by Janice Marquardt | Oct 20, 2026 | Conferences
It’s conference season again! I feel like I say that a lot on these notes, but that’s because twice a year it’s true. I had the privilege of speaking at the ISM Twin Cities conference last week, which is an excellent conference where the ratio of procurement...
by Janice Marquardt | Oct 13, 2026 | Org Chart, Processes
In our AI age, people give me the side-eye when I pull out my Sharpie and Post-its. They’re trying to be polite about it, but I know they’re wondering: “This gal makes spreadsheets for her vacations. Why pull out the Post-its?” Everyone expects me to pop open the...
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 | Jul 14, 2026 | e-Auctions, Processes
There’s a bit of a debate in e-auction circles. Really, there are several, but let’s focus on one in particular: To RFP or not to RFP? If you’ve been reading my articles for a while, you know I favor an RFP before an e-auction in most situations. However, there are no...
by Janice Marquardt | Jun 30, 2026 | Supply Chain Career
Procurement can be incredibly variable in its workload. Some weeks we’re running flat out with multiple contract signatures, RFPs due, and technical evaluations completing ready for the next step. Some weeks are quieter with RFPs in flight, technical teams going...
