IndustryWeek’s new Supply Chain Initiative provides thought leadership on strategic supply management practices. It shows how small- and medium-sized suppliers can increase positive impact on overall value stream effectiveness through improved dynamics between them and their OEM customers.
Paul Ericksen, IW’s supply management advisor, will lead these efforts. Ericksen authored IndustryWeek’s Next Generation Supply Management column from April 2014 to August 2017. Now mostly retired, he has a rich background in corporate supply management, from technical buyer to chief procurement officer, as a change agent and later, as an executive-level consultant.
Look for Ericksen’s monthly column on supply chain innovation and weekly commentary on current supply-chain-related issues.
The column will call out the importance of small- and medium-sized supplier/ manufacturers to overall manufacturing effectiveness. It will also delve into the need for step-function change in OEM supply management practices to more positively impact company financials, above and beyond lower piece-prices. A frequent theme will be identifying how to structure customer-supplier relationships so that both sides benefit above and beyond existing value propositions.
Paul Ericksen will share more details about the initiative during its formal launch at Manufacturing & Technology 2019, an IndustryWeek event, held April 1 to 3 in Pittsburgh.
