To our clients and friends:

The first few months of 2009 continue to present all of us with some of the most significant challenges of our professional careers. Still, I believe it is hard not to enter a new year without at least some level of optimism that we will see clarity in the months ahead, some stability in the market, and the opportunity to begin moving beyond the turmoil of the past year. In fact, whether you are a Republican or a Democrat, most all of us found inspiration and hope (and maybe a bit of optimism) in our new President’s words of this past January 20.

“In reaffirming the greatness of our nation, we understand that greatness is never a given. It must be earned. Our journey has never been one of shortcuts or settling for less. It has not been the path for the fainthearted, for those who prefer leisure over work, or seek only the pleasures of riches and fame. Rather, it has been the risk takers, the doers, the maker of things – some celebrated, but more often men and women obscure in their labor – who have carried us up the long, rugged path toward prosperity and freedom”

I hope you and your organization are weathering the storm, are not among the fainthearted, and are ready for a year of risk taking, hard work and prepared to join the ranks of those in history obscured in their labor.

In this environment, companies of every shape and size are finding they need to do some things differently, but one thing that is common to all is the need to improve operational efficiency. The ability to run a lean, agile organization is an imperative; for many, it will be the key to surviving the current market crisis. In this issue of the newsletter, our team explains the concept of Advanced Planning & Scheduling processes and technology—one solution that is helping companies across a variety of industries utilize the right resources (manpower, equipment, materials, others) at the right time and the lowest cost to meet customer requirements.

We also look at several other trends and developments affecting our clients:

• The evolving regulatory environment for electric utilities, which must comply with new North American Electric Reliability Corporation standards by the middle of this year—at the same time they are initiating significant Smart Grid transformations.
• Use of a project or program management office to facilitate delivery of the critical IT initiatives. This approach has helped many organizations accomplish more with less.
• Pragmatic solutions for managing the deluge of market data—with emphasis on balancing the market’s growing need for data with the spiraling costs of producing and delivering that data.
  

As a reminder, ACG InterGrowth 2009, the world’s largest middle-market dealmakers’ conference, is fast approaching. More than 2,000 corporate executives and capital providers will gather at the Wynn Las Vegas from May 12-14 to learn about best practices in corporate growth. Even if you aren’t actively pursuing a deal, this conference offers excellent opportunities for building business relationships. West Monroe Partners is a sponsor, as well as an exhibitor. Also, look for me at the networking event of the year—Consulting Magazine’s Consulting Summit 2009. I’ll be speaking on best practices for the middle market, a topic even the savviest firms can learn more about.

I know you probably have many questions and concerns as your organization charts its course for 2009. If there is a particular topic of interest, please let us know—we’d like to address it in our next newsletter.