ISM 2018 in Nashville, TN was a whirlwind of an event! Thousands of supply chain management professionals spent last week at the Institute for Supply Management’s annual conference, encompassed with 4 days of educational sessions, 2 days of intriguing vendor exhibitions, having hundreds of inspiring conversations, and building countless relationships. From speakers like Arianna Huffington, founder of The Huffington Post, to Dan Bartel, chief procurement officer at ABB, the conference was full of highly informative...

It’s no mystery why indirect spend is often ignored. By its sheer nature, optimization has proven to be incredibly challenging. Unlike direct materials which are often highly engineered, associated with a specific set of approved suppliers, and controlled precisely through ERP and MRP technologies, indirect spend is comprised of a highly fragmented group of suppliers that vary by business unit (BU) and plant. These suppliers represent 1000s of sub-categories of goods and services and are...