Possible Lotus Notes Databases..

This list is simply intended to generate ideas.
(Please email me if you have suggestions for additions)

Imagine the following generic scenario...

Your company sells a product or delivers a service.
You acquire raw materials (or services) from suppliers;
You process this material in some way to create your product/service.
Sales staff sell the product/service to your customers and are supported by a "home office" staff.

We can organize some possible Notes databases using this scenario to as follows:

Managing the relationship with your Suppliers:

• Delivery schedules.
• Invoice and Payment communications (Payables).
  

Managing the relationship with your Customers:

• Prospects / Customers: Contact Management control/tracking
• Sales and Leads tracking
• Public Relations / Advertising, Marketing / Media Tracking
• Brochures sent
• Proposals Library
• Customer responses (Eliminate the "I'll get back to you").
• Case by case Management
• Call tracking
• Customer surveys
• Tracking complaints
• Improved Collection Processes. (Receivables).

Managing the Sales Force and Office Staff:

• Sales Force management. By Region etc.
• Management by exception. Flagging problem clients, problem regions etc.
• Remote working (At home, on the road)
• Office Support - Staff management.
• Time-sheets mailed for approval and submission to payroll.
• Expense Reporting

Enabling all staff to work effectively together:

• Communication,
  reducing inter office fax ,
  reducing inter office email
  reducing inter office phone calls
  reducing inter office meeting
• Commitment coordination - A series of conversations for action. Requests and conditions of satisfaction.
• Request tracking
• Workflow
• Meetings Agendas, minutes, including actions agreed upon and decisions made.
• Group Calendar
• Whereabouts information
• Employee information (Phone #s etc.)
• Discussion databases (i.e. best practices)
• Information Distribution
• Expense reporting (Sales force communicating to finance)
• Resources and (conference) Room booking
• Personal Information Managers

Managing the product:

• Project management
• Total Quality management / Quality Audits
• Shipping tracking (port management)
• Product information
• Technical manuals
• Technical Standards
• Knowledgebase
• Market watch, Competitors activity.
• New Product Development
• Product Management
• Regulatory Approval for New Products
• Images of product line (digital camera)
• White papers
• Presentations

The corporate culture:

• Human Resources
• Job postings
• Resumes
• Office Policy / Benefits management
• Performance Reviews
• Training administration / course delivery

• Organizational memory
• Group/Team memory
  You learn from your mistakes ..
  ....but in order to learn from them, you've got to remember that you made them
  (Giorgio Arfaras)
  Anything worth doing is worth doing badly at first

• Business Redesign Discussions
• Merges/Acquisitions management
• Information retrieval /management
• Document retrieval / libraries
• Knowledge sharing
• Discussions (Anonymous questions and feedback)
• Corporate Phone Directory
• Corporate gazette.
• Senior leadership discussion
• Restaurant menu. (Saving executive time)
• Company Policy
• Asset tracking
• Strengths, weaknesses, Opportunities, Threats (SWOT)
• Interesting Internet locations