Timothy Brown

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…

Stay up to date on all the latest conversations, interviews, and episodes we released this week here at Supply Chain Now! We kicked this week off with a new episode in our Supply Chain Real Estate Series produced in partnership with Prologis. Scott Luton and special host Ward Richmond welcomed Managing Partner Will O’Donnell and Vice President Todd Lewis from Prologis Ventures. For Monday’s This Week In Business History episode, Scott tells an interesting story of one of the most captivating and influential movie rental businesses in American history. On Tuesday, we released a new episode of TEKTOK, with host Karin Bursa. In this episode, Karin talks with Ben Cubitt, SVP of Consulting and Network Services for Transplace. They discuss the future of supply chain logistics into next year, from continued network disruptions to taking smart steps today to regain a proactive footing. On Wednesday’s Supply Chain Now episode, Scott and special guest host Crystal Davis welcomed the Vice President of Transportation for Home Depot, Sarah Galica, to the show. She gives insight on some of the improvements that resulted in $34 billion dollars in growth for The Home Depot. For Thursday’s Supply Chain Now episode, Scott and guest host…