by Mary Ruth Williamson, CEO | Jun 11, 2026 | Featured, News
For the past several months, procurement teams have been fixated on a single question: What happens next in the Strait of Hormuz? It’s a fair question. The conflict has disrupted energy markets, freight routes, commodity pricing, and supplier planning across...
by Mary Ruth Williamson, CEO | May 29, 2026 | Featured, News
Over the weekend, President Trump posted that a deal with Iran is “largely negotiated” and would be announced shortly. Oil markets reacted immediately, with Brent crude falling as much as 5% to around $98. But within hours, the signal became less clear. Iranian state...
by Mary Ruth Williamson, CEO | May 8, 2026 | Direct Materials Sourcing, Featured, News
Nine weeks into what is now the largest energy supply disruption in recorded history, the question procurement teams are asking has changed. It’s no longer “when does this normalize?” It’s “what does our cost structure look like if it...
by Mary Ruth Williamson, CEO | Apr 24, 2026 | Direct Materials Sourcing, Featured, News
A real-time view of supply chain risk is no longer optional. Over the past two weeks, global supply chains have entered a more fragile and reactive state driven by geopolitical escalation risk, shifting freight dynamics, and tightening commodity signals. For...
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 | Mar 17, 2026 | Direct Materials Sourcing, News
Industrial commodity markets are entering a volatile phase — and “volatile” is doing most of the heavy lifting in that sentence. This evolving industrial metals outlook for 2026 is directly impacting how manufacturers approach sourcing, supplier selection,...
