Is your supply chain adding value?
How do you know?
Your supply chain shouldn’t just keep the business running. It should move the business forward.
Improve your supply chain value...
Do you know the answer?...
Are your processes efficient? Are they good enough to implement AI without just “speeding up garbage”?
Are you getting the right value from your spend? Are you negotiating everything you can and should? Are you drowning in ambitious savings goals?
Where are your biggest risks? Do you have enough contracts and are they robust enough to survive today’s wildly volatile supply chain world?
What should you fix first? When everything is on fire, which opportunity has the most value? Which quick wins will quiet your stakeholders fastest?
If you know the answers to all of these questions, you can stop reading now. If not, this is where I can help.
Results Driven
Driving Results
Know what’s happening in your supply chain, what matters, and what you should do about it. ➡️
Maximize your spend leverage without hiring another full-time executive. ➡️
Prepare to implement AI agents that actually increase efficiency and accountability. ➡️
Create measurable change in your bottom line. ➡️
Trusted Advisor
Leadership Experience
Passwall Solutions is your trusted advisor, from someone who’s been there. I’m here to tell the truth about where you are, what’s working, what’s not, and what to fix first. Then I can help you fix it.
I’m not a software vendor. I’m not an e-auction platform. I’m not a giant consulting firm with a team of (smart but inexperienced) analysts. I’ve actually run this stuff.
I started as an engineer, so I still think like one.
I was the first VP of Supply Chain for a company that would be a Fortune 200 company if it stood alone (instead of the Fortune 10 position its parent company holds).
I led a large team across the US and ran thousands of e-auctions.
I wrote Transform Procurement: The Value of E-auctions which became a bestseller in three categories and won two literary awards.
Contact me to figure out what’s really happening and where to find your value.
Make the changes you need to move forward.
Our Services
Break Through the Supply Chain Wall
Supply Chain 360
Supply Chain 360
Get an objective view of what’s really happening and if your supply chain is as good (or bad!) as you think it is.
Quick Kaizen
Quick Kaizen
Fix the processes that are holding your team back. Get ready to implement AI in a way that doesn’t just speed up a bad process.
e-Auctions
e-Auctions
Capture more value from your supply base, without destroying supplier relationships. E-auctions are a chainsaw: use them right to harness their power safely.
Consulting
Consulting
Build the capability to sustain value. Make sure you have the right size team, in the right seats, with the right tools to keep maturing your supply chain.
Learn with us
Insights...
Here's where you'll learn how to cut costs while improving efficiency.
Blazers, Radlers, and Carry-Ons: October 2026 Insights
I get asked if I travel a lot in my role, and the answer is: sometimes. I often travel in spurts, especially during spring and fall conference seasons. I also often travel for vacation in those months, perhaps because of the “shoulder season” effect. I just got back from an Oktoberfest tour in Munich, sandwiched between client travel. Between September 23 and October 13, I spent four nights in my own bed.
I’m definitely not complaining. I love to travel.
ISM Twin Cities 2026: Make Procurement More Valuable with AI, Risk Management, and the C-Suite Visibility
Sometimes there’s so much that comes from a conference, it’s too much for just one post. The ISM Twin Cities conference a couple weeks ago was this way, and I was so glad I was able to speak at and attend it. If last week’s summary of flywheels, AI implementation, negotiation, and commodity trends wasn’t your speed, perhaps this week will be. The common thread today is value, from AI make vs. buy to risk assessment tools to how you personally can be more valuable to your C-suite (and maybe your supply chain team too!).
Today’s article covers:
Extracting value from AI in procurement with Simfoni: Why AI should handle the groundwork while people make the decisions
Managing supply chain risk with Moody’s: How interconnected risks can leave procurement teams exposed, and specific leading indicators that help identify trouble sooner
Making yourself more valuable to the C-suite with Johnson Consulting Services: Why it’s critical to align your work to business priorities, understand financial metrics, and communicate value in language executives understand
ISM Twin Cities 2026: Procurement’s Next Flywheel, AI’s Limits, and a Whole Lot of Commodity Risk
Conferences are valuable learning, but sometimes it’s hard to get to them. I have the privilege of being a sponsor for the ISM Twin Cities conference, so I was able to attend last week. In the interest of sharing the wealth, today’s article is a write up of the first three sessions I attended, what they mean for procurement professionals, and my thoughts on things. I’ll write up the second three sessions next week, covering where AI belongs in an organization, risk management (with Moody’s), and how to make yourself more valuable to the C-suite.
Today’s article covers:
Building a procurement flywheel: How teams can turn past successes and failures into a repeatable cycle of continuous improvement
Using AI without losing the human touch: How 3M is using AI to connect suppliers with innovation opportunities and why approved supplier lists can sometimes limit breakthrough ideas
Negotiating beyond the car lot: Why procurement negotiation training works best when it mirrors the real-world purchases professionals make
Preparing for a costly 2027: What commodity trends, data center demand, tariffs, weather, and global conflicts mean for procurement costs