Strategic Cost Management

Jun 10, 2021

Will Supply Chain Price Increases Result in Inflation? The Fed isn’t Worried…

As vaccination rates in the US, the UK, and Europe have risen, economies have shifted back and capital projects are beginning to resume. However, significant problems remain with respect to…

Feb 19, 2021

Don’t Get Stung by Money Loss: 5 Ways to Improve Pest Control Spend

Pest control is an expense that is usually seen as a minor issue. However, the average savings in this category can be up to 20-30% if approached strategically. To determine…

Sep 23, 2022

US Air Force Defense Acquisition and Contract Officers Come to NC State

We were proud to host a group of 20 contract officers from a number of different US Air Force bases across the country, including Wright-Patterson (Ohio), Hill (Utah), Pope (NC),…

May 4, 2022

Rising Interest Rates: Maybe It’s Time to Bring Back the Forgotten Art of Price Analysis

Price analysis is a subject that is often overlooked in supply chain education, (although it is certainly a big part of our chapter on Strategic Cost Management in Purchasing and…

Jan 24, 2020

Apple Procurement Leader Hails from NC State

Today’s WSJ front page shares the important role of one of Apple’s top senior executives who runs much of the procurement and supply chain activity for Apple – Tony Blevins. …

May 15, 2019

First NCSU Procurement Leadership Program a Great Success!

We held our first ever Procurement Leadership workshop this week, hosting a group of executives from Altria, American Red Cross, Cheniere Energy, Smith & Nephew, RSCS (YUM! Brands) and the…

May 13, 2019

Are US-Chinese Tariffs Part of the New Normal?

Today’s blog post is a guest post by my former student, Krunal Sonpal. The topic is a timely one: the on-going US-Chinese tariffs and what it means for supply chain…

Feb 17, 2019

Hospitals Suffer from a Lack of Market Transparency: New Evidence from a Research Project with SCWorx

Healthcare in the United States of America is a USD $3.2 Trillion industry, yet is often described by experts as a “cottage industry” due to the lack of maturity surrounding…

May 17, 2018

Master Data System Enables Quick Wins Through Component Standardization

Having a robust master part and master supplier list can yield many low hanging fruit for organizations in the early stages of their procurement transformation. Many of these opportunities can…

Apr 9, 2018

Excess and Obsolete Inventory: An Outcome of a Series of Unfortunate Events!

Inventory continues to be a problem for many companies. In particular, inventory that is considered “Excess and Obsolete” often accumulates and has to be dealt with – often at the end…