SCIENCE / TECHNOLOGY

Direct Decline: McDonnell Douglas Computer System’s effort to sell Pick systems directly to customers, rather than through resellers, was a key factor in bringing about the company’s decline, according to Howarth. McDonnell Douglas has laid off 100 of the 450 workers at its Santa Ana computer unit, and the entire operation will probably be transferred to the United Kingdom next year. McDonnell Douglas pioneered Pick through a computer subsidiary in the 1970s and remains one of the largest vendors of Pick products. But Howarth said the company made a key strategic error in trying to sell the system directly to customers and was unable to make the eventual transition to indirect sales effectively.