by Janice Marquardt | Mar 10, 2026 | Contracts, Savings
Cash flow is always important to any business. But when times get a bit tight, suddenly cash flow comes into sharp focus and executives start asking how to improve it. We are in an era where companies everywhere are holding cash to pay tariffs, systems are changing as...
by Janice Marquardt | Oct 28, 2025 | Benefits, e-Auctions, Savings
Profit Levers: Where to Find Value in Uncertain Times CEOs really do think differently. When I asked my CEO why we were doing e-auctions, he looked at me and said something like, “When times are tight, we can seek to improve our profits from one of three sources:...
by Janice Marquardt | Sep 23, 2025 | Savings, Uncategorized
I like conferences. Even when I’m still recovering from a cold and wedging a conference in between personal and client trips, they’re a good chance to expand my network, learn what’s “hot” and what’s “not,” and step a little outside my standard routine. For many years...
by Janice Marquardt | Aug 19, 2025 | Definitions, e-Auctions, Savings
E-auctions have come a long way since they were introduced in the late 1990s. What started as suppliers in a room writing bids on a clipboard became mailed floppy disks (yes, really), and then the web-based software options we know today. Along the way, we added more...
by Janice Marquardt | Aug 12, 2025 | Contracts, Processes, Savings
There’s only one place I’ll use the word “vendor” instead of “supplier” regularly: Vendor-Managed Inventory (VMI). Why? First, because this is an industry-wide and well-accepted term for having a supplier (or vendor) take charge of your stocking levels, refill used...
by Janice Marquardt | Aug 5, 2025 | Savings, Supply Chain Career
Like any industry, procurement has its lingo. RFP, RFI, RFX, bids, suppliers vs. vendors (that’s a whole other topic!), maverick spend, cost avoidance, tail spend, e-auction, TCO, punchout, and a myriad of other things. But presiding over all of these other terms:...
