by Mary Ruth Williamson, CEO | Aug 12, 2026 | Manufacturing Procurement
The best supplier negotiations rarely start when both parties sit down at the table. They start weeks earlier. By the time pricing discussions begin, the most effective procurement organizations have already analyzed market conditions, reviewed historical purchasing...
by Mary Ruth Williamson, CEO | Aug 5, 2026 | Manufacturing Procurement
Manufacturers usually turn to procurement when costs rise, supplier performance slips, or supply gets disrupted. That’s a fair instinct, because procurement owns the supplier relationships and the commercial negotiations. But a lot of sourcing challenges start...
by Mary Ruth Williamson, CEO | Jul 29, 2026 | Manufacturing Procurement
Ask two manufacturers if they practice strategic sourcing, and you’ll likely get the same answer: “Yes, absolutely.” Look closer, and the resemblance usually ends there. One organization runs structured category strategies, performs should-cost...
by Mary Ruth Williamson, CEO | Jul 22, 2026 | Manufacturing Procurement
A supplier starts slipping. Deliveries get unreliable. Quality issues creep up. Communication turns slow and defensive. And almost reflexively, the conversation inside procurement turns to one question: is it time to find someone else? Sometimes, yes. Often, no. A lot...
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 | Feb 25, 2026 | Manufacturing Procurement
Multi-plant sourcing is where procurement stops being a “function” and starts being an operating model. As manufacturers expand across geographies—organically or through acquisition—what worked at a single plant often becomes structurally inefficient at scale....
