by Mary Ruth Williamson, CEO | Apr 9, 2026 | Featured, Manufacturing Procurement, News
If last month’s takeaway was that industrial metals markets were tightening, this month’s signal is more urgent: The disruption has moved downstream, and it’s accelerating. What started as a geopolitical and energy story centered on the Strait of Hormuz is now showing...
by Mary Ruth Williamson, CEO | Apr 7, 2026 | Spend Analysis
For many manufacturing procurement teams, one of the most basic questions is also one of the hardest to answer confidently: where is our money actually going? Direct materials purchasing spans multiple plants, dozens of categories, and often hundreds of suppliers....
by Mary Ruth Williamson, CEO | Mar 31, 2026 | Spend Analysis
Most manufacturers have spend data. Far fewer have spend clarity. Direct materials spend analysis is often treated like a reporting exercise: export the data, sort it, chart it, move on. The problem is that reporting doesn’t surface opportunity by itself. The value of...
by Mary Ruth Williamson, CEO | Mar 25, 2026 | RFQ/E-Sourcing
In procurement, RFQ and RFP get used interchangeably all the time. In manufacturing, that’s a problem. They’re not the same document. They’re not interchangeable tools. And using the wrong one doesn’t just create confusion — it actively weakens...
by Mary Ruth Williamson, CEO | Mar 19, 2026 | Direct Materials Sourcing
Supplier consolidation is one of the most common cost-reduction strategies in manufacturing—and one of the easiest to misunderstand. Yes, consolidation can create leverage, simplify operations, and reduce cost. Under the wrong conditions, it does the opposite: it...
