Travis Turner

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…

This week at Supply Chain Now has been full of great conversations and key takewaways you don’t want to miss. Check out all the latest episodes, interviews, conversations, and livestreams right here! On Saturday, Scott & Greg Chat Automotive & Leadership with Jim Liegghio & Elba Pareja-Gallagher   On Monday, Scott and Greg welcome SAP business leaders that are fueling industry 4.0, Mike Lackey and Robert Merlo, who share key takeaways from a wide variety of initiatives right here.   On Tuesday, Scott and featured guest Jonathon Karelse, CEO of Northfind Management, lead the conversation surrounding the next big idea for decision making and planning in most companies: Behavioral Economics.   On Wednesday, Scott and Greg hosted welcomed Kara Brown and Will Haraway from LeadCoverage to Supply Chain Buzz where they discussed recent developments in supply chain, key takeaways surrounding customer experience, democratization in the TMS space and technology trends.   On Thursday, Scott and Greg welcomed two business leaders from OMNIA Partners, Lisa Wittmer and Dan Grant, for a discussion on how modern GPO is future-proofing the global supply chain.   And we ended the week with an episode of TECHquila Sunrise. Featured guest Jason Perez, CEO of YARDZ,…