"Information technology has evolved beyond the role of mere infrastructure in support of business strategy. In more and more industries today, IT is the business strategy."

    But as Micael Earl and David Feeny note in How to Be a CEO for the Information Age," few CEOs are ready to play a constructive role in their companies' use of IT.

    CEOs' deficiencies today stem more from a failure of vision than from technological illiteracy. CEOs who are effective in the Information Age see IT as a source of strategic differentiation and advantage. They scan new technologies and use them to form a vision of the future. They integrate the creation, evaluation, and implementation of IT strategies with the overall strategic development effort.

    What's more, they challenge their IT departments to deliver innovative solutions to sourcing and capabilities problems.

    From Sloan Management Review, Vol. 41, No. 2, Winter 2000. To order a copy, call (617)253-7170.

    Everything you always wanted to know about how to become a transportation broker - was encapsulated in a lengthy feature in the August issue of Trucking Co. magazine. Senior editor Linda Parham did extensive interviews with well-known players in brokerage to show readers, small fleet owners, what it would take to establish a broker operation.

    "Go for Broker" covers shipper and carrier relationships, the promise or peril of the web, networking, who gets the credit and how to get started.

    For the feature, Parham interviewed transportation intermediaries throughout the country. Many of the names will be familiar.

Full article:
http://www.etrucker.net/trucking_co/august00/fea1.htm

    E-business has become a primary market enabler so fast that it has sent traditional business into a tailspin. Brokers, like business owners everywhere, are struggling to innovate.

This two part feature presents a four step process to start planning your e-commerce strategies. Components include:

1. Customer-based Vision of Your Operation
2. E-business Implementation Plan
3. E-business Evaluation Plan
4. Budget

    You will use several different kinds of consultants for this part of your e-commerce strategic plan - some paid, some advisory and some off-the-wall. Talk to everyone you can. Go to industry events and eavesdrop. Question vendors and use a matrix to compare their answers. Talk to those who sit next to you in seminars. Pick their brains.

    Visit a truck show and watch truckers make those lap tops sing. Find out what they know that you don't know. Go hang out at the truck stop and see the changes there.

    Know in advance that your route will have detours. New technology will be developed that trumps what you had in mind or have purchased. New methods and software may become popular so that customers want you to change. How do you know which way to go? You don't. That's the risk-taking inherent in e-business.

    One entrepreneur says that she adopts early and adapts early. Whatever technological gadgets come along, she purchases them. (Such purchases have been budgeted in her technology implementation plan.) She tries them out, quickly discarding without regret those that don't do what she expected or are not as effective as she had hoped.

    The key here is to be sure you know how to work the gadget or operate the software properly before giving up on it. To review in haste means you may be throwing out some really good tools, without realizing it.

    Don't be the king whose knights are ready for battle with swords and shields who is far too busy to hear what the cannon salesman has to offer. On the other hand, don't buy vaporware - untried or underdeveloped software or systems that allegedly will perform the magic you seek.

    As our entrepreneur keeps trying out the next thing, she records likes and dislikes on a micro tape recorder. Her notes are later transcribed, to be sure she has captured the moment. She does the same with sample software CDs, trial web sites, innovations she hears, sees or reads about. She is constantly changing, improving and taking a chance, to stay ahead of the curve.

   The innovation you hear about does not just happen. It takes money. A scientist with a drug company shared recently that he may be involved with 500 research projects and trials for every one drug that makes it to the next step; let alone to market. Yet business people believe they can set a course once, fulfill it and go about their business. It doesn't work that way in cyberspace. You are constantly trying, discarding, adopting and moving on.

   Can you afford the cost of operating that way? This may be the single biggest reason that Wall Street pundits predict that medium size brokers will disappear. The economy and environment in which you operate demand that you become large, to afford the cost of doing e-business or settle on a niche where your service is so special that people will pay a premium for it, even if it is not cutting edge.

3. E-business evaluation plan

    Your evaluation plan has to do with the volatility of e-business. You cannot set a plan, implement it and give yourself a gold star. Before that last piece is in place, you need to start evaluating how the system can be made better, faster, more personal. An e-business evaluation plan establishes processes for ongoing, continual monitoring and analysis of e-business activities and results. It establishes change/response processes based on the monitoring and analysis.

    Service definition is undergoing revolutionary change. Customer expectations are changing. We keep hearing that shippers are not there yet, are not demanding cyber service. Are you going to wait until they do? Read through this article again and see what is necessary to prepare for e-commerce. Can you do that on a dime and save the account? Or will you watch the customer walk out the door, while you upgrade your fax machine?

    So what are you thinking, right about now? Did these suggestions make sense to you? Have you filled 6.5 pages of yellow legal pad with notes about how you will approach each segment of your strategy?

    If instead your eyes are glazed over about now, you may need to have more background information before going about setting your e-business strategy.

    In their book, e-Business Roadmap for Success (1999, Addison-Wesley), authors Ravi Kalakota and Marcia Robinson define e-business as "redefining old business models, with the aid of technology, to maximize customer value."

    The goal in e-business is to integrate business processes and technologies. You do it across your business, through it and outside of it. This requires a major structural transformation in the way any company has traditionally done business.

    Although technology is the cause and driver, e-business is not an information technology function. It is the means for creating value assets in a non-asset-based world. What constitutes value to customers today, and what attributes value to your company and your service no longer fit within traditional definitions.

    To prove the process, how would you go about it, in the past, if you wanted to order the book mentioned above? You'd write down the title, get in your car, go to the library or the book store, walk in, find the book, take it to the register, give them money, a check or a credit card, pay for it, watch them wrap it and take it home.

    Today, if you want that book, click here. You will be taken to the book store on my company web site, which is directly connected to Amazon.com. The link we have provided here will take you right to the description of the book and its cost. There will probably be book reviews; maybe even some by readers. You will move your mouse around a bit, tell them where to ship the book and the book can be on your desk before 10:30 tomorrow morning.

    If you have adopted software now available, you did not have to fill out the order form. There is now a process that does that for you automatically when there is a form to be filled out. Oh, and by the way, I'll get a commission because you purchased the book through my web site.

    Don't let that last bit of information get by you. I made a commission for doing nothing but bringing this information to you, if you purchased the book. How can that concept apply to your business in other ways? In high volume ways? Knowledge is not only power, it's salable. How can you earn extra from what you are giving away today - like consulting services and expedited service.

    Have we made the point about the change yet? The transaction change just described, for all its phenomenal speed and convenience, is the very bottom rung of the ladder you will climb to success in e-commerce. Once you understand the essence of the business process platform change, everything will start to fall into place. Even without deep pockets, you'll be able to create a B2B e-commerce strategy to rival the big guys, satisfy your market and earn a good income for you and your team.

    A great military leader once said, "I don't know what 'Logistics' is; but I want some of it!"

    "Logistics" is actually a military term. It means: "The right truck, at the right place, at the right time!" If you add "For the right price," you have the definition of third party logistics. It's also the definition of freight brokerage.

    Like that military leader, many business owners today don't know what logistics is either. They are confused by all the buzz words like "freight management," or "supply chain management." They know they need "benchmarking," and they need to "outsource," but for the most part, they have no idea how these terms provide goods to the consumer in a timely and competitive manner.

    Whether a business uses a routing guide, has substantial discounts with carriers, or whether they do traffic in-house or outsource, the fact remains, someone has to have the truck. In the real world, the one who has the truck, controls the freight.

    Many brokerages provide the "logistics" services mentioned in our list - and more. A broker often networks with a business that provides technology for this service as a core competency. This is an accepted practice in this age of strategic partnering.

    Customers want to partner-up with businesses that make them look good to their customers. The reason a lot of logistics arrangements have failed (often with legal ramifications) is the traffic departments of clients were eliminated to create savings and relationships with providers were trashed to make room for newer, more high-tech providers. Customer need was forgotten. When the relationship ended, the client had no way to provide service to their customer. Anybody who ever knew about those needs, had long since been replaced.

    It's a good idea to work as a resource for the traffic department of a client, rather than their competitor. Become like a drug to them. Make them need you like they need black coffee, like nicotine! They don't know what they'd do without you!

    Eventually all the freight or all that can be managed will be available.

    How does a business get so ingrained with a customer? I believe it starts with listening. Hear what the client wants, understand what his customers want and then give it all to them.

    It may cost a little, up-front, until a freight habit begins to form. It's to your advantage to FEED THE ADDICTION. Become a service junkie and exploit every opportunity to provide service in any area.

    What is logistics? It's freight brokerage that has been repackaged and re-sold! The methods and scope of these services are as numerous and varied as the businesses that provide them.

    The next time a customer asks about logistics, remember that what he really needs may be - a good broker. Offer your service. Help him get addicted.

Rick Jones is president of Meadow Lark Companies, a freight brokerage in Billings, Montana. www.meadowlarkco.com

click here for photos

    Drivers found a warm welcome at Trinity Transport in Bridgeville, Delaware during National Truck Driver Appreciation Week last month. All week long, huge banners on the front lawn of corporate headquarters, right on busy Route 13, proclaimed the firm's appreciation.

    On Friday and Saturday, Trinity really turned up the hospitality with invitations to drivers to stop in. A thirty foot long red carpet demonstrated how special drivers are.

The day-long events included:

• Antique trucks on display
• Veteran drivers to share stories of "the good old days"
• Tour of the Trinity offices
• Safety and training videos
• Gifts and souvenirs
• Demonstrations showing use of lap top computers in truck cabs
• "Tips on Loading and Unloading" literature
• "Thank You Drivers" pins.
• Tours of the new Trinity web site

Website Design - Aaron Collegeman
Print Graphic Design - Deborah Ranson
Editing - Kathryn Rosypal

Published by
Petrick Outsourcing Unlimited, Inc.
Management and Marketing Consultants
to North America's Transportation Companies
679 Hottel Road
Woodstock, VA 22664
www.transportmarketing.com

Subscriptions/billing
Sandi Thomasson
540-459-9632
Fax - 540-459-8775
sthomass@shentel.net

Advertising
Lea Frazier
540-459-8390
Fax 540-465-9487
lafraz@shentel.net

    Continuing on the theme introduced in the last issue (see Editorial, July 2000), what do you think of "The Digital Broker" as a description of the transportation broker of the 21st century?

    The Digital Broker is one that invests in technology, understands the benefits of web connection and is moving his business operation to the Internet. See the article on page 1 of this issue on "Giving IT Its Due." In it, CEOs are accused of holding back their company's progress, not because of a lack of IT literacy, but because of a lack of vision. Digital Brokers do not have that affliction.

    The Digital Broker is a market force to be reckoned with. He uses technology to wring every last ounce of cost out of a transaction, while leaving reasonable profit for himself and his carriers both.

    He is as effective as a dot.com, with the added benefit of inter-personal relationships by phone and e-mail. It's not a machine talking to the clients; it's a person.

    The Digital Broker works fast, because digitalia operate that way. She is using technology instead of the phone to find trucks. This one technological break-through alone allows him time to spend on special tending to clients. She converses electronically and has mastered the ability to create a relationship over bandwidth.

    The Digital Broker. Watch out for him; look out for her. She/he rules!

Annette E. Petrick, Editor and Publisher

    Every time you use the Internet, you leave an electronic footprint. Given the nature of the system, that's unavoidable. You can, however, reduce the amount of privacy you sacrifice to progress.

Here are some tips:

MONITOR YOUR "COOKIES". Many sites invisibly deposit "cookies" onto your computer's hard drive. These tiny files allow sites to identify you. Cookies can be handy, it's nice when a site remembers your preferences, but they're also potentially invasive, because cookies can be used to track you online. To see how cookies work, visit www.privacy.net, a consumer-protection site. To learn how to view, manage and delete cookies, visit www.cookiecentral.com on the web.

REVIEW PRIVACY POLICIES. E-commerce sites usually contain a page explaining what information is being collected and how it will be used. If a site doesn't have a privacy policy, or if you're uncomfortable with it, go no further. Also, if a site requires you to enter personal data before giving you access to services or information, don't fill in blanks marked "optional."

SHOP AT SECURE SITES. Reputable online retailers use encryption to protect your data. Before you transmit your credit card number, look at the lower left corner of your browser. If you see a locked padlock or an unbroken key, you're protected.

ONLINE PRIVACY GUIDE. Arm yourself with know-how and tools to defend your online privacy with this dynamite guide. Visit http://cgi.zdnet.com/slink?19755:3407426.

E-mail Privacy. Protect your electronic correspondence from online snoopers. Visit http://cgi.zdnet.com/slink?20080:3407426

Slam That Spam. This essential guide covers how to prevent and eliminate unsolicited e-mail for good! Visit http://cgi.zdnet.com/slink?20081:3407426.

Pump Up Your E-mail. Create, manage, organize your e-mail and more with these power mail tools. Visit http://cgi.zdnet.com/slink?20082:3407426. Find more E-mail know-how here: Visit http://cgi.zdnet.com/slink?20083:3407426.

VIRUSES. For the latest security breaches and virus attacks, see our Bugs, Viruses, Security Alerts guide. Visit http://cgi.zdnet.com/slink?19875:3407426.

Other sites you'll like:

http://www.whatis.com - define every baffling Internet term you'll ever encounter, in a way that mere mortals can understand.

    Six students of transportation and logistics had their 15 minutes of fame this month, when they were honorees at the Transportation Education Conference in Louisville. The six are winners of scholarships awarded by the Delta Nu Alpha Foundation. The Education Conference is sponsored by Delta Nu Alpha, the transportation fraternity.

    Students were chosen for this honor, based on outstanding scholastic effort and internship experience.

    Delta Nu Alpha supports education of students and professionals in the fields of transportation, distribution and logistics. Since its inception in 1987, the Foundation has provided scholarships and research grants and has funded The Journal of Transportation Management, published by Georgia Southern University.

    Winner Cliff Straub is at Penn State. Magdalena Pasztalenic, from Poland, studies at the University of Maryland, while Brian Kay is at Michigan State. From Georgia Southern, winner is Tim O'Connor. Zach Gibbar is from Southwest Missouri State University and Princess Schmidt hails from NC A&T.

    Delta Nu Alpha's annual Transportation Education Conference was held this month at the Galt House Hotel, Louisville, KY.

    L&M Transportation Services, Inc. was born 23 years ago, in 1977. Boe Davis came on board as president in 1978. The founder of the firm was Boe's college room mate, who liked the idea of the business, but didn't really want to run the day-to-day operation. Boe found his niche in the produce-centered brokerage.

    In the last two decades, the company has grown and prospered under Boe's guidance. The firm has a reputation for long-term personnel, who have become adept at the nuances of moving freight. Today, the $45 million volume of the company is balanced between produce and regulated freight. There are now offices in Charlotte, NC, Palatka, FL and Visalia, CA, in addition to the corporate headquarters in Raleigh, NC.

    At L&M, employees share generously in the company success. One of Boe's guiding management principles is "When people know what's in it for them, they work a lot better and understand their job better." Boe sees his job as president "to make their job easier to understand and do."

    Another key to the firm's success has been fast pay of carriers.

    "I want them to see the check being signed, as they walk up to the front door," stated Boe. Working with many small operators, the firm understands how tight cash flow can be, for truckers. Drivers and carriers will not find a wait for payment at L & M. Their reputation for dependable pay is well known in the industry.

    "We are passionate about fast pay," he stated.

    The firm is now caught up in upgrading technology throughout. A new, highly flexible and sophisticated system has been purchased from Express Technologies in PA and is now being installed.

    Said Boe, "You rock along in management and everything looks good and everyone is doing fine and you have everything under control. But suddenly you realize you need more speed, or more power and you realize you have to change."

    Boe has definite ideas about leading change, as head of the company.

    "As you lead change, you must set the stage for urgency. If you don't learn how, you're going to be way behind in the marketplace. Urgency is a fact of life in this business. And technology gives a broker the edge in providing the speed with which things have to change."

    In preparing his staff for change, Boe assures, "I guaranteed folks there will be a great deal of pain." Understanding that it won't come easy is a way of leading change. It's L&M's way of staying viable and profitable in the 21st century.

    Gary Weilheimer has been named Senior Vice President, Finance and Technology, for American Trans-Freight LLC (ATF)in Morristown, PA. His duties include developing and implementing financial and technology strategies and systems for the firm. Announcement of the promotion was made by Thomas S. Tranovich, president. ATF's recent acquisition of the assets of Redwood Systems, Inc., puts the firm at $100 million in volume.

    Weilheimer oversees the firm's financial and monetary interests, continually driving costs out of the operation. He handles the firm's banking and debt relationships as well as risk management and control. In his new position, Weilheimer is pivotal to the company's aggressive growth strategy, being achieved through acquisition and expansion of service for the existing client base.

    The CPA joined ATF in 1998, after serving in CFO capacities in transportation since 1992. Before that, he worked for eight years as a public accountant. Weilheimer is a member of the National Accounting and Finance Council of the American Trucking Associations.

    Weilheimer recently concluded integration of the software and client base of the latest ATF acquisition into the firm's Unix-based system and server. He arranges asset financing and integrated software for the firm's agents, dedicated fleets and owner/operators affiliated with ATF. A virtual Internet connects agents and is capable of increasing capacity for international access. The firm does EDI transactions with a dozen large American corporations.

    American Trans-Freight is a full-service transportation company with comprehensive capabilities in trucking, intermodal, logistics services and dedicated fleet operations.

American Trans-Freight is a full-service transportation company with comprehensive capabilities in trucking, multi-modal transport, logistic services and dedicated fleet operations with solutions by transportation professionals using high-speed, integrated technology. ATF's aggressive growth strategy includes acquisitions, agency and owner-operator development and internal customer expansion.

    Fastrans Technologies of St. Louis, MO has announced the first anniversary of successful load-posting service for TruckTrax on the Web. Since the site went on-line one year ago, it has signed more than 3,500 subscribers, with more added every day.

    TruckTrax offers unlimited posting and searches, 24-hours a day, 7 days a week from any laptop or desktop computer for an annual charge of $200. TruckTrax is built on a logistics platform established by Fastrans Technologies several years ago that uses web technology and a network efficiency system to match freight-hauling capacity and demand. It creates a high-volume freight network that increases equipment utilization for fleets by reducing the number of layovers, empty miles and cheap freight.

    "Lately there have been a lot of stories about systems that are being set up to function as clearing houses where shippers, brokers and carriers can see and bid on loads," Fastrans President Alan Redszus observes. "The anticipation surrounding these announcements is interesting, when you consider that carriers desperately need to improve their profitability, rather than reduce their margins by bidding warfare. We've committed to improving carriers revenue and bottom line.

    "Fastrans has been operating its website for more than a year. We've already gone through the learning curve that others are just starting and provide a proven system that's easy to learn and easy to use."

    Most dry van truckload carriers run about 10% empty miles and have close to 100% annual turnover of drivers. With better information and systems the industry can haul substantially more freight with the same drivers and trailers, dramatically easing capacity constraints and reducing costs.

    "The trucking industry is labor and capital intensive," Redszus says, "with fixed costs that are not under our control which continue to rise. No one is going to come up with a fuel saving tractor anytime soon and the maximum capacity for trailers won't change. Trade-in values for equipment continues to decrease while insurance, fuel and labor costs continue to rise. Clearly the time has come to work smarter, not harder. TruckTrax helps level the playing field so companies can survive and thrive."

    Trucking industry analysts praise this type of arrangement, which they see as the antidote for much of what ails the truckload segment. According to a report published by James J. Valentine of Morgan Stanley Dean Witter in New York, "It's a major home run. From Wall Street's perspective, you have an industry that is extremely fragmented with tens of thousands of competitors. This technology accelerates industry consolidation."

    Megatrux President Karen Pelle was the front page feature of the Orange County (CA) Business Journal in July. Posing with one of the trucks in the truckline added to her corporate empire a few months ago, Karen was described as "One of those people who get things done."

    Earlier this year, Megatrux made the list of Top 500 Woman-Owned Companies compiled by Working Woman magazine.

    Donna Davis-Brown, CTB, has been named Alphian of the Year by the Nashville chapter of Delta Nu Alpha, the Transportation Fraternity. Brown is vice president of MCD Transportation, Inc. in Smyrna, TN.

    International Commodities Carriers Inc. was honored by CompuNet Credit Services, Inc., at the national convention of the Transportation Intermediaries Association (TIA) in Orlando, Florida., on March 10, 2000. I.C.C.I. earned the CompuNet/TIA Gold Broker Award for exceptional payment practices and outstanding creditworthy status in the trucking industry.

    As a transportation broker, I.C.C.I. serves as an intermediary between manufacturers or distributors who need to move freight across the country to its final destination, and the trucking companies that haul the freight. Transportation brokers provide service to both the manufacturers and the trucking industry, and play a major part in keeping freight moving efficiently throughout North America.

    Some 5% of the brokers in the country are members of the professional association and are, therefore, eligible for the award. Of those, only 13% actually earn the honor. To receive the award, the broker must qualify for inclusion in all six issues of the CompuNet Gold Book during the year. Qualification requires:

• Being in business for at least three years
• Full federal operating authority
• $10,000 bond or trust in place
• At least five carrier credit references on file with CompuNet showing 30 days or less to pay.

    In a digital economy, is a downturn in truck manufacturing still an early indicator of impending recession? That's what economists are asking, as three of the largest truck manufacturers in North America cut their workforce, due to a slow sales.

    Have you noticed the increasing number of "LLCs" where the transportation industry used to honor "Inc"? The limited liability company first appeared in the mid-1990s. They offer a tax advantage similar to S corporations in that income shows up on the partners' tax returns instead of on both the individual shareholders' and the corporation's tax returns.

    Loved Ones And Drivers Support, an international group organized to help truckers with family issues, is joining corporations, small businesses and individuals in the national "Donate a Phone" campaign to collect old wireless phones. The phones will be given to domestic violence victims, providing them with an emergency lifeline.

   The program, started by the Wireless Foundation, the National Coalition Against Domestic Violence and Motorola, collects old wireless phones. After they are refurbished and reprogrammed, they are distributed to victims in need.

   Thousands of people across the country have already donated their phones. Thousands more are needed. There are an estimated four million domestic violence victims each year, including those in the trucking industry.

   LOADS wants trucking to stand up and be counted in the battle against abuse.

   Especially now that many wireless companies are updating their systems with new phones and contracts, late-model, operational phones will be left in limbo. LOADS asks you to put them to good use.

   Details - LOADS founder Kathy Harders in Plover, WI - 715-345-9952.

    For the second year, the Transportation Intermediaries Association (TIA) will host its National Learning Conference in conjunction with the annual meeting of the National Industrial Transportation League (NITL) and its TransComp 2000 trade show. Joining the two organizations this year will be the Intermodal Association of North American (IANA).

    The three will meet simultaneously in the same venue at the Convention Center in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, from Saturday, November 11 to Tuesday, November 14, 2000.

    TIA members will be able to participate in the TIA Conference meetings, NITL's TransComp 2000 and its educational seminars. TIA members who are also members of IANA and/or NITL will be able to attend committee meetings of all three.

    Details: www.tianet.org - TIA Meeting Information and Calendar of Events 2000

    Would you participate in a listserver for transportation intermediaries on the Internet? You would sign up for free, to have the privilege of posting and responding to other brokers and such, on the site. You can ask questions, post opinions, complaints, comments, and share them with others on the listserver.

    If you like the idea, or would like more information on how it works, please let us know.

    E-mail the editor at anetrick@shentel.net.

• Is your company utilizing PERFORMANCE MANAGEMENT opportunities to strengthen, improve and retain employees?

• Do you know your company's employee turnover rate?

• Have you considered the impact that turnover has on production, morale, work environment and bottom line?

    Conducting employee performance evaluations on a regular basis contributes to better communication and provides an opportunity to recognize, reward, coach, counsel and improve employee performance.

    More often than not, "employee evaluations" get put on the back burner because we are "too busy running the business." In fact, the real reason this well-intentioned, "regularly scheduled" process is avoided or delayed has more to do with the lack of training and lack of "tools" the manager or supervisor has in order to adequately perform the process.

    A simple set of guidelines will help any supervisor or manager accurately facilitate the performance evaluation process:

1. Always maintain that you are evaluating the strengths and limitations of an individual's performance, not their personality or behavior.

2. To accurately assess an employee's performance, create and use a set of performance expectations. These are statements that define an overall impression of what is required on the job.

3. Establish priorities with the employee to illustrate the relative importance of each performance expectation. The evaluator has the responsibility to set priorities.

4. Develop a performance rating for the employee that describes how he/she performs a specific area of their job. This should provide an honest, accurate assessment of performance that can be supported if necessary.

5. Determine an overall rating of the employee's performance by blending the priority and rating given to each performance expectation.

6. Communicate clearly and constructively any performance that has been desirable, that merits special mention or recognition. Also address any performance expectations that will be changed or added.

7. Thoroughly define and discuss training and development needs of the employee, and opportunities for professional growth and development.

8. Allow the employee to respond or comment on any portion of the performance evaluation.

Click here to download a complete employee evaluation form, created using Microsoft Word.

ERMI, Employment Risk Management, Inc., specializes in Employment and Human Resources Best Practice products and services. We design and provide "tools" for companies that help assure compliance with all current employment regulations and record keeping requirements. The ERMI Human Resources Toolbox contains staff and management level performance evaluation forms.

    The National Association of Purchasing Management reported that the manufacturing industry declined in August after 18 consecutive months of growth that began in February 1999. The overall economy recorded its 112th consecutive month of growth in August.