Suppliers selected for our Environmental Resource Catalogue System "ECAT" will be required to update our data base every fourteen days. The update information must include the following information: product descriptions; total quantity available; locations and quantity at each location; current production levels; any increase or decrease in production levels since last report period; price per unit; a 24 hour emergency phone number. New information will be recorded in our data base daily and the current addition of ECAT will always be available on-line for automatic inclusion as users download their electronic mail.

At the time of an emergency, ECAT will provide on-site, the current locations, costs and quantities of the required materials available, either by region, country or worldwide.

The following is an example of the ECAT menu and product categories:

More Flexibility .

Under the `just-in-time' management technique our facility can respond more quickly to emergency situations and even produce custom-made, product or language variations of ECAT based on the situation. Firms in the computer and hi-tech industries using similar techniques found that lead time from the moment an order comes in until it is ready for shipment, can be reduced in many cases from weeks to days. Since a global, unit availability must be constantly updated by the suppliers our system is always current.

We feel that in combination with quality communications, response flexibility is an investment in minimizing damage to the environment, negative public opinion and claims against the carrier.