Watch it happen.
This is what happened last Thursday night at General Aviation.
Layer 3 immediately investigates. Without being asked.
Cross-references open purchase orders: 450 units across 3 projects.
Calculates impact: +$18K unbudgeted cost on largest customer contract.
Checks contract terms: Fixed-price agreement. No pass-through allowed.
Reviews alternatives: Two other suppliers identified. Pricing requests drafted.
Impact on margin: 2.1% compression unless mitigated.
Layer 2 connects the dots. This combines with existing cash crunch (customer payment delayed 5 weeks). $890K vendor payments due Nov 15-30. Cash declining to $340K. Three cost reduction opportunities identified totaling $140K.
Layer 1 updates all reports in real-time with new cost projections.
Critical Issue Detected Thursday Night
Supplier price increase (+$18K impact) on your largest contract. I've investigated, calculated impact, and prepared three mitigation options. Your margin is protected if you approve Option 2 by Wednesday.
What I've Prepared:
- Alternative supplier quotes (2 vendors, both lower pricing)
- Cost reduction plan (3 opportunities, $140K savings)
- Vendor payment prioritization
- Customer communication (if you need to renegotiate scope)
- Updated cash forecast with all scenarios modeled
Time to review and decide: 12 minutes.
Your Sunday night would have been 4 hours of spreadsheet panic trying to find this.
SAIL found it Thursday. Investigated it overnight. Handed you solutions Monday morning.