by Janice Marquardt | Dec 16, 2025 | Creative Solutions, Processes
First, there was the procurement department. Six months later, someone said, “We should do a procurement transformation!” (probably). If you’ve been in or worked with a procurement department for any amount of time, you’ve likely been through a procurement...
by Janice Marquardt | Nov 18, 2025 | Definitions, Org Chart, Processes
I once had a supervisor who was obsessed with what he called “the 4-box model” of procurement. His version graphed supply chain complexity/risk on the y-axis and supply chain cost on the x-axis, classifying suppliers into one of the four resulting quadrants. Low cost...
by Janice Marquardt | Oct 21, 2025 | Creative Solutions, Processes
People often tell me starting their own business is their dream. They imagine a world with fewer meetings, more control over their own schedule, and being their own boss. While all these things are somewhat true, there’s definitely a “the grass is greener” effect in...
by Janice Marquardt | Oct 14, 2025 | Contracts, Processes, Uncategorized
There are multiple reasons to attend conferences: networking, being visible in your professional community, and especially learning new things. If you’re like me previously in my career and can’t attend conferences for various reasons, I can bring back at least a...
by Janice Marquardt | Oct 7, 2025 | Definitions, Org Chart, Processes
A perennial favorite topic in procurement is category management. It’s one of the first steps in improving an organization’s supply chain maturity and is a huge step in going from a purchasing team of PO-cutters and expediters to building real, strategic, long-term...
by Janice Marquardt | Sep 16, 2025 | Contracts, Processes
Following last week’s article, you’ve decided you need more contracts to add value and reduce your supply chain risk. Maybe you have a couple of blanket POs and want written terms, or maybe you have a couple contracts on supplier paper. But now what? What does the...
