Millennium Meltdown

Just because you've made your own business Y2K-ready doesn't mean your customers and suppli-ers have done the same, warns Gro-ver. "Early on, everyone was wor-ried about fixing their own prob---lems," he says. "Eventually, they realized their biggest problems could come from suppliers or customers who go out of business because of Y2K."

Asking a business partner if they've addressed the Y2K problem isn't sufficient, according to Grover. "It's not enough to solve your problem and know your partner has solved his. You have to know how the problem was solved and test it out beforehand," he says. "For example, if you're trading data with your partner electronically, and to fix the Y2K problem, you expanded your date fields to four digits, but your partner is using a windowing process [programming a computer to interpret two-digit numbers within a certain range as four-digit numbers] and still keeps two-digit date fields, you won't be able to handle each other's records." A good way to ensure that both businesses are on the same page is to use Electronic Data Interchange (EDI) standards like ANSI 12, an internationally recognized data format that allows businesses to exchange common documents without having to customize their hardware or software for each organization they do business with.

Shoring up your supply line is also necessary to prevent business interruptions. "Surviving Y2K means contingency planning," says Grover. "I'm advising my clients to develop lines of communication with trading partners. If you have a key supplier who believes [Y2K isn't going to be a] problem, you have to find another supplier."

Grover believes that legal actions stemming from broken contracts, unfulfilled orders or other Y2K-related business interruptions shouldn't be an overriding concern to small-business owners. "The saving grace is that there will be so many lawsuits, there won't be docket time for all of them," he says. "The safe thing to do is document everything, but lawsuits are the least of your worries. Business survival is your number-one priority. If you communicate with your customers and suppliers, that will help. The fewer surprises there are in the relationship, the less possi-bility there is that a lawsuit will arise."

The days after January 1, 2000, may be a time of crisis for some businesses, but this period may also present some unprecedented opportunities for those who are prepared to take advantage of the situation. "The whole world is about to have some serious computer problems. The situation may not last long, but if you're there at the right moment, that might serve you very well," says Leon Kappelman, chair of the Software Productivity Group Conference and co-chair of the Society for Information Management's Year 2000 Working Group, a nonprofit advisory team. "If competitors are in trouble, that may open up territory for your business in both local and international markets. How companies react to Y2K will determine who customers choose to do business with in the long run, because if their computers work and they're reliable and can deliver the goods, they'll be perceived as competent in other areas as well. Anyone who can afford to might consider stocking up on inventory so they can serve customers when other companies may no longer be able to. There is risk here, but there is also the possibility of great reward for the diligent."

This article was originally published in the January 1999 print edition of Entrepreneur with the headline: Millennium Meltdown.