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Does the traditional buyer–supplier relationship still work? For decades, the model was relatively simple. The buyer tendered and awarded, and suppliers competed for the contract, often with price carrying significant weight. That model assumed supply capacity was available. Increasingly, it isn’t. Scarcity on both sides of the table Across energy and infrastructure, supply is scarce industry-wide: transformers, switchgear, cable, skilled crews, engineering hours. Both buyers

We’re starting to witness the collision of two very different operating models, and the supply chain is where they meet. Two models, both rational Electric utilities have traditionally operated within long planning horizons shaped by quality, reliability, risk management and value for money. Assets are built to last for decades. Procurement is deliberate, governed and accountable, often to regulators and the public. Those disciplines exist for good reasons. Then came the rapi

By the time an RFP reaches the market, much of the commercial outcome may already have been determined. Organizations often think procurement begins when the RFP is issued. In reality, it starts much earlier. The quality of the outcome is shaped by decisions made upstream, often before Procurement formally enters the process. By the time bids arrive, the evaluation team is frequently choosing between options that were narrowed months before. Five upstream questions do most of

When the same supply chain problem keeps showing up across multiple projects, it probably isn’t a project problem. It’s a system problem. That sounds obvious written down. In practice, it is one of the hardest things for an organization to see, because each occurrence arrives looking like an isolated event, with its own project, its own schedule pressure and its own people trying to fix it. A pattern that couldn’t be ignored Early in my time in a senior leadership role at a m

I recently took part in an industry conversation where “growth” and “scalability” were used almost interchangeably. The distinction stayed with me, because in supply chain terms they are very different things. Growth is more: more projects, more volume, more customers, more markets. Scalability is the ability to absorb that growth without destroying value. Growth alone tends to magnify whatever inefficiency already exists. A process that works adequately at today’s volume can