Welcome to Procurement News, part of our ongoing aggregate news series covering recent supply management headlines and trends pertinent to Chief Procurement Officers and other procurement leaders! Contact us with your news story here.
Procurement Executive News
Samuel Cochon Joins MANN+HUMMEL as CPO
LUDWIGSBURG, Germany — MANN+HUMMEL announced last month changes to its executive leadership team to strengthen its transformation agenda and ensure robust strategy execution. Effective September 16th, Hanno Höhn transitioned from his current position as chief procurement officer to a newly created role of chief performance officer. Succeeding Hanno Höhn as CPO is Samuel Cochon.
The company stated that Cochon joins MANN+HUMMEL with extensive international sales, programs, and procurement experience, successfully acquired through senior management positions at several leading automotive companies. In his previous role, Cochon managed both direct and indirect purchasing and contributed to the enhancement of the global procurement performance.
According to Cochon, “Stepping into the role of chief procurement officer at MANN+HUMMEL is a unique opportunity. I am extremely enthusiastic about contributing to MANN+HUMMEL’s transformation initiatives, particularly by transitioning further the procurement function into a comprehensive business partner, at the forefront of purchasing innovation, performance and efficiency,” he said. “I look forward to collaborating closely with the teams to support and enable the achievement of our strategic goals.”
Read the full announcement here.
Guy Wagner Promoted to SVP of Strategic Sourcing for HealthTrust Performance Group
NASHVILLE, Tenn. — HealthTrust Performance Group, a leading improvement organization for healthcare, announced the executive appointment of Guy W. Wagner, who was promoted to senior vice president of strategic sourcing.
The company stated that Wagner joined HealthTrust in 2014 and most recently served as vice president of strategic sourcing for commercial products and services. In his new role, Wagner will oversee strategic sourcing and distribution of GPO products and services supporting surgery, nursing, laboratory, wound care, anesthesia, and respiratory care. He will also oversee the administration of the Supply Chain Board and Clinical Advisory Boards.
According to Michael Berryhill, president of GPO Operations at HealthTrust, “Since coming to HealthTrust from the automotive industry, where he specialized in purchasing strategy for major global brands, Guy has continually exhibited a solid vision, excellent leadership, and the ability to create value,” he said.
“Guy and his teams consistently exceed improvement goals to the benefit of our membership. His market knowledge and execution of supply chain strategy will be extremely helpful as we work to strengthen portfolios and build resiliency.
Read the full announcement here.
Cheryl Stuckmeyer Assumes the Role of VP, Supply Chain for MLC
ST. LOUIS — MLC (formerly Mississippi Lime Company) appointed Cheryl Stuckmeyer as vice president, supply chain. As part of the MLC executive leadership team, she will oversee the company’s logistics, inventory management, procurement, and trucking functions, ensuring that MLC continues to lead the lime industry in supply chain excellence.
The company stated that Stuckmeyer joins MLC as the business ramps up activities related to supply chain expansion. MLC recently expanded service for its trucking division to include its Chester, S.C., operation, as well as increasing long-range trucking capabilities from its largest site in Ste. Genevieve, Mo.
Other recent investments include growing rail and transloading capabilities at multiple sites, diversifying fuel sources, and establishing more distribution terminals to bring inventories closer to customers. These investments enhance the flexibility of MLC’s supply chain and create opportunities to lower the carbon footprint associated with logistics.
According to Paul Hogan, president and chief executive officer at MLC, “Over her distinguished career, Cheryl has established a comprehensive background in strategic supply chain planning, people development, and consistent delivery of business results. She will be a valued member of our executive team, providing leadership and direction as we continue to invest in our supply chain capabilities to support long-term growth,” Hogan said.
“We separated our supply chain function from operations a few years ago to provide dedicated leadership for planning, procurement and logistics. This has really helped us to cement our position as the leader in supply chain excellence for the lime industry,” Hogan added. “Cheryl will be focused on continuing this trend through best-in-class efficiencies, partner relationships, service levels and logistics.”
Read the full announcement here.
James Kelly Named Global Director of Procurement Operations for Couche-Tard
LAVAL, Quebec, Canada — Alimentation Couche-Tard, parent company of Circle K convenience stores, announced the hiring of James Kelly as its new global director of procurement operations, according to Kelly’s LinkedIn announcement.
Kelly stated on his LinkedIn profile that he has over 20 years of purchasing and supply chain experience within retail, wholesale, telecommunication, facility management, and the public sector. Prior to his most recent position, Kelly served for nearly two years as partner — head of procurement integrated facility management EMEA for Cushman & Wakefield, a leader in the global commercial real estate space.
Previous to Cushman & Wakefield, Kelly worked for Aramark, a food, facilities, and uniform services company for more than 10 years, serving as procurement manager EMEA, Aramark Workplace Solutions (AWS) and then head of procurement facilities management.
Kelly is based in Dublin, Ireland.
NASPO Announces Winners of the George Cronin Awards for Procurement Excellence
LEXINGTON, Ky. — NASPO, a national leader in public procurement, announced the 2024 winners of its George Cronin Awards for Procurement Excellence during the conclusion of its Annual Conference on September 11. Named after NASPO’s first president, George Cronin, this year marks the 40th anniversary of the awards.
These awards provide well-earned recognition and appreciation for state procurement offices and officials whose forward-thinking, dedication, and hard work significantly benefited their state. Each year, a 12-person committee, comprised of and led by NASPO members, individually evaluates all submissions based on four established criteria:
- Innovation,
- Transferability,
- Service Improvement
- Savings and Efficiency.
The association stated that the Cronin Awards are part of NASPO’s mission to promote the public procurement profession. They are a great opportunity to honor and direct national attention to the important and extraordinary work of our members.
The submitted projects also become teaching tools for the entire profession and contribute to the greater public procurement body of knowledge. They provide an opportunity for others to learn from the examples and experiences of state procurement entities and represent an essential step toward identifying potential best practices.
The following are the impressive and impactful projects that have taken home this year’s honors.
Finalist: Colorado – Whose Contract is it Anyway? Improving Outcomes Through Contract Management Training for Program Staff in Colorado
Presented with a need to clarify contract management responsibilities across multiple decentralized offices and agencies, Colorado’s State Purchasing and Contracts Office deployed a new flexible approach to training. They developed a program around core contract management principles, then collaborated with each agency to tailor the training format and curriculum to best meet specifically identified needs. This new approach included formalizing reporting and training requirements. With an emphasis on the roles of both procurement and agency officials in contract management, the training has clarified expectations and improved consistency among agencies. Through dedicated program support and multi-channel engagement, agencies and institutions of higher education are better equipped to manage their contracts effectively.
Finalist: Missouri – Operational Improvement Through Turnaround Time Management
Missouri’s Division of Purchasing examined its entire procurement process to identify critical operation metrics and potential bottlenecks. Looking at the time required to execute each phase of their process, the purchasing office benchmarked turnaround times and established detailed goals. This more precise, data-driven approach to continuous process improvement included adopting two readily available software products that analyze performance data and express real-time results via dashboards. Quick access to live performance metrics facilitates effective decision-making and the early discovery of potential issues. Missouri created a culture of transparency, improvement, and customer satisfaction using the DMAIC (Define, Measure, Analyze, Improve, Control) innovation cycle.
Bronze: Massachusetts – Decarbonizing Massachusetts’ Vendors: An Integration of Climate Consideration into Public Procurement Supply Chain
Massachusetts’s Operational Services Division (OSD) created and empowered a Climate and Sustainability Unit within their procurement office as part of administration-wide efforts to reduce government carbon emissions. This new unit developed and implemented standardized data gathering and evaluation tools to benchmark the state’s suppliers’ emissions contributions and track and incentivize their efforts to improve sustainability. These tools included a Post-Award Climate Form for suppliers to report sustainability-related data and a Climate Vendor Scorecard that OSD uses to evaluate vendor sustainability efforts consistently and transparently. Keeping the unit and its evaluation processes in-house enables OSD to monitor the climate impacts of procurement, incentivize its suppliers to improve their own efforts, and grow the green economy.
Silver: Michigan – Enhancing Vendor Compliance Through RMIS Integration
Burdened by the manual processes of monitoring insurance coverage, Michigan’s Central Procurement Services – Enterprise Risk Management team implemented an automated Risk Management Information System (RMIS) to ensure that suppliers’ certificates of insurance met their contractual requirements. The RMIS uses supplier profiles that track the types and limits of coverage required for their awarded contracts against their submitted certificates of insurance. It generates proactive alerts and notifications of inadequate or expiring coverage, sending automatic communication to suppliers with instructions for compliance. RMIS represents another step towards digital transformation, making processes more efficient and effective, reducing potential risk to the state, and enabling data analysis and reporting for improved supplier management.
Gold: Michigan – Cloudy with a Chance of Savings: Infrastructure as a Service
Michigan’s Central Procurement Services engaged in extensive concurrent negotiations with the largest cloud services providers to implement consistent, preferable terms and conditions for the state’s cloud hosting needs. By engaging the providers simultaneously, procurement officials were able to leverage the competition to produce two optimized direct contracts. This approach avoids the confusion of varying terms and conditions between suppliers while increasing the competition for the state’s hosting opportunities, producing significant discounts, and reducing risk. By offering cloud infrastructure as a service, customers can select the supplier of best-fit for their projects quickly and efficiently without negotiating new terms, saving valuable time and resources.
NASPO invites members to start developing submissions for next year’s awards. Any NASPO state member can write a submission using the official template and submit it for the awards. You just need your CPO’s (NASPO Primary Member) approval before submitting.
Learn more about the scoring process and criteria, past winners, and view past submissions on NASPO’s Cronin Awards page.
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