It was not long ago that Canadian bus maker New Flyer Industries was heading into a tight corner that it might not be able to pull out of. In 2001, the largest producer of transit busses in North America was experiencing serious financial problems and its new owners were coming in to try to turn things around and get the company back on the road to profitability. As part of that major overhaul, company executives decided to bring in some new supply chain talent with the goal of gaining more control and visibility into its $400 million materials spend.