2004 Pros to Know

Robert A. Rudzki, Senior Vice President, Materials Management and Chief Procurement Officer, NAFTA Region, Bayer Corporate and Business Services
Rudzki, formerly a financial and procurement officer at Bethlehem Steel, currently oversees logistics and procurement activities in the NAFTA region for Bayer and sits on the Bayer Group's Global Procurement Management Committee. His team's strategic sourcing efforts have produced more than $200 million in cost reductions for the NAFTA region since 2001. An active user of e-sourcing tools, in 2003 alone the company conducted 25 desktop and five optimization/online auctions. In addition to providing services to internal clients, as of January 2003 the company's North American procurement organization has marketed such services as Procurement Skill Assessment, Strategic Sourcing & Negotiation Management process training and consulting, and e-Procurement and Professional Services consulting to external clients, winning business with two major U.S.-based clients. Rudzki is a frequent speaker at professional conferences and associations, including the Manufacturers Alliance, the Conference Board and Institute for Supply Management (ISM).

Mark Russell, Director of Transportation, The Dial Corporation
Russell, an active member of the Food Shippers Association and a contributing participant in the Logistics Roundtable of the Grocery Manufacturers of America, has led the adoption and integration of an enterprise-wide, Web-based transportation management system at Dial -- the largest IT project in 20 years for the company's transportation department. The system, which has been implemented at 41 locations, is realizing savings of as much as 12 to 15 percent for certain high-volume lanes. Additionally, Russell has been able to rationalize Dial's physical distribution network and participate in cross-functional logistics initiatives with key customers. "Technology is necessary to support virtually all aspects of a company's supply chain," comments Russell. "However, the human side of identifying opportunities, improving processes and monitoring performance is critical to the success of any technology rollout."

Abdallah F. Shanti, Vice President, Procurement, Information Technology & CIO, American Axle & Manufacturing Holdings Inc.
In an industry better known for buyer-supplier tension, Shanti has taken a collaborative approach to working with AAM's strategic suppliers. His view is that by helping suppliers boost their productivity and by involving them in product design and other decisions, American Axle can eliminate cost in its supply chain up front. He also emphasizes the global nature of the business these days: "I work with our suppliers to make sure that they understand that AAM is not competing just against other axle manufacturers in North America. We're competing globally against axle manufacturers from around the world." Finally, he firmly believes in building his IT and procurement strategies based on a solid understanding of his company's business. "You've got to understand the business inside and out," he says. "That way you can develop strategies that help the business."

Greg Tennyson, Vice President, Corporate Procurement & Travel, Oracle Corp.
Tennyson was recognized by his company for having implemented a B2B e-business solution that drove a $4 million to $6 million reduction in Oracle's purchase-to-pay transaction expense, split strategic and tactical responsibilities and increased annual cost savings two-fold. He has contributed to numerous ISM articles, was invited to participate in Oracle's North American Sales/Consulting Organization due to his contributions to the company's B2B e-business suite of products, and regularly meets with Fortune 500 companies to share best practices, benchmark successes and understand the upcoming opportunities in the B2B e-commerce space. Says Tennyson, "B2B e-business tools, if implemented successfully and actively supported by executive management, will have a more profound effect on the profitability of an organization than ... a sales or other cost-of-goods-sold initiative."

Practitioner Pros to Know Highlighted
Innovation Between Competitors: The Tradeplace Team

A few years ago, with the Internet boom in full swing, Europe's major appliance manufacturers and consumer electronics manufacturers were happily pursuing their separate initiatives to use e-business technologies to electronically connect with their retailer and distributor customers. Like their counterparts in the United States and elsewhere, these companies were counting on the Internet and other new technologies to help them automate processes within and beyond their four walls as a way of improving customer service while reducing costs.

Five of those manufacturers -- including Germany's BSH Bosch und Siemens Hausgeräte GmbH (BSH), Electrolux Home Product Europe, the European division of Benton Harbor, Mich.-based Whirlpool, Italy's Merloni Elettrodomestici and Holland's Philips Consumer Electronics -- together represent more than $65 billion in worldwide sales and employ almost 370,000 people around the globe.