Paul Peng

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…

Hot off the Press! We’ve got all the latest news in supply chain this week right here. Read up and make sure you’re in the know about everything happening here on Supply Chain Now, including all the latest podcasts, livestreams, & more!   On Monday, Supply Chain Now hosts Jeff Miller (Supply Chain Is The Business) and Jamin Alvidrez (Logistics and Beyond!) sat down with Wayne Cragg – a professional driver, photographer and social media influencer.     On Tuesday, Bobby Holland from U.S. Bank and Frank Hurst of Roadrunner Freight shared the results of the on the Q4 2020 report, interpreting what they may mean for the economy and the shipping industry in the short and longer term with Greg White and Scott Luton     On Wednesday, Mario Rivera of ID Logistics joined the Supply Chain Now podcast to talk about creative, real-world problem solving with Co-hosts Greg White and Scott Luton   On Thursday, Scott, Greg, & Karin sat down with Lee Klaskow from Bloomberg Intelligence, one of the leading industry analysts, especially as it relates to logistics and transportation   On Friday, Scott Luton tackled a variety of developments including from this past week on the…