Rich Sains

The Procurement Conversation Podcast Host | Elevating Procurement | Procurement Leader | 10x Procurement |

My focus is on transforming IT and procurement functions for top enterprises, leveraging over a decade of consulting experience to deliver real, impactful change. The Procurement Conversation podcast, which I host, furthers this mission by sharing insights with a global audience, fostering a community where expertise and trends in procurement are at the forefront.

Our team's approach priorities strategic activities and benchmarks success, ensuring our impact resonates across the businesses we serve. Through Acada's software and advisory services, including transformation and process re-engineering, we are elevating the procurement function to new heights, creating value for stakeholders and suppliers alike.

Founder

We help procurement leaders to solve many of the challenges they face in today's complex environment and manage their teams more effectively and objectively.

Helping companies reduce costs and improve EBITDA

Combining my management, project management and supply chain qualifications along with progressive experience across automotive, medical, biotechnology and capital equipment industries, I have enabled high profitability & EBITDA gains. Most importantly, I have positioned organizations on a competitive edge by building growth-focused supply chains, optimizing operations, sourcing and supplier performance, and cultivating a culture of continuous improvement.

As a commercially astute leader, I developed and managed an agile, robust, risk balanced and highly competitive global sourcing model. My expertise include supplier prospecting & alignment, supplier selection & qualification, supplier audits and performance, contractual negotiations, and risk mitigation/business continuity objectives.

During my career, I:
	Consolidated distribution operations in Europe to 3PL improving customer OTD and reducing overall costs.
	Persuasively and influentially negotiated terms, enabling millions in working capital improvements.
	Strategically planned and implemented regional and global supplier strategies saving direct material costs.
	Operated as a key member of the acquisition’s due diligence team – led diligence on four multi-million dollar acquisitions, including creating sourcing and inventory optimization agendas. Integrated supply chain and sourcing functions.
	Led redeployment of MRP systems for an automotive manufacturing company.
	Corrected poor on‐time delivery performance and excessive lead time, restoring customer trust.
	Achieved historic 60% cycle‐time reductions by leveraging the power of business intelligence (BI) systems.
	Minimized supplier transition time for PPAP parts by >50%.
	Reduced inventory in a 6-month period via innovative supply strategies for the 1st time in organizational history.

Most importantly, I develop and optimize relationships with internal and external stakeholders and partners to optimize global supply chain and procurement results. I also provide governance and oversight to ensure successful demand planning, forecasting responsiveness, and all related global supply chain & procurement functions.

Mary Ruth Williamson

𝗜𝘀 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝘀𝘂𝗽𝗽𝗹𝘆 𝗰𝗵𝗮𝗶𝗻 𝗿𝗲𝘀𝗶𝗹𝗶𝗲𝗻𝘁, 𝗼𝗿 𝗷𝘂𝘀𝘁 𝗰𝗹𝗼𝘀𝗲𝗿?

There's a big difference.

With all the talk about near-shoring and re-shoring, many companies are moving suppliers closer to home thinking it will solve their resilience problems.

But here's the uncomfortable question: If you aren't managing suppliers well in the first place, will re-shoring improve anything?

Probably not. You've just moved your problems closer.

𝗥𝗲𝗮𝗹 𝘀𝘂𝗽𝗽𝗹𝘆 𝗰𝗵𝗮𝗶𝗻 𝗿𝗲𝘀𝗶𝗹𝗶𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗲 𝗶𝘀𝗻'𝘁 𝗮𝗯𝗼𝘂𝘁 𝗴𝗲𝗼𝗴𝗿𝗮𝗽𝗵𝘆. 𝗜𝘁'𝘀 𝗮𝗯𝗼𝘂𝘁 𝗱𝗶𝘀𝗰𝗶𝗽𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗲.

The companies that weather disruptions well aren't just closer to their suppliers. They're better at managing them.

They're doing the unglamorous work:

 • Monitoring supplier financial health proactively

 • Catching early warning signs (quality issues, delivery delays, expedited payment terms)

 • Actually holding those quarterly business reviews instead of cancelling them

 • Mapping their supply chain beyond Tier 1 to see hidden risks

 • Dual-sourcing their most critical items

 • Building contingency plans before they're needed

Is this more work? Absolutely.

Does it cost more? Yes.

But when the next disruption hits (and it will), this discipline becomes your competitive advantage while competitors scramble.

𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗾𝘂𝗲𝘀𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗶𝘀𝗻'𝘁 𝘄𝗵𝗲𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗿 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗰𝗮𝗻 𝗮𝗳𝗳𝗼𝗿𝗱 𝘁𝗼 𝗯𝘂𝗶𝗹𝗱 𝗿𝗲𝘀𝗶𝗹𝗶𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗲. 𝗜𝘁'𝘀 𝘄𝗵𝗲𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗿 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗰𝗮𝗻 𝗮𝗳𝗳𝗼𝗿𝗱 𝗻𝗼𝘁 𝘁𝗼.

What's your organization doing to build real supply chain resilience?

#SupplyChain #Resilience #ProcurementStrategy #RiskManagement #Leadership

Procurement & Strategic Sourcing Expert | Direct Materials | Transforming Procurement one company at a time!

𝗖𝗮𝗻 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗵𝗮𝘃𝗲 𝗯𝗼𝘁𝗵 𝗰𝗼𝘀𝘁 𝗿𝗲𝗱𝘂𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗔𝗡𝗗 𝘀𝘂𝗽𝗽𝗹𝘆 𝗰𝗵𝗮𝗶𝗻 𝗿𝗲𝘀𝗶𝗹𝗶𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗲?

Absolutely. But only if you do it right.

Let's be clear: cost reduction targets aren't going anywhere. CFOs will continue to ask procurement teams to deliver 3-5% annual savings. That's the reality of our role.

But here's what's changed: the cost of getting cost reduction wrong has never been higher.

We've all seen it happen:

 • Save 15% on unit price → lose 25% to quality issues and rework
 • Switch to cheaper offshore supplier → face 6-month delays when disruptions hit
 • Negotiate aggressive payment terms → watch a critical supplier go bankrupt
 • Cut safety stock to reduce carrying costs → halt production when supply chain hiccups occur

𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗹𝗲𝘀𝘀𝗼𝗻? Cost reduction and supply chain resilience aren't opposing forces. They're two sides of the same coin.

𝗦𝗺𝗮𝗿𝘁 𝗰𝗼𝘀𝘁 𝗿𝗲𝗱𝘂𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝘀𝘁𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗲𝗴𝗶𝗲𝘀:  
⭐Dual-source critical items (yes, even if it costs 2-3% more) 
⭐Use TCO analysis, not just purchase price 
⭐Build supplier relationships that survive tough negotiations 
⭐Keep strategic safety stock for high-risk items 
⭐Invest in supplier financial health monitoring 
⭐Balance near-shore vs. offshore based on criticality, not just cost

The math is simple: saving 10% on purchase price means nothing if a supply disruption costs you 50% in lost revenue.

𝗕𝗼𝘁𝘁𝗼𝗺 𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗲: Cost reduction targets will never disappear. But the smartest procurement teams are achieving savings while simultaneously building resilience because they understand that 𝐬̲𝐮̲𝐬̲𝐭̲𝐚̲𝐢̲𝐧̲𝐚̲𝐛̲𝐥̲𝐞̲ ̲𝐜̲𝐨̲𝐬̲𝐭̲ ̲𝐫̲𝐞̲𝐝̲𝐮̲𝐜̲𝐭̲𝐢̲𝐨̲𝐧̲ ̲𝐢̲𝐧̲𝐜̲𝐥̲𝐮̲𝐝̲𝐞̲𝐬̲ ̲𝐫̲𝐢̲𝐬̲𝐤̲ ̲𝐦̲𝐢̲𝐭̲𝐢̲𝐠̲𝐚̲𝐭̲𝐢̲𝐨̲𝐧̲.̲

The question isn't whether you can afford to invest in resilience. It's whether you can afford not to.

How is your organization balancing cost reduction with supply chain resilience?

#Procurement #SupplyChain #CostReduction #Resilience #RiskManagement

taplio

The Battle

Rich Sains

Mary Ruth Williamson

Followers

Posts

Engagements

Likes

Performance ScoreMary Ruth Williamson's LinkedIn Performance

Ready to grow your LinkedIn presence?

taplio

The Battle

Rich Sains

Mary Ruth Williamson

Followers

Posts

Engagements

Likes

Performance Score.css-goub6s{font-size:var(--chakra-fontSizes-md);font-weight:500;color:var(--chakra-colors-gray-600);display:block;margin-top:var(--chakra-space-1);}Mary Ruth Williamson's LinkedIn Performance

Ready to grow your LinkedIn presence?

Performance ScoreMary Ruth Williamson's LinkedIn Performance