Dawn Salvucci-Favier

Special Guest Blog Post written by Bernadine Henderson Ms. Henderson, senior director of procurement at Protolabs, lifts the lid on buying in manufacturing and why relationships are central to it.   Simply put, the job of a buyer is really about buying the right thing at the right time for the right price. It sounds simple, but it really is very complicated because everything that’s going on in the world impacts the timing, the availability, and the price of the product. This means that buying has recently got a lot more complicated. World events have very real consequences on global supply chains. Just one example is the way in which buyers have responded to tariffs in the U.S. by re-routing sourcing locations. It takes a certain amount of agility to be a buyer in 2025, and this quick responsiveness is helped along by one key ingredient, and that is strong relationships with suppliers. Relationships Built on Trust A widely held misconception is that buyers are only interested in getting to the lowest price possible. In fact, the most important thing to a buyer is for suppliers to bring solutions that deliver overall value. In my experience, a really strong supplier…

BIG WEEK here at Supply Chain Now! Did you catch all the episodes? If not, listen here! We added a special Saturday episode on the 11th in our Logistics with Purpose series. Scott, Greg, and Enrique Alvarez hosted Jonathan Starr and Trudy Hall with the Abaarso School.   Supply Chain Now · “Logistics with Purpose: Jonathan Starr & Trudy Hall with the Abaarso School”   On Monday, we celebrated our 400TH EPISODE and the entire Supply Chain Now team shared their favorite episodes and topics in this special show!   Supply Chain Now · “The Supply Chain Now Team Reflects on 400 Episodes”     Then on Tuesday, we featured This Week in Business History, where Scott looks back at some of the biggest historical events in business history for the week ahead. This week focused on the beginnings of Boeing.   Supply Chain Now · “This Week in Business History for July 13th: Boeing Takes Off in the Pacific Northwest”     On Wednesday we published the Supply Chain Buzz, where Greg and Scott discussed the top supply chain news of the week, and were joined by special guest Kevin L. Jackson, with SourceConnecte.   Supply Chain Now ·…