Is your supply chain adding value?
How do you know?
Your supply chain shouldn’t just keep the business running. It should move the business forward.
Improve your supply chain value...
Do you know the answer?...
Are your processes efficient? Are they good enough to implement AI without just “speeding up garbage”?
Are you getting the right value from your spend? Are you negotiating everything you can and should? Are you drowning in ambitious savings goals?
Where are your biggest risks? Do you have enough contracts and are they robust enough to survive today’s wildly volatile supply chain world?
What should you fix first? When everything is on fire, which opportunity has the most value? Which quick wins will quiet your stakeholders fastest?
If you know the answers to all of these questions, you can stop now. If not, this is where I can help.
Results Driven
Driving Results
Know what’s happening in your supply chain, what matters, and what you should do about it. ➡️
Maximize your spend leverage without hiring another full-time executive. ➡️
Prepare to implement AI agents that actually increase efficiency and accountability. ➡️
Create measurable change in your bottom line. ➡️
Trusted Advisor
Leadership Experience
Passwall Solutions is your trusted advisor, from someone who’s been there. I’m here to tell the truth about where you are, what’s working, what’s not, and what to fix first. Then I can help you fix it.
I’m not a software vendor. I’m not an e-auction platform. I’m not a giant consulting firm with a team of (smart but inexperienced) analysts. I’ve actually run this stuff.
I started as an engineer, so I still think like one.
I was the first VP of Supply Chain for a company that would be a Fortune 200 company if it stood alone (instead of the Fortune 10 position its parent company holds).
I led a large team across the US and ran thousands of e-auctions.
I wrote Transform Procurement: The Value of E-auctions which became a bestseller in three categories and won two literary awards.
Contact me to figure out what’s really happening and where to find your value.
Make the changes you need to move forward.
Our Services
Break Through the Supply Chain Wall
Supply Chain 360
Supply Chain 360
Get an objective view of what’s really happening and if your supply chain is as good (or bad!) as you think it is.
Quick Kaizen
Quick Kaizen
Fix the processes that are holding your team back. Get ready to implement AI in a way that doesn’t just speed up a bad process.
e-Auctions
e-Auctions
Capture more value from your supply base, without destroying supplier relationships. E-auctions are a chainsaw: use them right to harness their power safely.
Consulting
Consulting
Build the capability to sustain value. Make sure you have the right size team, in the right seats, with the right tools to keep maturing your supply chain.
Learn with us
Insights...
Here's where you'll learn how to cut costs while improving efficiency.
The A Team vs. The B Team: The Case for Experience in Strategic Sourcing
This week’s article is about what experience brings in procurement. Let’s talk about building relationships, the things that go into Total Cost of Ownership, and winning the war instead of the battles. I also tell some stories about when I burned relationship bridges as a beginning Engineering Buyer, when I got to come in after a very inexperienced large consulting firm team, and when I thought I was winning, but I was only winning battles and losing the war.
To Procure Better, Classify Better: Category Taxonomy as a Strategic Supply Chain Tool
Today’s article talks about category taxonomies: why they’re important, options, pros, cons, and things to think about. While not the most exciting topic, it’s one of those Supply Chain 101 tools that, when broken, breaks everything else. They’re needed to:
-Allow for division of work
-Help accounting with taxes
-Determine bid cadence, timing, and scope
-Improve system interconnection
-Enables data analysis
We’ll cover:
UNSPSC
NAICS
Tax Codes/HTS
Home-built
Suppliers Who Are Fighting e-Auctions are Missing the Opportunity
This week we’ll talk about the supplier perspective on e-auctions, triggered by a question I received from one of those suppliers. We’ll talk Do’s and Don’ts, with best practices and practical thoughts for both buyer and supplier.
A summary:
Do
Understand the value proposition – both sides
Ensure the auction reflects the value proposition
Know your bottom-line number(s) before the event
Treat an e-auction like a quick, clean negotiation
Don’t
Be late
Participate without enough training/practice events
Request a ceiling increase
Try to get the e-auction removed, instead get it modified to include full value
What am I missing from my list, either as a supplier or buyer?