The Inovis Blog

In a blinding flash of the obvious today, March 18, 2008, U.S. Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson admits the U.S. economy is in “sharp decline.” Ya think? $1000 gold? $110 oil?The government reported that in February employers slashed more than 63,000 jobs— the most in 5 Years. Most were lost in construction, manufacturing, retailing, financial services and a variety of professional and business services. The very industry segments that drive most of the GNP! Companies must now be lean, they must adjust their business plans, and they need to take advantage of quality data and easily deployable software that will allow them to lower labor rates and better understand their customers changing buying patterns to survive.

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I was sitting at a sushi restaurant eating lunch on Friday when I saw what would have angered me profusely during my restaurant management days post-college—a delivery truck arriving at noon during the lunch rush. This was a strict no-no, and we would refuse shipment and throw not only our day off but the delivery guy as well. We actually tracked our vendors on this and other factors on sheets of paper; and tracking the good and the bad. I didn’t realize it at the time, but we were tracking supplier performance. And we actually used it to not only make us more efficient but help our suppliers as well in a semi-collaborative process!

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