Bold and gutsy, the 2001 Pros embodied the promise of enabling technology and the adrenaline of the New Economy.
But 2002 has arrived, and with it a modicum of reflection. When selecting this year's Pros, we had to ask why the individuals spearheading today's supply chain enablement projects stand out as leaders worthy of honor? First, although there is little industry resistance from company management today, those initiating e-supply chain projects may be fighting against even stronger currents: the U.S. economy and tightening pocketbooks. Their fight may require less convincing (and legitimizing), but it requires a lot more creativity. Second, these Pros have managed to stop the dot-com fallout from distracting them from their overriding mission. Almost all of this year's honorees have at least 15 to 20 years of experience in their respective fields, and they hail the tried-and-true business plan as a tenet of success. In their own right, these Pros are just as bold and gutsy as the 2001 Pros, but it is their traditional ways and due diligence that have secured their continued success in the B2B arena.
It took some due diligence of our own to select these impressive individuals. Yet, with a year's worth of in-depth supply chain research and investigative journalism at our fingertips, it seemed natural to turn first to the illustrious writers of that editorial. We asked our writers to look back over their year of frontline reporting and nominate the most inspiring sources, most knowledgeable gurus and most dedicated proponents they had found. In addition, the iSource editorial staff and advisory board gathered to nominate those outstanding conference speakers, supply chain management icons or prestigious analysts that had crossed our radar screens over the past year. When the nomination process was all said and done, over 400 criteria forms had been mailed out.
That was the easy part. As the nomination forms began to pour back in, the iSource editorial staff began a strict series of selection phases. Among the top elements factored into this selection: the candidate's fundamental participation in the development and execution of a supply chain enablement initiative at a traditional brick-and-mortar company, the candidate's breadth of supply chain knowledge and experience, and the candidate's continued participation in the future of supply chain technology. (For a complete list of criteria, see the sidebar Pros to Know Selection Criteria ).
It is never easy to exclude people from a listing such as this, and, inevitably, there will be those who were inadvertently overlooked. Nevertheless, we are extremely proud of this year's selection. 2002's Pros to Know are an increasingly diverse group of people with a broad range of field expertise. Leading by example, they offer other supply chain professionals a rich perspective and progressive attitude toward new and emerging technologies. Bold, convicted and driven, these individuals will assuredly lead the industry to the next level in 2002 and we, at iSource, will follow eagerly. We anticipate a great ride.
Editor's Note: iSource Business recognizes there are Pros to Know that exist beyond the list our editorial staff and advisory board have compiled, and we may have inadvertently missed some innovative candidates. Since we annually host the Pros to Know, we encourage readers to nominate candidates throughout the year by e-mailing Julie Murphree, editor-in-chief of iSource Business, at [email protected].
R. JERRY BAKER / Executive Vice President / MyGroupBuy, Inc.
A long-time veteran of the purchasing and supply chain field, Baker is a leading educator on purchasing, contract administration and logistics. Perhaps his most notable achievement was his 19-year career as the executive vice president of the ISM. Today, Baker is helping to run MyGroupBuy, is a member of Perfect Commerce's advisory board, and teaches at Shoreline Community College in Seattle, Wash.
DEBRA BELL / Chief Procurement Officer / AT&T
By advocating and spearheading AT&T's efforts associated with e-enabling its procurement and supply chain function, including re-engineering supply management business practices and implementing enabling technology, Bell has made the company a supply chain success story. She believes this is one area in which companies must take action to stay competitive: Supply management is not a standalone business function, but an integrated part of managing expense; meeting customer quality, price and delivery requirements; and ultimately in a company's ability to achieve a competitive advantage.
COREY BILLINGTON / Vice President for Supply Chain Services / Hewlett-Packard Company
In order to increase supply chain efficiencies at Hewlett-Packard, Billington created TradingHubs.com, an online exchange that allows Hewlett-Packard and its partners to buy and sell excess parts and inventory. So far, the company has cut inventory costs by 30 percent. In addition to the exchange, Billington has also initiated a new product distribution packaging process, which saved the company $35 million.
GARRY BERRYMAN / Vice President, Materials Management and Product Cost / Harley-Davidson Motor Company
With nearly three decades of general management responsibilities at three world-class organizations serving as his foundation, Berryman currently serves as a Leadership and Strategy Council member at Harley-Davidson, addressing strategic business issues that shape the future of the enterprise. Berryman says, I do not see e-procurement or the Internet as the substantive issues in supply management. Fully leveraging the business value contribution of the supplier community is the pivotal strategic opportunity that we in supply management must find the key to unleashing.
JEFF CAMPBELL / Vice President and Chief Sourcing Officer / Burlington Northern Santa Fe Railway
Two and a half years and a clear objective has made a world of difference at BNSF since Campbell took on the job of totally re-engineering the company's supply chain the total cost of ownership model Campbell implemented alone saved the company $124 million in 2000. But he isn't stopping there: Campbell says that BNSF has future plans to tackle its direct goods by integrating with an e-marketplace, and he sees trade alliances, capacity sharing, asset utilization trading, and asset pooling as ways to create enhanced revenue potential and lower costs.
BRETT C. CARTER / Vice President, e-Procurement and Supplier Diversity / UtiliCorp United, Inc.
UtiliCorp United's vision is that technology should enhance inclusion and promote the true innovation that comes from diversity, and it falls to Carter to put that vision into practice. Since the company does business with 450 minority-owned businesses and doubled its spend with diversity suppliers by mid-2001, Carter has had his work cut out for him. He is motivated by the belief that, You can only move as fast as your partners are prepared to move. You can't have full integration without the cooperation of your suppliers. Take it one step at a time.
BARB CLAITMAN / e-Business Director, Commercial Aviation Services / The Boeing Company
Servicing and maintaining aircraft was one of the most difficult and paper-intensive processes facing Boeing. But Claitman, a Boeing employee for more than 20 years and in charge of the Web portal, MyBoeingFleet.com, aimed to change all that. MyBoeingFleet.com is designed to provide Boeing customers with access to information that's essential to the maintenance and operation of its aircraft. In addition, the portal connects to Boeing's PART page, which allows customers to order and track shipments of spare parts. Today, the site claims 20,000 transactions daily.
KEVIN COSTELLO / Global Managing Partner, Market Solutions / Andersen
Costello was a driving force behind the establishment of Andersen's supply chain management practice and helped to grow it to almost 1,000 professionals with 2001 revenues of $140 million. Currently, Costello is the global leader of market solutions for Andersen's business consulting practice where he oversees direction of the firm's integrated solutions for supply chain, as well as customer relationship management and technology integration. In addition, Costello consults with clients on a regular basis and communicates about the importance of connecting an enterprise with all of its sources of value customers, suppliers, shareholders and employees.
RANDY DARCY / Senior Vice President, Supply Chain / General Mills
One of General Mills' four corporate growth strategies is margin expansion, an area where the General Mills supply chain takes center stage. Supply chain unit costs are indexing 9 percent below 1991 levels, an accomplishment that has delivered well over $600 million to the bottom line. Darcy hatched an elaborate plan almost eight years ago that focused on a relentless search for innovative ideas to improve all aspects of the operation. From adapting Stealth Bomber maintenance programs to developing an online collaborative logistics network with companies like International Paper, Land O'Lakes and Nestle, Darcy has revolutionized the supply chain game at General Mills.
JIM DUCKWORTH / Vice President and Director, SPS Supply Management / Motorola
Not only has Duckworth implemented a Vendor Stocking program at SPS through which 70 percent of all purchases are handled, he is also responsible for the global roll out of an Ariba purchasing system for sourcing and MRO. Duckworth says the industry has finally arrived in terms of realizing the importance of supply chains for driving costs and efficiencies. How do we make our supply chain a competitive advantage against our competitors' supply chains? I believe the focus on manufacturing will decrease and the focus on utilizing the competitive advantages of the supply chain will increase.
CHRISTOPHER J. FLUM / Vice President, Supply Management, e-Business Leader, Procurement and Supply Chain / The Budd Company, a ThyssenKrupp Automotive Company
e-Sourcing is a top business priority for The Budd Company, and Flum and the Budd teams have made it a reality by introducing and implementing an e-sourcing solution and service initiative that averages 12 percent implemented cost reductions and reduces sourcing times by 25 to 75 percent. Flum, who also sits on various e-business and advisory councils, says that e-sourcing technology can be effective only if the company and its SCM teams are strategically aligned with a common shared vision, have their house and processes in order, can train for change, and are linked to the value chains.
PETER GIAMANCO / Director, Commercial Print Management / AOL Time Warner
A giant media and communications conglomerate has countless divisions that all want to realize the efficiencies of aggregating a more than $300 million commercial print buy without centralizing procurement. Enter Giamanco. He and his team developed and implemented an enterprise-wide supplier consolidation/e-procurement solution to be used by groups as diverse as HBO and Turner Broadcasting, and the model is flexible enough to be used by other buying areas throughout the company.
LARRY C. GIUNIPERO, Ph.D., C.P.M. / ISM Professor of Purchasing and Supply Management / Florida State University
Purchasing and supply management professionals have to learn the ins and outs of their industry from somewhere, and it's up to teachers like Giunipero to illuminate the subject. He does so by keeping his graduate and undergraduate students up to date on the latest developments in e-purchasing and its related areas. Giunipero, co-author, with Answerthink's Christopher Sawchuck, of e-Purchasing Plus: Changing the Way Corporations Buy, says, Technology is the fuel necessary to run the supply chain engines powerfully and smoothly. Unfortunately, it's not the engine. If the supply chain engine is not well-established with the correct linkages and proper relationships, it will sputter along on any grade of fuel.
HENRI IRRTHUM / Vice President, Chief Procurement Officer / DuPont
Irrthum is the vice president of DuPont's Global Sourcing & Logistics Services, an organization responsible for purchasing about $15 billion worth of raw materials, supplies and services each year for the DuPont science company and spends another $1.6 billion for global logistics. Under Irrthum's direction, this organization has taken a leadership role in utilizing e-procurement systems to Web-enable its purchasing and logistics processes, as well as working to significantly increase shareholder value through a complete restructuring of the sourcing process.
JOHN LAU / President / Applied Information Services, Inc.
With an eccess of $1.3 trillion in the U.S. multicultural marketplace, Lau has spent the last five years educating corporations about the need to manage, measure and market accurate diversity supplier information and spend dollars to penetrate that market and drive revenue. The DivTRAK software he created allows suppliers to register via the Internet, buyers to query MWBE suppliers via the corporate intranet, and diversity managers to track second-tier spending. He says, Corporations need to re-evaluate their supplier base to match the multicultural nature of their customer base.
HAU L. LEE, Ph.D. / Professor / Stanford University
Words without actions are hollow, and Lee is an educator who is going outside the classroom to apply what he teaches. His implementation of a supply chain initiative at Hewlett-Packard allowed its many divisions to apply postponement principles to redesign their products and processes, and now stands as a textbook example that many companies and universities follow. Dr. Lee has consulted extensively for companies, such as SUN Microsystems, AppleComputer, IBM, General Motors, Xilinx Corp., McKesson, Motorola, and co-founded NONSTOP Solutions. Lee, who also created and teaches courses in supply chain management, e-business and global collaboration, says that, Supply chain management is the battlefield for competitiveness in this century.
RAY LEWIS / Business Strategist / Sprint
When asked his philosophy about technology enabling the supply chain, Lewis replied, Mistrust it profoundly, exploit it relentlessly. Wise words from a man whose job as business strategist for Sprint includes continuously assessing emerging trends in the marketplace with a critical eye to determine which are appropriate for Sprint and which are not. With a holistic view of the supply chain, Lewis believes in putting business processes first and looking at e-commerce from a cultural perspective. His insights have been a leading catalyst for bringing Sprint's supply chain successfully into the 21st Century.
BRIAN G. LONG, Ph.D., C.P.M. / President / Marketing and Management Institute
Aside from being a long-time and dedicated seminar presenter of supply chain management, Long played a principle role in the establishment of a new special interest group within the ISM known as the Electronic Commerce Group. Long has explained to the over 1,100 students who have attended his e-purchasing seminar, The entire supply chain represents a chain of concatenating costs that must be scrutinized, analyzed, and, most importantly, managed.
DUMOND LOWERY / Director of Global Strategic Sourcing / Dana Corporation
When Lowery, an 11-year Dana veteran, was asked to head up the tier-one automotive supplier's procurement efforts, he was asked to cut its more than 80,000 indirect and direct suppliers in half and cut costs by $1 billion by 2003. It is a difficult task, but Lowery is up to the challenge. Dana has made significant investments in developing its own private trading network and the company hopes to have all 320 of its plants connected by this year's end.
JOHN MACLEAN / Vice President, Purchasing / American Airlines, Inc.
Shouldering the responsibility for purchasing $5 billion worth of goods and services for the airline each year, MacLean leads the company's B2B e-commerce strategy. It's the chief purchasing officers, he says, that have demonstrated their leadership, driving change over the past two decades in B2B and they are up to the challenge to do so again. Global customers and global suppliers are one mouse click away. Supply chain management must reinvent its strategies, processes and recruitment practices to leverage this new world.
ED MARIEN / Professor and Program Director, Supply Chain Management Programs / University of Wisconsin-Madison, Business Executive Education
Marien has been integral in leading the development of a supply chain curriculum for the Executive Education unit of UW-MSN. Marien focuses on promoting a balanced use of technology both IT and materials handling as a means of overcoming barriers to supply chain improvement. As a result, many of his co-workers and students have utilized his IT framework as an enabler not as a supply chain solution in and of itself.
ROSEMARY MATTICK / Vice President, Procurement and Supply Management / Weyerhaeuser
Without innovation, companies won't have the impetus to move forward, according to Mattick. We are engaged in a dynamic change driven by the need for competitive advantage in a global marketplace. Although we are only in the first inning directionally, e-marketplaces will evolve from being primarily a procurement vehicle to a complete end-to-end system for conducting business. Mattick is also the chair of the Washington Pulp & Paper Foundation, UW, as well as a member of the Business/University Interchange.
ROBERT J. MCHATTIE / Applications Manager, Order Fulfillment / The Valspar Corporation
McHattie got an early e-business start working at Burlington Northern Railroad where he helped debug early EDI transaction tools. This also led to his work with the ISM X12 subcommittee, where he worked to build transaction standards for the rail industry. Today, McHattie is helping Valspar, a large coatings manufacturer, conduct all of its transactions online, and they are currently at 80 percent.
JOSE MEJIA / Vice President and Chief Supply Chain Officer / Lucent Technologies
Mejia, responsible for the executive management and oversight of supplier and supply chain engineering and management, procurement, manufacturing, logistics and distribution, is neck-deep in Lucent's supply chain. He says that sound supply chain practices in the telecommunications industry have already set apart the best performing companies, and that supply chain management and supplier integration are the factors that will help determine industry leadership.
WILLIAM MICHELS / CEO / ADR North America
As a supply chain consultant, Michels has developed supply chain initiatives in many different kinds of businesses. Each business has its own culture, constraints and unique characteristics, he says. But, no matter the business type, Michel's philosophy is that emerging technology will help companies to eventually develop into networks of fully integrated supply chains. As a result, supplier/customer relationships will become more strategic and interdependent in nature.
TIM MINAHAN / Director of Supply Chain Research / Aberdeen Group, Inc.
Minahan is a recognized expert on supply chain and technology issues, and he believes that companies will need to hone their skills at organizing and managing internal and external resources if they want to efficiently and effectively respond to changing market dynamics. To achieve such flexibility, companies need to shed traditional company-centric organizational structures in favor of strategies that promote the integration and optimization of information and processes across an extended chain of interdependent companies.
SANDRA MORRIS / Vice President, Director of e-Business / Intel Corporation
As director of e-business, Morris has been put in charge of helping Intel become a 100 percent e-corporation, by using a combination of business systems and Internet technologies to re-engineer and automate internal business processes. Intel's e-Business Group was formed in 1999 with Morris at the helm, and the group now has over 2,000 employees. The company manages one of the largest e-procurement operations in the world: starting with the base of zero in 1999, Intel logged $5.5 billion in procurement over the Internet in 2000. As the leader of e-Business at Intel, Morris has built a staff of business and IS professionals who have been directly responsible for these and other transformations at the company.
R. DAVID NELSON / Vice President, Worldwide Supply Management / Deere & Company
Our company's products and services are critical to our overall success in the marketplace, but with the competitive environment we operate in today, the only real competitive advantage we have in the long term is our ability to assemble the most competitive and leanest supply chain, says Nelson. By developing a private e-marketplace that already serves over 1,100 suppliers today, and by creating a business model that allows for a cooperative relationship between Deere's IT and business sides, Nelson is making sure his company stays competitive and ahead of the game.
PAUL ONNEN / Chief Technology Officer / Nordstrom.com
With more than 14 years of software development experience, Onnen now oversees Nordstrom.com's Web site and IT operations. Over the past year, he has been working with Nordstrom suppliers and supply chain technology providers to develop a drop-ship strategy for certain merchandise categories available online. As a result, Nordstrom.com has reduced its response time for customer orders from 1.5 days to 20 minutes.
RALPH E. PAGE, JR. / Manager, eMRO / Eastman Chemical Company
During his time at Eastman Chemical Company, Page has led a number of initiatives to implement process changes in the area of indirect materials procurement. Recent major projects include the leadership of teams that developed, obtained management approval, and implemented company-wide Procurement Card and eProcurement programs. Currently he is working with a team of IT and Direct Procurement individuals to develop and deploy a Supplier Hub, which will be used to transmit orders, change orders, advance ship notices and invoices between Eastman and many of its small and medium sized suppliers. His philosophy? The technology may be new and exciting, he says, but it is of no benefit unless it is faster, easier and more cost effective than the processes currently in place.
JOHN PATERSON / Vice President and Chief Procurement Officer / IBM Corporation
During his 30-year career at IBM, Paterson has seen the company re-engineer its procurement processes as it transformed from a fragmented, locally-focused function to a strategic, globally-oriented organization. This business veteran predicts that the trend of rapidly changing Internet technology will continue. Companies that harness the power and ubiquity of the Web will be able to differentiate themselves and deliver greater value to their customers and shareholders, he says. The journey has just begun.
HELMUT PORKERT / Chief Procurement Officer / Chevron Corporation
Sourcing and procurement have been big issues recently for companies in the oil, gas and energy industries, and nobody knows this better than Porkert. During his time with the company, Porkert has helped Chevron establish a center-led, centrally executed global procurement organization that enables the company to leverage its spend and supplier relationships for better prices, while continuing to focus on delivering local business unit strategies and business plans. Today, Chevron is a recognized leader in the industry for its innovative approach to e-commerce, which includes its pursuit of a public marketplace for the oil and gas industry.
PETE QUIGNEY / Vice President, Global Purchasing / EDS
For Quigney, knowledge equals survival in the digital economy: Managing the data and knowledge that flow through the supply chain, rather than thinking of the supply chain simply as a conduit, will be the key to success for any enterprise. As the person responsible for all product and service procurement at EDS, Quigney knows that, to be effective, procurement thought leaders must insist on a value-creation mentality from their organizations and the people who support them.
LOU ROMANO / Director, Global Procurement and Materials Management / Praxair, Inc
Praxair sources approximately $1.2 billion worth of commodities and services each year, and with that sort of spend, the company isn't about to pay above market price for anything. To ensure that it would not, in 1998 Romano and his team took on the responsibility of re-engineering the company's global expense procurement by developing and implementing a supply chain solution. Today, because of their efforts, Praxair is among the leaders in conducting global commodity sourcing initiatives using a single Web-based tool. Going out with a bang, Romano retired in December of last year.
CHRISTOPHER SAWCHUK / Director, Supply Management / Answerthink
As a supply chain consultant for the last seven years, Sawchuk has led supply chain transformations and strategic sourcing initiatives in a number of Fortune 1000, as well as medium-sized, companies. Sawchuk has also been a consultant to several e-procurement start-up companies, helping to develop new software products. He is co-author, along with Florida State University Larry Giunipero, of e-Purchasing Plus: Changing the Way Corporations Buy. In 1999, he co-founded Answerthink and its eProcurement Transformation practice, which continues to be successful today.
MSgt KEVIN R. SHAVNORE / Superintendent, Material Acquisition / United States Air Force
How do you procure for the Air Force's largest civil engineering group and clinic, as well as for 1,200 facilities and 8,000 housing units that are some 8,000 miles away from the nearest retailer? Hopefully not one item at a time. Efficiency was the objective when Shavnore re-engineered Kadena Air Force Base's supply procurement system, reducing order and ship times by 60 percent. Today, Shavnore is busy teaching other Pacific Air Force bases how to implement similar systems.
FRANK TAYLOR / Vice President, Material Planning and Logistics / Ford Motor Company
Taylor's knowledge and keen business sense is not only illustrated by the fact that he is a vice president at one of the largest corporations in the world, but also because he was appointed to that position after only 9 months at Ford. With an estimated $7 billion to $10 billion a year spent on logistics alone, Ford was looking to drive speed, first time quality and total cost improvements in its supply chain, thus improving customer satisfaction. With the help of Taylor, Ford has partnered with a Web-based logistics provider to better track vehicles. So far, the company has seen a $1 billion reduction in finished goods inventory and a $125 million drop in inventory carrying costs.
TIMOTHY TYSON / President, Global Manufacturing and Supply / GlaxoSmithKline
The word integration takes on a whole new meaning when you are talking about the merger of pharmaceutical giants Glaxo and Wellcome, and its later merger with SmithKline Beechman in December 2000. Originally an employee of Glaxo, Tyson became responsible for the manufacture of GlaxoSmithKline's portfolio of more than 1,000 products and some 36,000 package variations. In addition, Tyson has been the guiding force in combining the manufacturing and supply organizations of GlaxoWellcome and SmithKline Beechman. As a senior executive at one of the top five pharmaceutical companies in the world, Tyson has helped GlaxoSmithKline to create a state-of-the-art global supply chain process, integrate its purchasing and become one of the early adopters of peer-to-peer software.
JENNY VERNER / Vice President, Supply Chain Management / Cargill, Inc.
According to Verner, the biggest supply chain challenge for Cargill, and the agrifood business in general, is ensuring that food product traits can be traced throughout the supply chain, from dirt to dinnerplate, thereby ensuring that whatever the customer has been promised is what has been received nothing more and nothing less. A 20-year Cargill veteran, Verner consults business units within the company's $47.6 billion supply chain and is focused on enhancing the flow of information throughout the supply chain in which it participates. In addition to the Supply Chain Management Center of Expertise headed by Verner, Cargill has an e-Ventures group, which is responsible for the company's involvement in trading exchanges, including eFS Network.
DEBORAH WILSON / Principal / Cool Tools for Purchasing
Wilson has consulted with enough companies to realize that procurement and supply chain professionals had a need for a resource that would help them identify appropriate automation technologies but without the hype. Thus, Cool Tools for Purchasing, an online monthly publication, was born. After 17 years in the industry, Wilson continues to consult with companies and government organizations, like the City of New York, to help them create successful supply chain initiatives. She says that effective SCM not only helps with the bottom line, but it also frees up funds for other critical programs, such as new product development.
JEFFREY WINCEL / Vice President, Corporate Procurement and Materials / Donnelly Corporation
When you are responsible for approximately $500 million in annual purchases for an automotive manufacturer's worldwide operations, you quickly learn what it takes to conduct successful e-commerce. Wincel says, It is extremely important to understand that technology is only an enabler. Many pundits present e-commerce as the panacea for all procurement challenges. Those who adhere to this belief are bound for failure. Technology is not a replacement for well-thought-out procurement practice automating a poor process only gives you a poorly automated process. Wincel is also the principal and founder of Lean Supply Chain Forum, a professional independent consulting firm specializing in the integration of Lean Manufacturing and SCM.
JOSEPH YACURA / Vice Chairman / Ridgewood Development Corporation
After spending several years in the supply chain technology field, Yacura realized that further advancements in connectivity between trading partners would not be possible unless consistent taxonomies were developed. As a result, Yacura has spent the last year working, through an ISM sponsorship, to assemble processes and taxonomies that support XML. So far, Yacura's initiative has received substantial support from other standards organizations. Yet, unlike most other efforts that are involved in automating transaction processing, Yacura views his initiative as the basis for true knowledge-based systems. According to Yacura, the initiative will allow greater communications between trading partners with minimal, if any, human intervention.
[2002 PROVIDER PROS]
At iSource, our mission statement directs us to report on supply chain practices exclusively from the practitioner's point of view, and this year's list of Pros reflects that focus. However, because there was such an overwhelming response from so many well-educated and leading-edge veterans within the enabling space, we felt these individuals needed to be honored in their own way. Behold 2002's Provider Pros.
Tehseen Ali / CEO / Verian Technologies
Seven years ago, while attending business school at the University of South Carolina, Ali zeroed in on the potential of supply chain management. I found it was a space that faces many challenges and that current technology wasn't addressing them, says Ali. It was ripe for change. Today, Ali is one of the founders of Verian Technologies, which helps companies manage inventory via a Web-based application.
Joseph Brucia / Vice President / Technology Solutions Company
Brucia is a supply chain consultant who has worked with many different kinds of clients on many different types of software implementations and e-procurement initiatives. Believing that integration is crucial to the value of SCM and e-procurement solutions, Brucia's model includes using e-procurement as an enabler to link ERP and SCM as ROI-driven solutions.
Sherry R. Gordon / President and CEO / ValuEdge
With 10 years of experience in supply chain management, Gordon realized the value of measuring supplier performance, but also recognized companies were only able to measure the performance of suppliers quantitatively. Gordon and team, therefore, sought a way to measure the underlying business practices so suppliers have a roadmap to improvement. Today, she runs ValuEdge, which specializes in these perceptual measurement tools.
Dave Goudge / Senior Vice President, Marketing / Boise Cascade Office Products
A 21-year veteran of the supply chain management field, Goudge knows the value of competitive differentiation via technological improvements. At Boise Cascade, Goudge led the company's CRM initiative, developing and implementing technology that would improve the company's customer service. The best way to enable the supply chain is to address specific customer needs, Goudge says. Goudge's efforts paid off: in September 2001, Gartner Inc. awarded Boise its CRM Excellence Award.
Chase Kushak / Sr. Product Manager Supply Chain Management / Covisint
From the first days that Ford and Oracle announced their plan to build an automotive exchange called Auto-xchange (which would later become Covisint), Kushak has been on the ground, working to create the Supply Chain Management product offering. He and his team laid the groundwork for Covisint's first in-house product, Supplier Connection. Kushak was also integral in the selection and implementation of Covisint's SupplySolution software, now rebranded as Covisint Fulfillment, and continues to help create the vision for an e-enabled automotive supply chain.
Chris Moritz / President and CEO / SupplySolution
As a major technology partner with Covisint and the Big Three, Moritz is viewed today as a thought leader in the automotive supply chain technology space. Moritz developed his solution company, SupplySolution, around the idea that inaccurate information in the supply chain can drive substantial process inefficiencies and unnecessary costs within a company. Companies can no longer afford to work that way, he believes.
Sarah Pfaff / Founder and President / Variante
A well-known spokeswoman in the industry, Pfaff uses her business background to promote a focus on business processes as the first and most critical step in e-enabling a company. Pfaff made her big entrance into the world of supply chain technology two years ago as the co-founder of e-sourcing provider eBreviate. More recently, however, she launched a new consulting firm, Variante, which focuses on strategic procurement and change management. Helping companies identify their stage of e-sourcing adoption and understand their roadblocks, Pfaff is as dedicated as ever to supply chain improvements.
Bob Renner / Chief Technology Officer / ForestExpress
In September of 1999, before most major consortia-based initiatives were announced, Renner was completing a business plan for an industry-lead forest products e-marketplace, now known as ForestExpress. Today, Renner is the driving force behind the development and implementation of the ForestExpress transaction and processing network.
Henry V. Rickles / Director of New Ventures / UPS e-Ventures
Companies increasingly have made efforts to automate their logistics processes with the help of the many new e-fulfillment companies. The mastermind behind one of the new solutions on the market, UPS e-Ventures, was Henry Rickles. Today, Rickles is working on new e-fulfillment products for the company. He believes next year, we will see the emergence of global logistics utilities that provide a combination of physical and information technology for many customers.
Rob Rodin / Chairman and CEO / eConnections
The B2B platform Rodin created at Marshall Industries, which was the basis for eConnections' solutions, is credited as being one of the first that used Internet technology to deal with the collaborative challenges of supply chain management. Rodin currently serves on many different boards and as director for many organizations, including RosettaNet.
Stuart J. Sawabini / CEO / Eventra, Inc.
Sawabini has been helping companies streamline their supply chains for over a decade as president and CEO of a B2B e-commerce company and as an active board member of the New England Electronic Commerce users organization. The federal government has even sought the services of Eventra, under Sawabini's direction, to ramp up its e-commerce initiative.
Dave Seybold / Managing Principal, Supply Chain Management / IBM Global Services, IBM
Back in 1997, Seybold and his team drove the introduction of the first Web-based supply chain collaboration solution using technologies from i2 and IBM. Today, Seybold oversees IBM Global Services' supply chain consulting practice for all commercial clients, like Caterpillar Inc. and DaimlerChrysler, and supports IBM's internal supply chain transformation initiatives.
Francesca Coe Sherrill, C.P.M. / Director, Supply Chain Product Marketing / PeopleSoft
With over 20 years of purchasing and supply chain management experience, Sherrill has an impressive history of experience on the forefront of this industry. In 1989 she was tapped to produce and present seminars on progressive MRO purchasing management by ISM. Shortly thereafter, during her time at 3Com, she was responsible for developing and promoting a Web-based front-end purchasing system to the ERP system for the company. Today, at PeopleSoft, Sherrill is initiating product design enhancements and the development of new technologies.
Tom Slaight / President / eBreviate
An original founder of eBreviate, Slaight has also transformed a few individual consulting projects into a worldwide Strategic Souring consulting practice for A.T. Kearney. Today, that consulting practice is credited with bringing in 25 percent of A.T. Kearney's total revenue. In 1998, Slaight co-authored the CAPS (Center for Advanced Purchasing Study)-sponsored study entitled, The Future of Purchasing and Supply Management a Five and Ten Year Perspective. The study won the ISM's President's Award for Excellence. Subsequently, Slaight was named to the Board of Directors of the ISM.
Fred B. Sollish, C.P.M. / Procurement Consultant / eParagon LLC, and Vice President, Education, ISM Silicon Valley
Sollish currently assists major corporations in Northern California with stategic sourcing and automation. As the former program director at CommerceNet, Sollish created an initiative that is directed toward piloting new methods and improved business processes and then incorporating them into open standards. In addition, he lead the management of the OBI Consortium and helped host the United Nation's ebXML effort at CommerceNet. Sollish also developed and implemented one of the earliest Web-based automated sourcing systems.
Craig Verran / Leader Supplier Management Solutions, Marketing / D&B
Verran designed, developed and implemented D&B's Internet-based sourcing and qualification informational tools. With a focus on supply-base analytics, Verran's efforts have helped customers save, at minimum, 5 to 15 percent of their spend. Verran also educates and trains supply chain managers on additional ways to reduce procurement costs and improve efficiencies.
David Wechsler / National Vice President of Supply Chain Management / Experio Solutions
Having done two of the first three SAP U.S.-based APO installations and as the second-ever implementation partner of i2, Wechsler was one of the initial pioneers in the service area of management consulting. He says, The need for business process improvement is essential using the technology as a tool to achieve the desired result. One without the other is an incomplete solution.
Sean Willems, Ph.D. / Chief Scientist / Optiant, Inc.
Willems, a leading thinker in the area of supply chain optimization, is responsible for research that has been applied to Fortune 500 manufacturing companies and also forms the core of Optiant's supply chain solution. In addition, Willems worked with such companies as Eastman Kodak and Hewlett-Packard through MIT's Leaders for Manufacturing program, and he is assistant professor at Boston University's School of Management. According to Willems, building a supply chain is like custom-building a house: you design the house to suit short-term needs and accomodate the possibility of future expansion.
Kevin J. Williams, C.P.M. / Manager Account Development / American Express Corporate Services
In his role at American Express, Williams is working to develop mechanisms to automate the procurement and payment process for telecommunications and data communications products and services. He was also recently elected to serve as chairman of the Institute for Supply Management's Affiliate Support Council, where he is leading the creation of educational resources for B2B e-commerce professionals.
Pros to Know Selection Criteria
1. Briefly describe your pioneering role in developing and implementing a supply chain initiative and/or solution in your organization.
2. Briefly describe your pioneering role and/or personal effort to teach/educate as it related to supply chain management and B2B e-commerce.
3. Briefly describe the influential role you had in pushing for technical innovation within your organization, especially as it is related to supply chain management functions.
4. Have you established an effort for continued innovation in the supply chain enablement arena? YES ______ NO ______.
If yes, explain.
5. Do you have solid market knowledge of what's happening in the e-business world, specifically as it relates to supply chain enablement? YES _______ NO _______.
If yes, briefly explain.
6. Have you been credited with bringing about a transformation within your organization's supply chain through today's technology? YES ________ NO ________.
If yes, briefly explain.
7. How has your organization taken a unique and revolutionary approach to e-commerce?
8. How is your supply chain management and/or e-procurement initiative integrated into your business model?
9. What's your philosophy about technology enabling the supply chain?
10. Why do you think that supply chains are something that companies need to take seriously?
11. What do you expect to be the next major trend in supply chain management?
