Oh Give Me a Break (TM)

And now for the most ridiculous item of the day...

The U.S. Patent Office approved the trademark "Lean Procurement(TM)," a strategic service and approach developed by New England industrial product distributor Consumers Interstate Corporation. "Lean Procurement(TM) is a strong complement to companies' other lean manufacturing efforts," says Kenn Fischburg, President of Consumers Interstate. "It applies similar strategies to cut the fat and build lean muscle and smooth flow in this often overlooked area of procuring their supplies, which involves activities from inventory control to accounts payable. But it's not about continuous improvement: it's a powerful rethink and redesign of the whole procurement process; that yields dramatic results, top and bottom line.

Demand Flow (TM), Lean Six Sigma (TM), Lean Procurement (TM)... where will this idiocy end?  What a load of hooey.  No wonder consultants get such a bad reputation. 

At least I call dibs on "Demand Quake (TM)."

Comments

[Mark Graban]

That's LAME. Of course, I now officially dibs on "L.A.M.E."(tm).

[Janice Tobin]

No kidding. One funny side of your post is that I bet your Google power is high so when someone searches on Lean Procurement they will get you before they get that company!

[John Hunter]

I agree: open source management terms - http://management.curiouscatblog.net/2005/05/23/open-source-management-terms/.