by Janice Marquardt | Oct 6, 2026 | Processes, Supply Chain Career
Supply chains are complicated. Those of us who do procurement or logistics are constantly arguing that our job is not just “shopping” or “booking trucks,” just as warehousing is not just “stacking pallets.” Every step of what we do has a process, written or unwritten,...
by Janice Marquardt | Sep 29, 2026 | Processes, Supply Chain Career
So your CFO/COO/CEO has told you to go find value in your supply chain, and they probably mostly mean savings. You might not have the infrastructure to run e-auctions (although if you want to run a couple without having to purchase software licenses, drop me a line),...
by Janice Marquardt | Sep 22, 2026 | Supply Chain Career, Uncategorized
I always underestimate September. September is when back to school really starts (although my kids go back in August), conference season fires up again (everyone I know but me went to Gartner), and for some reason I always schedule personal travel in September (which...
by Janice Marquardt | Sep 10, 2026 | Org Chart, Supply Chain Career
In 2021, supply chain leaders suddenly got seats at executive tables. CEOs became supply chain experts overnight due to material shortages. In some companies, the supply chain leader kept their newly-acquired position close to leadership, but in others we faded back...
by Janice Marquardt | Sep 1, 2026 | Processes, Supply Chain Career
I’ve worked in and with quite a few supply chain teams. I’ve worked with small teams, large ones, from old companies and new ones; yet none of those factors actually affect a team’s “busyness.” More importantly, an extremely busy team is not always a very productive...
by Janice Marquardt | Aug 18, 2026 | Supply Chain Career
The end of summer makes me feel a bit contemplative. Some of that is spending time in the Northwoods on one of my favorite annual family vacations. Some of it is knowing another summer with my kids at home has passed. All of this makes me ask myself about my...