"They are getting it at cheap rates, because it is last-minute inventory," Mr. Cummings said.
Until the 1990s, United States airlines generally relied on travel agents, who use what is known in the business as global distribution systems — databases that show airlines' up-to-the-minute inventory — to sell tickets.
A man in a blue compact car sped up and down Brown Canyon's Road, conducting a last-minute inventory of the horse farms to make sure none had been overlooked.
They are designating tech-savvy employees to respond to the posts, sometimes by providing up-to-minute inventory information from a sales floor, for example, or by offering help with some balky gadget.
For example, Nissan, a Japanese car maker, found that giving its salesmen wireless access to up-to-the-minute inventory and pricing information reduced the average number of visits required to close a sale from five to three and allowed a 40% cut in back-office staff.
"Adding last-minute inventory to Groupon Getaways is an obvious next step following our acquisition of Blink.
Co-founder and CEO Sam Shank tells me that when he started talking to PrimaTable, it was like "a mind meld" — in part, because the companies were working on very similar problems (filling "perishable, last-minute inventory") in different industries.
The app, which allows you to start looking for a hotel as early as 9 a.m. the day of your stay, offers a last-minute inventory reduction on the theory that an empty hotel room is a missed revenue opportunity.
Within minutes, my inventory was full of paraphernalia such as cherokee hair tampons, Chinpokomon and a set of wearable chinballs.
To help users get started down the right track with its video library and database, PathSource requires students to fill out a 5-minute interest inventory and career assessment, which evaluates their career interests and perceived aptitudes for a range of subjects.
With access to full songs and even albums, Timbre becomes an even better marketing tool and delivery vector for local artists and bands hoping to sell off any last-minute seating inventory or get thirsty people into bars for free shows.
