Procurement: What’s next?

This is an excerpt of the original article. It was written for the May-June 2022 edition of Supply Chain Management Review. The full article is available to current subscribers.

May-June 2022

I recently returned from three days in Atlanta at the Modex trade show. Although advertised as a supply chain event, it’s really a materials handling automation show with a handful of logistics providers thrown in for good measure. Heading out the door to the airport, I had no idea what to expect. The two-year absence from the trade show and conference scene had me, and many of the individuals I spoke to before the show opened, wondering what’s next—not just for the show but for operations in general. If the turnout and the enthusiasm is any indication, I think supply chain is in pretty good shape these days, despite the disruptions we’ve…

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I recently returned from three days in Atlanta at the Modex trade show. Although advertised as a supply chain event, it’s really a materials handling automation show with a handful of logistics providers thrown in for good measure. Heading out the door to the airport, I had no idea what to expect. The two-year absence from the trade show and conference scene had me, and many of the individuals I spoke to before the show opened, wondering what’s next—not just for the show but for operations in general.

If the turnout and the enthusiasm is any indication, I think supply chain is in pretty good shape these days, despite the disruptions we’ve all lived through. The show was packed, and attendees were on the hunt for solutions to optimize their manufacturing, order fulfillment and delivery operations. Ultimately, that energy is going to turn into POs, and those POs will be managed by procurement. It’s going to be another busy year.

As in year’s past, the May/June issue of SCMR, is focused on procurement. After all, while planning is the first step in the process, it’s followed closely by procurement, which is responsible for validating and working with suppliers to make sure the supply chain show goes on.

This year’s issue kicks off with an article from Stephanie P. Thomas, Monique L. Murfield and Jacqueline K. Eastman on how to keep negotiations on track when a supplier changes course in unexpected ways.

We follow with a look at how to get the most from competitive bidding from a team led by Kate Vitasek, best known for the Vested approach to procurement and a frequent contributor to SCMR.

To help win the war for talent, we’ve included a piece that looks at why the way most of us advertise for open positions in procurement is out of sync with what the profession says it needs to answer the “what’s next” question.

And we round out the issue with an article from Mark Trowbridge looking at the ins and outs of force majeure contract language and another from Tan Miller on the impact of buy now/pay later marketing on supply chains. We trust they’ll help your organization think about what’s next for your procurement team.

One final note: This year’s NextGen Supply Chain conference will be a live event again at the Chicago Athletic Association, October 17-19, 2022. As in previous years, we’ll focus on digital transformation and the emerging technologies that are enabling that to happen—with an emphasis on the experiences of your colleagues. We hope to see you there. You can learn more about the conference at nextgensupplychainconference.com.

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