Real time, text communications are not the invention of email. In the 1960’s and 1970’s, long distance was expensive and fax very slow. Vulcan needed an alternate method to communicate in real time for the following reasons:
The two offices needed written communications on production schedules and preparation of quotations. For example, the factory was required to send a periodic telex to inform the executive office of the status of every back order in the system.
Since a third of Vulcan’s sales volume was international, it needed to communicate rapidly with its customers, both during the sales process and to respond rapidly during breakdowns.