Safety Net, Inc.

Wendel also worked with Safety Net employee Greg Williams on a seminar called “Retail Survival in Northern Michigan”, which was presented to seasonal tourist towns throughout the region. The seminar focused upon the demand for traditional main street retailers to diversify into fields that would make them less dependant upon seasonal trends, and to update their inventory system to one that emphasizes lower stock levels and more rapid product turnover.

Safety Net, Inc. also took advantage of long term capital financing provided by the SBA to fund staff expansion and relocation. With assistance from the MI-SBTDC, Safety Net, Inc. increased their number of employees from one to nine, seven of which are salaried professional positions. Safety Net, Inc. currently works with several Michigan wineries, providing technology solutions to assist them in remaining competitive on a national scale.

With an inventory control model stressing the profitability of higher inventory turnover, Safety Net, Inc. has used its software and hardware programs to integrate this strategy into retailers, wineries, and restaurants. Safety Net, Inc. was recognized as “A Company to Watch” in the Traverse City Business News and is also a two-time nominee for the Traverse Area Chamber of Commerce Small Business Celebration.