Manufacturing Procurement Pros Gather to Meet Suppliers and Share Best Practices

Nov. 21, 2011 - PRLog -- Prime Advantage, the leading buying consortium for manufacturing companies, recently concluded its 28th conference in Tampa, FL. The semi-annual event gathered more than 300 top operations and procurement professionals representing more than 25 different industries, including commercial food service, packaging, truck and trailer, material handling, food processing and construction.

With the highest number of attendees since the start of the recession, the company’s members and endorsed suppliers held more than 3,000 scheduled one-on-one meetings and attended key sessions on sharing best practices for management, growth, and profitability.

FALL CONFERENCE HIGHLIGHTS
Renowned keynoter Dr. Chris Kuehl, Chief Economist for the Fabricators and Manufacturers Association (http://www.fmanet.org/media/multimedia-center.cfm?ID=33) and Markus Moll of Steel Metals Market Research GmbH (http://www.smr.at/) delivered highly informative and well-received presentations on what to expect for manufacturing and metals in 2012. Dr. Kuehl focused on what has changed since the recession and what manufacturers can expect in employment, policy, consumer spending and global competition. In particular, Dr. Kuehl emphasized the need for industry to encourage institutions to develop skilled workers who can fill existing and future demand from manufacturers. Moll, one of the best independent analysts in the metals market, gave a comprehensive overview of the global metals landscape and the short and long-term trends that are most likely to impact metals pricing.  

Rittal Corporation’s Mark Peterson, Manitowoc Foodservice’s Chuck Grant and Elan Industries’ Todd Thomas shared best practices for value engineering analysis, including case studies that examined how the process generates savings and how suppliers play a key role in contributing to value engineering.

Grainger Industrial Supply and Macsteel USA were honored with the Endorsed Supplier of the Year awards, the highest achievement an Endorsed Supplier can earn. Voted on by Prime Advantage’s Member companies, this award recognizes competitiveness in the marketplace, quality of products, customer satisfaction and intangibles such as innovative approaches that go “above and beyond” what is required to serve Prime Advantage Members.

A special highlight was the Executive Summit, during which manufacturing executives and leading experts shared insights on critical issues they face today, including growth challenges for domestic manufacturing, world-class procurement performance, generational differences in the workplace, global regulations, and cyber crimes.  

Among the sessions delivered at the Executive Summit were Shale Inland (http://www.shale-inland.com/uncategorized/craig-t-bouchar...) CEO Craig Bouchard’s analysis of domestic and international manufacturing and why he believes now is the time to put capital to work domestically. The Hackett Group's (http://www.thehackettgroup.com/) procurement advisory practice leader, Chris Sawchuck, presented the factors impacting procurement executives’ decision-making and offered insights into achieving superior procurement performance.

“Our semi-annual conferences have grown into such a unique opportunity for manufacturing executives and purchasing professionals to build and maintain a world class supply base that can drive down costs and offer value added services aligned with their overall strategic direction,” said Louise O’Sullivan, founder, president and CEO of Prime Advantage. “Our conferences deliver an exclusive and efficient format for our members to interact with their peers and key suppliers, learn about innovative new products and services, and gain useful insights on how companies from different sectors manage economic challenges facing North American manufacturers.”

Prime Advantage concludes each conference by distributing rebates earned by members based on negotiated programs with its Endorsed Suppliers. In the past ten years, Prime Advantage has paid more than $110 million in rebates and discounts to its manufacturing industry Members.

About Prime Advantage
Founded in 1997, Prime Advantage is a buying consortium for manufacturers firms with more than 700 Members and more than 130 Endorsed Suppliers. For more information on Prime Advantage, visit the website at http://www.primeadvantage.com.