Stela Jaqueta

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…

It’s time for Supply Chain Now! Make sure you’re up to date on all the latest episodes, interviews, conversations, and livestreams right here!   On Monday, Tracie Ohonme & Angela Carlson with Samaritan’s Feet International joined us to talk about how their outreach has shifted due to COVID-19, leading with a servant-leader mentality, & more!     On Tuesday, Scott and Greg welcomed, VP of Client Solutions with Alloy, Logan Ensign, a business leader from an industry dynamo that is empowering companies to successfully bridge the gap between plans and reality.     On Wednesday, Mike Griswold, VP Analyst at Gartner, joined us to discuss the latest in retail supply chains from an analyst’s perspective.   On Thursday, Scott and Greg welcomed Jon Gold with NRF to share the key NRF takeaways and trade issues to keep an eye on.   On Friday, we replayed a recent livestream that kicked off our new partnership with The Assoication for Manufacturing Excellence (AME). Scott & Greg heard from Lee Alves with Simpler Consulting (an IBM Company), Jan Freyburgher with OpusWorks, Tony Spielberg with Cambridge Air Solutions, and Errette Dunn with Rever about the prevailing trends may drive manufacturing in 2021. Which was…