over a quarter of a century ago but