Supply Chain Management
SUPPLY CHAIN MANAGEMENT
Month
MONTH
PRESIDENT’S MESSAGE
Each year in March, Institute for Supply
Management™ (ISM) demonstrates its
commitment to lead and serve supply
management by encouraging celebrations and
awareness activities showcasing the importance
of the profession. Supply Management Month is
a time when professionals around the world —
regardless of job title, organizational role or ISM
membership status — can play an important
role in promoting supply management.
Supply managers' capabilities and
responsibilities have seen unprecedented
growth in importance in recent years. Never
before have supply managers been asked to do
so much and take on as much responsibility as
they do now. Supply Management Month is a
perfect time to celebrate ... and educate others
about who we are and what we do.
Here are but a few of the tasks/responsibilities
that we as Supply Management Professionals
accomplish for the bottom line:






Product/Service Development, Quality
Procurement/Purchasing, Inventory Control
Strategic Sourcing, Materials Management
Manufacturing Supervision, Packaging
Warehousing/Stores, Distribution, Logistics
Disposition/Investment Recovery
Happy Supply Management Month and I am
proud to be a part of this affiliate and of all my
peers and colleagues that make it.
Patrick C. Williamson C.P.M.
IN THIS ISSUE:
 Demand Management at Fujitsu
 Blurring the Lines between Stores and the Web
 Staples Takes Top Prize with Move to Smart
Packaging
 Alcohol-Control Authority Toasts VendorManaged Inventory System
 Building an ethical supply chain
SAVE THE DATE!
ISM Supply Management Month - CEO Tom Derry
Tue, Mar 25, 2014 at 12:00 PM
Greenbriar Hills Country Club
CPSM REVIEW CLASS MODULE 2
Thu, Mar 27, 2014 at 8:00 AM
CPSD REVIEW CLASS
Fri, Mar 28, 2014 at 8:00 AM
In addition, we are in the process of nominating the Board of
Directors for the 2014-2015 year. If you would like to nominate
an individual or have interest yourself please contact any of
the Board Members.
Demand Management at Fujitsu
By: SupplyChainBrain
When Fujitsu noticed diminishing returns in its ongoing efforts to improve forecast accuracy, it
adopted a new strategy of product segmentation, changing inventory policies for difficult to
forecast items. Barry Chapman of Fujitsu explains how this strategy was implemented and the
benefits that the company is reaping.
Fujitsu began a forecast improvement journey in 2000, moving from a spreadsheet-based process to a demand planning
tool, says Chapman. Subsequently, the company launched a major initiative about every two years to improve service
levels and inventory turns through demand planning.
By 2008, additional improvements from these efforts were “less than measurable” and the company concluded that the
forecast was about as good as it could get, Chapman says. “We knew that if we wanted to continue to drive
improvements through the demand planning process, we had to consider a different approach.” That is when the
company started looking at segmenting demand planning strategies, he says. The idea behind segmentation “is to apply
the appropriate inventory management scheme to a particular product based on its value and variant characteristics.”
At Fujitsu, value is determined by a product’s actual sales and its forecastability, with difficult to forecast products being
the focus of the segmentation initiative. “The area where we needed to make changes was on parts that had high value
and low forecastability,” says Chapman. “We started a collaborative planning effort with our largest customers to jointly
plan demand for those products.” For low value/low forecastable products, the company implemented a min/max
replenishment strategy based on historical demand. With this segmentation strategy Fujitsu has reduced the average
cost of inventory per product by about 30 percent, without negatively impacting service levels. “In some cases, we were
even able to improve service levels,” says Chapman. “Of course, these savings get passed on to our customers so they
have seen improvements in inventory and service levels as well.”
The company had a “couple of false starts” with the collaborative planning aspects, Chapman says. “We have highly
configurable products, so a single product may have 50 to 60 parts. To sit down with customers and have meaningful
discussions on that many parts overwhelmed the process.” After the company pared the focus down to 10 or fewer
parts, “everybody was focused and showed up prepared to talk to those parts. We had meaningful discussions and
everyone was cognizant of what the plans were for those parts any changes were communicated rapidly. So reducing
the menu of parts we were discussing really helped us get traction.”
The biggest lesson learned in this process was “that we had to redefine what success looked like,” Chapman says. “In
some cases we were intentionally reducing inventory turns, so we were carrying more inventory than we had originally
planned, with the expectation that overall inventory turns would actually increase. Those were difficult lessons,
especially for the people who were responsible for managing the products whose turns were reduced.” The
segmentation strategy is now in place with Fujitsu’s largest customers and the company plans to continue rolling it out
with some smaller customers and with new business.
Blurring the Lines Between Stores and the Web
By: Robert J. Bowman,
Call it the Holiday Retailing Death Match: Team Black Friday versus Team Cyber Monday. Brick-and-mortar versus ecommerce sales. Physical stores pitted against the power of the internet. So goes conventional wisdom. But for anyone
seeking a deeper and more accurate picture of peak-season retailing, it might be wise to retire those convenient media
hooks.
The concept of Cyber Monday – the supposed post-Thanksgiving kickoff to internet purchases for the Christmas
shopping season – has become less relevant than in years past. Consumers are blurring the lines between stores and the
Web. They’re shopping for bargains earlier, beginning on Thanksgiving Day or even earlier. Retailers, meanwhile, are
offering bargains on both channels, even encouraging online shoppers to pick up merchandise in the stores, rather than
wait for home delivery.
They never gave that much weight to Cyber Monday anyway, according to Walter Delph, chief executive officer of the
advertising technology firm Adly. He doesn’t discount the modern-day role of the internet –Adly specializes in celebrity
endorsements for its clients’ products via social media. It began with celebrity tweeting, then morphed into a provider of
multiple services for marketing via platforms such as Facebook and Twitter. But Delph believes the media is overly
focused on the Web as a stand-alone marketing channel, in competition with brick-and-mortar stores.
He sees continuing growth in online sales, but predicts that retailers will draw less of a distinction between stores and
the Web in their marketing efforts in years to come. They’ll embrace a variety of creative strategies that employ all
channels, especially those utilizing mobile devices.
That said, social media played a bigger role in merchandising during the 2013 Christmas season than in prior years. Many
retailers were just waking up to the possibilities of reaching consumers on the most popular social sites. It was more
than a question of drawing shoppers to a website. Shoppers saw greater use of techniques such as sweepstakes,
contests and promotions with a strict deadline. Such strategies “can get an audience to pay attention immediately,” says
Delph.
Much of the activity this time around took place on Facebook and Twitter, with Instagram also stepping up as an
important marketing channel for Adly. “It’s growing so fast,” says Delph. “Consumers are really flocking to it.” Pioneers
in the use of social media for marketing included some of the nation’s largest retailers, Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. and Target
Brands, Inc. among them. They used photos and even short videos to show off items they were hoping to push. “It’s
really about creating more of a visual experience,” says Delph. “The difference between social media and other
platforms is the ability to have a conversation.” In the process, merchandisers can quickly discover what’s working, and
what’s not.
We’re long past the point when marketers have to guess about the makeup of their audience. Thanks to the willingness
of consumers – especially young people – to share their lives over the Web, retailers have access to intimate details
about individual shoppers. Generic, non-targeted ads are becoming a thing of the past. “The amount of data that we
generate in social and digital media enables marketers to understand exactly how to reach consumers,” Delph says.
Of course, social media channels carry a substantial downside for retailers and branded merchandise. A poor shopping
experience – stock-out, technical glitch, missed delivery, bad customer support – can trigger an exponentially negative
response. It doesn’t take much for a screw-up to go viral on the Web – far less than for a product to catch on with
consumers.
Even a good experience on social media can prove to be a liability for retailers, if it results in a flood of unanticipated
demand. Every Christmas season seems to come with at least one story of a merchandiser who didn’t anticipate the
runaway success of a particular item. For all the sophistication of retail marketing today, it hasn’t completely been
integrated with the supply chain that’s supposed to support it.
Given the massive level of activity generated by social media, it’s something of a surprise that a handful of platforms is
dominating cyberspace. One up-and-coming player, according to Delph, is Snapchat, a photo-messaging app. “The
growth in the amount of images created on that platform is pretty startling,” he says. For the most part, though, the
conversation is still controlled by Facebook, followed by five others – Twitter, LinkedIn, Google+, Pinterest and Tumblr –
with more than 100 million unique monthly visitors.
The future will bring even tighter integration of social media with retailing, especially during peak seasons. (Delph notes
that many smaller entities have yet to embrace the channel in a meaningful way.) Expect marketing strategies to grow
even more complex and individualized, as merchandisers battle one another on all channels. And the term “Cyber
Monday” will quietly fade away.
Staples Takes Top Prize with Move to Smart Packaging
By: SupplyChainBrain
With excessive packaging as the top complaint of customers, Staples found a technology that created the right size box
for every item shipped from its e-commerce centers. As the second largest e-commerce fulfillment business in the
world after Amazon, Staples ships millions of packages each year, and until recently most of those boxes contained a lot
of air as they were much too large for the contents packed inside. That changed in 2012 when Staples, in collaboration
with Packsize International, implemented a “Smart-size Packaging Program” that produces customized packaging
tailored to each order.
Traditionally, pre-made boxes were purchased in multiple sizes and configurations, and stored until needed, says Robert
Dennen, senior packaging engineer for Staples. However, “40 percent of your shipping volume is in air.” With Packsize's
On Demand Packaging technology, boxes are now customized for each order through an integration of systems,
equipment and processes.
The impact? There has been a reduction of more than 15 percent in corrugate, an approximate 60-percent reduction in
air bags and about a 20-percent reduction in break-pack cube, for an estimated 8-percent improvement in overall cube
of orders. In addition, 74 percent of Staples workers say the solution has made their job easier. Corrugated packaging
has wide appeal to consumers and is versatile, cost-effective, easily customized, and lends itself to product protection
during shipping. However, environmental impact concerns and process optimization are primary considerations for the
supply-chain environment, Dennen says.
That means companies strive to use the minimum amount of packaging at the lowest possible cost to meet their
sustainability goals. Ultimately, full U.S. implementation of the technology is projected to reduce the network’s carbon
footprint by more than 25,000 metric tons annually. Hanko Kiessner, Packsize International CEO, says leading
companies no longer purchase boxes. It may be counterintuitive, but they are finding the time required to make
packaging on-demand is less than that required to find and move packaging purchased conventionally.
For Staples, time is of utmost importance. Each day, from its U.S. fulfillment centers, Staples ships 650,000 to a million
cases, operating under a robust logistics system that guarantees any order placed before 5 p.m. will be delivered the
next day to 96 percent of the population. Approximately 40 percent of these cases are less-than-full-case orders. These
so-called break-pack orders have traditionally been picked into 7 to14 corrugated box types with the system selecting
the best-fit box type based on the dimensions of the items in the order. Nevertheless, almost 40 percent of the cube is
wasted.
When Staples first considered the viability of the Packsize system, one major requirement was the solution’s ability to
keep pace with Staples’ current order cycle times. “We could not reduce Staples’ ability to meet its customer service in
any way,” says Kiessner. “One of the primary challenges was the total speed.” With delivery time sacrosanct, Packsize
officials adapted their technology to interface with Staples’ order management system to automatically calculate via an
advanced algorithm the optimal box size for every incoming order and route it to the proper fulfillment center and the
most suitable machine at that center.
But time wasn't the only concern. In 2010, based on customer feedback, an updated sustainability strategy, and a
carbon footprint review, packaging became a key focus area for Staples. As part of this new emphasis, the first
packaging reduction goal at Staples was established—a 20-percent packaging reduction in the U.S. by 2020. A “race to
the top” with up-stream product suppliers and a review of outbound packaging alternatives were thus initiated.
The outbound technologies considered included the Packsize International On Demand Packaging system. A pilot was
completed in Staples’ fulfillment center in Orlando in early 2011. During this initial phase, Packsize and Staples teams
collaborated on everything from equipment layout and systems integration to process design. Once the pilot was
successfully completed, the team turned to planning the full implementation.
Here's how the On Demand Packaging technology works. It places a package converting machine with a very small
footprint together with a stack of corrugated material on the pack line. This gives workers the ability to instantly create a
box that matches the product to be packaged and shipped. A one-piece flow application integrates the on-demand
system directly into the packaging process and can be designed for mixed-model lines. The system (which can take up as
little as 86 square feet) is moved within a few feet of the pack line and boxes are made, one at a time as the product
progresses toward the pack station.
The technology integrates data from the production system using the factory ticket barcode or other inputs so that the
most current box style and size is made according to the bill of material. That way, the packaging method can be
continuously upgraded and improvements implemented immediately without disposing obsolete inventory. There is
almost no material handling other than replenishing the corrugated at the machine. Says Kiessner: “The No. 1 customer
complaint is excessive packaging. We can fly a man to the moon – we did it in the '60s with not that much computing
power – and we can't have better packaging?”
One of the first buildings to adapt the case-making solution was in Oak Creek, Wis., a Staples fulfillment center that
packs and ships an average of 3,500 cases a day. In August 2012, the facility began operation of two Packsize EM7-25
corrugated converting machines, each capable of producing up to 300 cases an hour. The EM7-25 is a converting
machine that creates custom cases from Packsize’s proprietary z-Fold corrugated stock, a 97-percent recycled material
that can be creased, cut and scored into an infinite number of box sizes and styles. Essentially, Packsize z-Fold can be
made into any FEFCO style box. FEFCO is the international standard guide to cardboard box designs. Because this is an
on-demand system, the box size the company wants to output is programmed into the machine. For the EM7-25, a
customer can run all of the FEFCO codes except ones with angle cuts and scores.
According to Kiessner, the only limitations on the size of box that can be created with the unit are those imposed by the
fulfillment system in which it travels. “From a Packsize equipment perspective, we can make a box for a couch or a
gigantic conference table,” he says. “The constraints are more dependent upon what can travel through a building than
on the equipment.”
Staples had implemented the “smart-size packaging” program in 15 facilities as of March 2013, and plans complete
installation of the solution in all of its U.S. e-commerce fulfillment centers by year's end. Beyond that, the company is
evaluating expansion of the program across the global supply chain, pending WMS upgrades in several countries.
Alcohol-Control Authority Toasts Vendor-Managed Inventory System
By: SupplyChainBrain
By leaving much of the management up to its many suppliers of wines and spirits and by postponing
transfer of ownership, the Pennsylvania Liquor Control Board saves an estimated $100m.
Needing to reduce working capital bottled up in the many SKUs of wine and liquor held in inventory before distribution
to its state-owned stores, the Pennsylvania Liquor Control Board implemented a vendor-managed inventory model
called bailment. PLCB’s customized solution, worked out with partner Deloitte Consulting, brought 28 vendors into a
single web-based portal that supports collaborative planning based on shared forecasts and historic sales information. In
addition, the merchandizing system was customized to enable a hybrid inventory management model that allowed the
PLCB to store vendor-owned merchandise and PLCB-owned stock in the same physical warehouse location without
changing the existing warehouse management system.
The impact? The project, which enables collaborative planning, forecasting and replenishment within integrated
enterprise architecture of closely interfaced Oracle applications and Robocom’s warehouse management system,
reduced PLCB's working capital by approximately $100m in fiscal year 2012. Moreover, it has left the alcoholic-beverage
entity with the money needed to run its business smoothly, says John Metzger, PLCB director of supply chain.
An independent government agency, the Pennsylvania Liquor Control Board is responsible for wholesale and retail sales
and distribution of wine and spirits in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. With annual sales of nearly $2bn, it claims to
be the second-largest distributor of wines and spirits in the world.
It operates more than 600 retail and wholesale stores, plus online consumer and wholesale sales channels, through
which it offers an assortment of more than 30,000 SKUs to its customers. These products are obtained from a complex
network of more than 100 suppliers across five continents.
Prior to its partnership with Deloitte, the PLCB followed a traditional distribution model, buying product based on sales
forecasts, officially took ownership of it, and then stored it in warehouses. However, this model was costly, causing the
agency to hold between $120m and $200m in warehouse inventory, dependent on time of year, which far exceeded
industry benchmarks.
The goal was to reduce its warehouse working capital cost by 80 percent – or $100m – but in order to move to the VMI
bailment model, the PLCB first needed to address several challenges related to process, technology and, of course,
people. As for process, the PLCB would need to transition procurement functions, such as planning and forecasting of
inbound logistics for PLCB-owned warehouses, to the vendors themselves. However, says Doug Hitz, director of the
PLCB's Bureau of Planning and Procurement, the agency still needed to manage vendor behavior and ensure efficient
inventory management.
A common medium was required to communicate and work with vendors who would be participating in the bailment
model. The agency's existing Oracle-based integrated enterprise solution, including merchandising and inventory
management packages and their inherent interfaces, had to be customized. Another challenge faced by the PLCB was to
customize its current enterprise architecture that integrates Oracle-EBS, Oracle-RMS, Robocom Inventory Management
System and Manugistics. The PLCB needed technology to manage vendors' operating efficiencies while the vendors
accept a part of PLCB's responsibilities such as inventory planning and inbound logistics to PLCB-owned warehouses.
The all-important ingredient of personnel had to be trained so they could support an operating model that allowed
third-party vendors to carry out procurement functions previously handled in-house. The vendors too would need help
in learning the new system. The opportunity to convert to a bailment model was made possible by the agency’s Oracle
ERP implementation, for which Deloitte also served as the implementation services provider, says Tzarni Mangosong,
senior manager for Deloitte Consulting LLP. Deloitte assisted the PLCB to design and implement a solution that
leveraged existing Oracle Retail and Oracle EBS applications by modifying interfaces and extensions.
Particular controls were implemented to authenticate users and to protect proprietary vendor information that could be
potentially used by competitors. Among other capabilities, the portal allows vendors to track daily stock levels of
products and redistribute the merchandise within and between the warehouses by an efficient use of reverse logistics.
In devising and implementing the solution, the PLCB and Deloitte engagement team reengineered six business processes
(vendor collaboration, inventory planning and warehouse replenishment, inbound logistics, inventory management,
store replenishment, inventory returns and bailment penalties) to incorporate a 100-percent vendor-managed inventory
model in three distribution centers for goods supplied by 28 large vendors. The team also assisted nine of the 28
vendors in purchasing back their existing inventories in third-party warehouses. Of course, they transitioned such
functions as inventory planning, warehouse replenishment, and inbound transportation to the respective vendors.
Customized control mechanisms had to be set up. Penalties were established to enforce vendor performance and
accountability, which is defined through service-level agreements for replenishing PLCB-owned liquor stores. As for
business process flows, the bailment supplier notifies the PLCB of an incoming shipment using and advanced shipment
notice. As it happens, the bailment supplier can send bailment and non-bailment merchandise on the same truck.
Bailment merchandise is received using ASN information and non-bailment merchandise is received based on the
Permit-PO information.
When it comes to returns, the vendor initiates a merchandise return request using the shared portal. The Oracle RMS
uses information in the return request to create pick instructions for the warehouse implementing supply chain
collaboration and vendor-managed inventory in the public sector.
The PLCB says it achieved more than 100 percent of its target working capital reduction earlier than planned; the $100m
in savings was reportedly realized only six months after go-live. In addition to devising an innovative technical solution,
the PLCB-Deloitte engagement team also supported the agency through the change management process. Change
management was particularly critical because the bailment model greatly expanded vendor responsibilities related to
managing inbound supply planning and warehouse replenishments. This included providing vendors with real-time
planning data, making them responsible for warehouse replenishment decisions, and holding them accountable for their
performance. The bailment model also transformed the responsibilities of PLCB procurement personnel from mainly
purchasing products to primarily collaborative planning and managing vendor relationships. Says Metzger, “This same
concept can be made to work just about anywhere.”
Building an ethical supply chain
By Peter Bradley
Operating a global supply chain can have enormous financial benefits, but it also brings with it enormous
ethical responsibility. Just ask Apple or Nike.
The news out of Bangladesh was bad enough to begin with. A fire in a factory that was a supplier to many of the world's
largest retailers killed 110 workers. Sometime later, a shoddy building that housed several factories—once again
suppliers to Western retailers—collapsed. The death toll was more than 1,100. The tragedies—both preventable—raised
anew a vital question for managers of global supply chains: What responsibility do businesses have for the practices of
their suppliers—suppliers selected in large part because they are low-cost operations, with all that implies for wages,
benefits, and working conditions?
It is not a new question. Three years ago, consumer electronics giant Apple found its reputation sullied by reports of
abysmal working conditions at Foxconn, the Chinese company that produced its iconic iPhone. A decade earlier, sporting
goods marketer Nike faced a similar crisis as a result of news about working conditions in its suppliers' plants. Both were
forced to make changes to their supply chain practices.
It might seem unfair to hold companies accountable for the practices of their suppliers, but I would disagree. The
company you keep matters. Yet holding suppliers in diverse cultures to Western social and ethical standards is not
simple in practice. In many places, concepts like workplace safety, fair pay, and sustainable operations are at best in
their infancy, and keeping tabs on far-flung operations not directly under the company's control is not easy.
I was reminded of that again while reading an excellent article by Ernst & Young's Craig Coulter and Niul Burton that will
appear in the Quarter 1 edition of our sister publication, CSCMP's Supply Chain Quarterly. The consultants address what
it will take for public companies to implement the conflict minerals reporting requirements included in the Dodd-Frank
Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act. The goal is to ensure U.S. companies do not use metals produced
from minerals mined in areas controlled by armed groups in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and surrounding
states. Here's the rub: While the reporting rules will apply to some 6,000 public companies in the United States, the
Securities and Exchange Commission estimates the rules could affect as many as 100,000 companies worldwide when
supply chains are taken into account.
But complexity is no excuse. While building a global supply chain can have enormous financial benefits, it also brings
with it enormous ethical responsibility. We've seen some steps in response to the Bangladesh tragedies—the Accord on
Fire and Building Safety and the weaker Bangladesh Worker Safety Initiative. Those are a start. But businesses must step
up and make supplier ethics, along with costs and competitiveness, a core element of their supply chains rather than be
driven there by bad news.
STL IN THE NEWS
Wentworth has been tapped to serve as president for Express Scripts
Tim Wentworth, 53, has been tapped to serve as president of the nation’s largest pharmacy benefits manager, Express
Scripts Holding Co., effective Feb. 1. Wentworth will report directly to Chairman and CEO George Paz, who previously
held the title of president. Earlier this month, Paz agreed to stay at the helm of Express Scripts for another three years.
“His focus and leadership will be critical as we take advantage of near- and long-term growth opportunities,” Paz said in
a statement.
Ameren Corp.'s Voss to retire
Thomas Voss, chairman of Ameren Corp. since 2010 and president and chief executive officer since 2009, will retire,
effective July 1. Warner Baxter, who has served as chief executive officer of Ameren Missouri since 2009, will replace
him.
Announcing the 2014 Best Places to Work finalists
Check out the finalists below – should your company be on the list?
Tiny (10-49 employees)
Accsell Inc.
Berco Construction Inc.
Brado Creative Insight
goBRANDgo!
Kelly Hager Group Real
Estate Services
Krilogy Financial
Ryan
Stone Technologies Inc.
Think Tank PR & Marketing
Westport One-MRINetwork
Small (50-199 employees)
Amerinet
MassMutual St. Louis
McClure Engineering
Mungenast St. Louis Honda
Northwestern Mutual – Clayton
PARIC Corporation
Red Key Realty Leaders
The Resource Group
Sense Corp
Stone Carlie & Company LLC
Medium (200-649 employees)
Aon St. Louis
Bryan Cave LLP
Bunzl Distribution
Clayco Inc.
Daugherty Business Solutions
Hyatt Regency St. Louis Joyce
Meyer Ministries (JMM)
McCarthy Holdings Inc.
MTM Inc.
PwC
Large (650-1,999
employees)
Bethesda Health Group
Graybar
Lindenwood University
MERS/Missouri Goodwill
Industries
Nestle Purina PetCare
Company
River City Casino & Hotel
Giant (2,000-9,999
employees)
Hazelwood School District
MasterCard
Mercy
SSM Health Care - St. Louis
St. Luke’s Hospital
WELCOME OUR NEW MEMBERS!
Laura Tastad
Maritz
Jason Eschenbrenner
SunEdison Inc,.
Robby Gross
Mastercard
Scott Gray
Mastercard
Francois P Lavere, CPSM
Mallinckrodt Pharmaceuticals
Kent Young
Mastercard Worldwide
GET CERTIFIED!
Register ONLINE TODAY seating is limited!
CPSM REVIEW CLASS MODULE 2
CPSD REVIEW CLASS
Thu, Mar 27, 2014 at 8:00 AM
Fri, Mar 28, 2014 at 8:00 AM
SAVE the DATE!! - ISM Supply Management Month
ISM CEO Tom Derry
Tue, Mar 25, 2014
Thomas W. Derry is ISM's chief executive officer. He has oversight over all ISM programs and is charged
with furthering the association's aims and objectives. Derry brings a blend of for-profit and not-for-profit
experience to his leadership role, having built his career with positions in news editorial, wire services,
publishing, financial information services and association management.
Derry has demonstrated expertise in product development, cross-border
acquisitions and foreign joint ventures, strategic restructuring of operations
and developing profit generating strategic alliances. He holds a Bachelor of
Science degree in foreign relations from Georgetown University.
Prior to joining ISM in July 2012, Derry spent nine years with the Association
for Financial Professionals (AFP), a US$23 million professional association
serving 17,000 corporate treasury and finance professionals. Derry joined
AFP in 2003 as managing director and rose to the position of vice president
and chief operating officer in 2007. As second in command at AFP, Derry directed a global staff located
in the United States and United Kingdom. He was responsible for strategic planning and strategic
development of a global group, including U.S. and Canadian professional membership organizations and
two wholly owned, for-profit U.K. subsidiaries. Prior to AFP, Tom was general manager of the LexisNexis
business intelligence group headquartered in New Providence, NJ. Tom oversaw the implementation of
a new strategy, restructured operations, and handled related acquisition integrations and strategic
business unit divestitures.
Focus on YOU!
Join thousands of your peers for ISM2014 and focus on
topics that impact you the most, from career management,
talent management and business acumen, to supply chain growth, global economic indicators, big data
analytics and logistics. Visit www.ism.ws for the top 10 reasons to attend and be the first to see the
2014 learning tracks – developed with you in mind.
Get involved! For Volunteer Opportunities Contact our
BOARD!
In many survey's the membership have spoken of how much they like more pre-dinner sessions. Volunteering to teach a session
helps to accomplish this. When you volunteer your time to teach a class or facilitate a workshop, you get a chance to polish your
public speaking skills, and you get a nice credit to add to your résumé. Volunteering allows you to meet people who have similar
interests. You may make new friends of the same professional background or a different one all together. Or you may make
contacts that become important in the future. There are a variety of opportunities to get involved in our affiliate. Sharing your
knowledge of purchasing or logistics topics is of vital importance to grow others in our field and the professional and personal
rewards are abundant. If you have a passion for any aspect of purchasing please consider sharing that passion with the other
members of your profession.
For a sneak peek into 2014 scheduled events, visit our website!
www.ismstlouis.org
BOARD OF DIRECTORS
Patrick Williamson C.P.M. President Term: 2013-14 [email protected]
Melissa L. Orlando, CPSM, C.P.M. President Elect Term: 2013-14 [email protected]
Dawn Fadler, CPSM Vice President Term: 2013-14 [email protected]
Max Merz, CPSM, C.P.M. Director of Finance Term: 2012 -14 [email protected]
AFFILIATE DIRECTORS AND ADVISORS
Emily Green Director of Education Term 2013 – 2014 [email protected]
Christine Wojak Director of Marketing Term: 2012 -14 [email protected]
Patricia Greathouse Director of Membership Term: 2012 -14 [email protected]
Paula J. Matousek Director of Professional Development Term: 2011 - 14 [email protected]
Kimberly R. Butts, CPSM, C.P.M. Affiliate Advisor [email protected]
Larry Jackson, CPSM, C.P.M. Immediate Past President [email protected]