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An E-Auction Might Work… But Not Here: Three Categories That Proved Otherwise
Today’s article gets deep into when we see strong pushback against e-auctions: when it happens, who pushes back, and the results if you can get the e-auction run after getting through stakeholder objections. I talk about three real-world examples in detail: engineering services, marketing, and roofing nails. If you’re thinking one of those is either a no-brainer for e-auction or un-auctionable, I encourage you to read on.
Form, Fit, Function: How Part Numbers Unlock Better Procurement Decisions
This week let’s talk part numbers and why a procurement professional should care. We’ll talk about the principle of form, fit and function and how it impacts your supplier evaluation, benefits to assigning part numbers, and some thoughts on part number taxonomy. I’ll give a few examples from my manufacturing days, including why revisions on wire harnesses can be a big issue and some “secret” information sometimes hidden in part numbers.
Shifting Sands, Steady Hands: How Procurement Teams Recover When Assumptions Collapse
Today’s article gets very tactical and nitty-gritty on how to deal with last-minute changes or issues specifically with e-auctions. I dive into three real-world indirect spend categories with major issues this week: professional services, office furniture, and apparel. One of these issues I see ALL THE TIME
Who Should Run Your E-Auctions? Temperament, Skills, and the Myth of Experience
This week we’ll talk about hiring e-auction team leads and members. I’ll note the personality/temperament I find most important, experience needed (or not needed), and the skills that lead to success. I like to look for calm, diplomatic e-auction team members with not too much experience and a strong customer mindset.
Hype, Troughs, and the Humans We Forget
Today’s article is about AI on the technology hype curve and how it’s looking a lot like the e-auction curve twenty years ago. Let’s talk about where we are in the hype cycle, similarities between e-auctions and AI, garbage in/garbage out, implementation, and what to do about all of it. If we don’t learn from the technology lessons of the past, we’re doomed to repeat them.
The All-Important RFx: Mastering RFI, RFQ, and RFP Strategy
Today’s article talks about all things RFx: RFI, RFQ and RFP being the most common. We’ll talk about what each of these are, when to use them, and what result you should expect from each.
Everybody Knows Somebody: Confronting Nepotism in the Supply Chain
Today’s article tackles a sticky, ugly, difficult topic head on: nepotism. I cover where it tends to show up, what it costs, why supply chain seems particularly susceptible, and what to do if you see nepotism in your own business or team. I also tell a story about when nepotism affected my team directly and what it cost me personally.
A Rose By Any Other Name… Is Still An E-auction
Today’s article talks about other names for e-auctions: reverse auction, e-sourcing, e-negotiation, e-BAFO, and interactive bids. Which ones work best to brand an e-auction program? Does anything get rid of the stigma e-auctions tend to carry? I’ll give my thoughts on these questions, on each of these terms, and the best way to fight the e-auction stigma.
New Year, New Inbox: Bring Order to your Email Chaos
If you’re like many people, you came back from an extended holiday vacation this week and realized the Holiday Elves failed to magically clean your email inbox while you were gone. While some manage to achieve the coveted Inbox Zero over the holiday, most of us are...
E-Auctions to Leadership Development: A Year of Measurable Supply Chain Value
Today’s article is a year-end review of my business, including some deeper dives into what I did for clients and the variety of projects I tackled. I also highlight my writing (Book! Articles!), some miscellaneous items (want to see the logos I didn’t choose?), and my conference round up for 2025 and 2026.
What Your Holiday Decorating Style Says About Your Procurement Personality
Today’s article is in the spirit of the holiday season and talks about what your holiday decorations say about your procurement personality – whether you’re a procurement professional or not! Does your procurement personality align well with your company’s priorities? And if you don’t celebrate holidays this time of year, substitute whatever holiday is most dear to you whenever it occurs.
Convince the Skeptics
Today’s article is about transformation: how to start, collaborate, and sustain transformation and bring the skeptics along with you. You know the ones: when you say, “Change!” they say, “Change Back!” So let’s talk about how we get them on board and make our transformation a success.
I also have a side note on one of the most common questions I get about e-auctions: Won’t they increase change orders?
The Conversations That Transform How We Think About Talent
This week’s article follows the talk Tara King and I gave at Advancing Construction this week about recruiting and retaining procurement talent. We asked the audience questions, discussed the results, and shared best practices Topics include:
Sourcing Talent
Interviewing and Onboarding
Developing Teams
Training Talent
I also talk about my favorite topics/frameworks for one-on-ones that aren’t simply a status update. These include belonging, improvement, choice, equality, predictability and significance.
Say the Quiet Part Out Loud
When you hear “e-auctions,” what do you whisper to yourself or your colleague in the desk next to you? What are you afraid to voice out loud?
For today’s article, let’s say the quiet part out loud. I talk about a few of the objections to e-auctions I keep hearing whispered, and have some thoughts on each. The ones I hear most often are:
I Prefer to Negotiate With My Incumbent Supplier
We Don’t Run Competitive Bids
We Run E-auctions, But Call Them Something Else
E-auctions Are Best for our Direct Materials
E-auctions Work Better in Europe
I also touch briefly on some times recently when I haven’t stuck hard enough to my principles and the results aren’t as good as they could be.
Thank Your Past Self
Today’s article is in the spirit of US Thanksgiving and talks about thanking your past self: how Past You, Current You, and Future You are three different people, why it’s important to thank your past self, and how it can actually make you a better leader.
Profit, Power, and Quadrants: Classic Matrices Still Drive Modern Value
Today’s article talks about using matrices in helping determine sourcing strategies. We explore a generic 4-box model, the Kraljic Matrix, and the Kearney Chessboard, discussing their differences and uses in the supply chain world. The article also discusses how to use these matrices to maximize value for your business.
Thrive as an Introvert in an Extrovert’s World
Are you an introvert or extrovert? How does that affect your life and career?
My introvert self ran straight into my professional self this week when a volunteer event completely drained me. So today’s article talks about
How being an introvert affects me:
1. I can only socialize with strangers for so long.
2. I hate picking up the phone and calling suppliers.
3. I can only do about two days of a conference.
4. I have a very narrow circle of friends.
Pitfalls of the holiday season:
1. Holiday Gatherings.
2. Kid Concerts/recitals/plays/championship events.
3. Shopping crowds.
And how I cope:
1. Plan ahead on downtime.
2. Reward myself for doing the hard things.
3. Schedule time for what I can handle (boundaries!).
4. Take a moment when needed.
5. Say yes to coffee.
Pitfalls of a New Supply Chain Leader
The delightful and insightful Chandhrika Venkataraman published a post in August calling out the first four pitfalls:
1. Trying to prove value too fast
2. Treating suppliers as subordinates
3. Assuming spend authority is decision rights
4. Dismissing value-driven Procurement as vague (or worse, soft)
Today’s article takes those four and adds:
5. Managing up while kicking down
6. Not listening to their team or stakeholders
7. Not delegating to the team
8. Not making time for their team (and not doing one-on-ones regularly and frequently)
9. Thinking they don’t have to “play politics”
Profit Levers: Where to Find Value in Uncertain Times
Today’s article is about three profit streams (employees, customers, and suppliers), the role procurement plays in them, and how our current global unpredictability is affecting businesses.
What I’ve Learned in Two Years on my Own
Today’s article is about my journey in starting Passwall Solutions over the last two years. It’s amazing to me it’s been two years already, of course, but many days also felt like a long struggle. Bonus: at the end of this article I talk about where the name Passwall comes from and what it means.
SIG|ORG Fall Summit 2025: Bucket list goals, Agentic AI, and the Iron Triangle
Today’s article is a roundup of topics from the SIG|ORG Fall Summit last week: a keynote on achieving your bucket list by Seb Terry, a discussion of agentic AI implementation at Motional using Zip by Joe Fox and Patrick Eckhert, and a workshop on spotting a company’s focus on the iron triangle with Erin McFarlane of Fairmarkit.
It’s Not Category Management without a Category Strategy
Today’s article is about what a category strategy is (and is not), what goes into a category strategy, and how to maintain a strategy’s relevance as part of a larger supply chain ecosystem. A category management approach isn’t true category management without strategies that drive value.
Know Your Award Scenario
Today’s article is about potential award scenarios, when they are useful, and pitfalls of each option, including winner takes all, cherry picking, by subcategory, and allocated percentages. I also give some overall thoughts on award scenarios and the importance of knowing them ahead of a negotiation or e-auction.
Notes from ProcureCon East 2025: Leading Teams and Tariff Strategies
Today’s article is my notes from ProcureCon US Indirect East – including thoughts from the keynote panel on managing procurement teams through uncertain time, bullet points from a session on concrete tariff mitigation strategies, and my general musings on the conference.