by Janice Marquardt | Mar 17, 2026 | Processes
Parenting is hard. Parenting well is harder. My very wise sister-in-law likes to remind me: We’re not raising good kids; we’re raising good adults. Why am I mentioning this in a post about procurement? Because parenting has major and valuable lessons for procurement...
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 | Mar 3, 2026 | e-Auctions
Here’s a truth that will not surprise you: Sometimes people don’t want to do an e-auction. I’ve talked about convincing the skeptics in the context of procurement transformation, but this is more specific. This sounds like, “An e-auction might be a good idea, BUT . ....
by Janice Marquardt | Jan 20, 2026 | Definitions, Supply Chain Career
This topic is sticky. It’s ugly. It feels dangerous to talk about. And it’s an issue that impacts multiple departments, not only the supply chain. Worst of all, it’s an “ism.” Today I’m going to tackle the big ugly topic of nepotism: where it tends to show up, what it...
by Janice Marquardt | Jan 6, 2026 | Creative Solutions, Org Chart
If you’re like many people, you came back from an extended holiday vacation this week and realized the Holiday Elves failed to magically clean your email inbox while you were gone. While some manage to achieve the coveted Inbox Zero over the holiday, most of us are...
