Commodity/PROcurement EDGE: Key Takeaways From Day 1

Here were the key takeaways (some tongue-in-cheek) from our breakout sessions on Day 1 of Commodity/PROcurement EDGE:

Jason Busch, Spend Matters: “E-sourcing, ERP, ISM direct procurement surveys, and M&A in the sector, oh my!”

• Seriously, though: “Take charge of managing your providers today.” 

Kevin Brooks, Foodlink: “Invite the food guy to the metals conference, I see how it is!”

• Seriously, though: “Disruptive events provide opportunities for you as buyer or commodity managers to separate the players who just check the box from those who are changing the game in reporting their processes.”

Collis Jones, Jr., John Deere: “You guys are all insomniac C-Span watchers [because you know all about what’s happening in the government].”

• Seriously, though: “At the end of the day, it will get done, but not in the timeframe you want it done.”

Jennifer Diggins, Nucor: “People on Long Island just want their big windows with great views.”

• Seriously, though: “Our responsibility to know we’ve got an energy policy in this country, in constant negotiation with our utilities so they’re not bearing their load.”

Mark Pruitt: “Build absolutely nothing anywhere near anybody.”

• Seriously, though: “Unbundling, disaggregating total [energy] price makes sense for organizations.”

Stuart Burns: “Even in a relatively flat market, there’s considerable volatility in each market on month-to-month basis. With statistical forecasting, anything is an improvement on a subjective guess.”