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.
On those trips I created a process map that saved the client 30% of their PO and RFP steps, ran an e-auction that saved another 6% on top of RFP pricing, met amazing new people at the ISM Twin Cities conference, and drank some pretty great German beer. (Why, oh why, don’t we make good radlers over here? Recommend me one if you know a good one!)
Since I travel frequently, I decided this month’s more personal post should be about travel tips. I’m not going to tell you to roll your clothing to take less space (although you should) or wear compression socks (although I love them). Instead, here are a few less mainstream suggestions:
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- Wear a blazer. People treat you differently in an airport when you’re wearing a blazer versus a hoodie. Even with toddlers in tow, I’ve found airport employees treat me better when I’m wearing one. Dress pants aren’t required, I usually travel in a blazer and jeans. My favorite is the Moreland blazer by M.M. LaFleur. It’s expensive, but machine washable and mine still looks great even though I bought it pre-pandemic (2018?).
- Carry-ons only. I know this isn’t unique, but it constantly saves me. When I was stuck in the Dubai flooding, not having checked bags got me onto a plane out of there. On the way home from Oktoberfest, I got rerouted through D.C., but flying into Dulles airport and out of Reagan. Thanks, airlines. I have no idea how I would have schlepped checked bags across the city.
- Noise-cancelling headphones or earplugs. It forever surprises me how much less fatigued I am when I land if I’ve worn noise-cancelling headphones on. Mine are ancient and still use a cord to my phone (with an audio jack converter), but they’re quality and never leave my backpack.
- Skip the converter. I carry one charging brick with multiple USB/USB-C ports instead of multiple bricks. For international travel, unless something absolutely requires a converter, I buy that country’s charger brick with USB/USB-C ports. Almost everything we carry these days uses USB or USB-C cables, even my son’s sound machine, so those bulky converters are a waste. If I forget mine, I stop into any store and buy one like a local. With one big enough, I can even charge my laptop.
Procurement professionals and consultants are often road warriors, so I’m interested in what you’ve learned to make travel easier and better.
Drop me a quick email with your best travel tip. Happy voyages!
-Janice
This is a monthly series on a more personal note. If you’re more interested in the denser, supply chain/leadership articles, here’s a few from this last month:
Your Supply Chain Is Full of Opportunities. Do You Know Where to Look?
-Key issues and places to start for each part of the supply chain process
Which Supply Chain Problems Are Actually Worth Solving?
-A quick 2×2 matrix on prioritizing problems when everything is overwhelming
Your Process Map Doesn’t Need to Be Pretty, It Needs to Be Useful.
-Why sometimes post-its and sharpies are the way to go
The ISM Twin Cities Conference in two parts:
Flywheels, AI limits, and commodity price roundup
Making procurement more valuable, risk management, and C-suite visibility
If you’d like to talk about travel, procurement, or anything else, let’s chat. If you’d like to get these articles weekly straight to your inbox and never miss one, sign up for my newsletter.
My book, Transform Procurement: The Value of E-auctions is available in ebook, paperback and even hardcover format: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0F79T6F25. My chapter in the powerful anthology Femme Led: Hard-Learned Lessons from Women in Leadership is now available in ebook and paperback format: https://a.co/d/0bOzma8F
This post was written entirely by me and not by AI. The article summaries, title, and graphic may all have used AI to assist/generate ideas/edit, but the article content is fully human.
