Michael F. Strohmer Knihy

The bestselling Purchasing Chessboard® concept, used by hundreds of corporations worldwide to reduce costs and increase value with suppliers, is the topic of this successful professional book now published in its third edition. The 64 squares on the Purchasing Chessboard provide a wealth of methods that can be applied either individually or in combination. And because many of these methods are not customarily used by procurement, the Purchasing Chessboard is also the perfect tool for helping procurement professionals to think and act outside the box and find new solutions. A well tested concept that works across all industries and all categories in any given situation, it is little wonder that business leaders and procurement professionals alike are excited by, and enjoy strategizing around, the Purchasing Chessboard. It encourages greater rigor and creativity and the building of world class capabilities. The explosive growth in analytics and the rise in the number of specialists in procurement practice have taken the application of the Purchasing Chessboard to new levels. This third edition of the book includes a rich assortment of case examples to reflect the lessons learned across geographies and industries. Some of the chapters have also been updated to accurately reflect these trends.

Thomas Sutter is a German-American living in Dusseldorf and working as a procurement manager for a major global automobile manufacturer, Autowerke. On a chance encounter, while flying to Chicago, he meets the CEO of Heartland, a major food company in the U.S. Sutter impresses the CEO with his knowledge and, after a whirlwind courtship, he joins Heartland as its new chief procurement officer, based in Fort Wayne, Indiana. Hired to transform procurement at Heartland, Sutter has an enormous challenge: to bring its procurement practices into the 21st century and save the company $5 billion. Despite the knowledge and experience he gained at Autowerke, Sutter fights over the next 18 months to find his place at Heartland, institute world-class procurement models and methods, win over the procurement teams and senior executives, and meet his goals. At first, his reputation, and his mariage, suffer, along with the company's overall sales and revenue. Can he pull a rabbit out of the hat?

Future-proof your firm’s supply chains with a renewed focus on resilience In Strong Supply Chains Through Resilient Operations: Five Principles for Leaders to Win in a Volatile World, a team of dedicated, veteran operations strategists delivers a practical and hands-on discussion of how to future-proof your company’s supply chains through a relentless focus on resilience. In the book, you’ll discover how to shift your firm’s emphasis from “low-cost” to “low volatility” as you protect your company against the supply and demand shocks associated pandemics, wars, labor disputes, and trade conflicts. You’ll also learn about: Real-world examples of companies realizing long-term competitive advantage by implementing the shifts advocated by the authors Why seeking to build mutually beneficial, long-term relationships with dependable suppliers is preferable to always choosing the cheapest option How a renewed focus on diversity and new ways of working can create resilient operations teams that pass on value to your customers An effective and essential discussion of one of the most prominent challenges facing contemporary companies around the world, Strong Supply Chains Through Resilient Operations is a need-to-read book for managers, executives, business leaders, entrepreneurs, operations and supply chain professionals, and anyone else with a stake in the smooth operation of their firm.

Becoming Forest opens with Aishling--the young Irish woman at the heart of this story--as she visits her grandmother in California following her grandfather's death. Aishling finds her grandfather's journal and reads about a trip he made to India years ago to visit the original Bodhi Tree, the place where the Buddha found enlightenment. At the end of the journal, she finds a letter addressed to her from her grandfather asking for her help passing along his message of "deep security" to her generation as they deal with the climate crisis and the uncertain future ahead. Aishling goes to India to follow in her grandfather's path to find a way of responding to his request. There she meets and falls in love with a young Buddhist monk, who is also on a quest. As they walk together along the roads of India, they gather unexpected and invaluable insights from each other and come closer to the answers they both seek. Thirty years later, Aishling's daughter Tara is visiting her in Ireland. Tara is grieving the death of her father and also the destruction of the forests from drought and fire. She is also searching for a way to heal the burnout she and her friends are experiencing while working to combat climate change. Becoming Forest weaves together threads of Native American and Celtic spirituality with Buddhist understanding and connection to the natural world, creating a tapestry which holds both the despair and awakening of Aishling