Smarter Sourcing

During COVID, Stamford Health built inventory dashboards that updated multiple times per day to track supplies arriving in bulk quantities at unpredictable intervals from new vendors. This real-time visibility transformed clinical leadership's perception of supply chain from back-office function to operational intelligence center. 
Shenelle Padarat-Singh, Director of Strategic Sourcing, explains how her transition from managing supply chain information systems to leading sourcing operations revealed why the data team's seemingly "annoying" requests for complete item details matter: one missing packaging specification triggers errors in receiving, throws off inventory counts, breaks purchase order-to-invoice matching, and ultimately creates finance reconciliation issues. On supplier relationships, she's direct about why quarterly business reviews and weekly check-ins with key vendors create the communication channels that make same-day approvals and 8am Saturday deliveries possible when a Friday 6pm OR request hits.  
Topics discussed:
Building COVID inventory dashboards with multiple daily updates to track unpredictable bulk deliveries from new vendor sources

Understanding how incomplete item data cascades through receiving, inventory counts, purchase order matching, and finance reconciliation processes

Implementing 360-degree product transition frameworks that evaluate usage patterns, clinical needs, reimbursement rates, and standardization opportunities

Conducting quarterly business reviews with key suppliers to establish communication channels for urgent same-day procurement requests

Presenting supply chain analytics in formats meaningful to clinical audiences to gain stakeholder support for product transitions

Managing tariff impacts through supplier negotiations that identify alternatives and offset cost increases with savings opportunities

Navigating healthcare supply chain acquisition integrations across different geographic locations, systems, and operational standardization requirements

Developing career resilience for healthcare supply chain by mastering ambiguity and mid-task priority shifts during operational interruptions

Procurement's biggest misconception isn't about the work itself; it's about believing your role stops at cost savings. Juliana Saretta, Former VP of US Sourcing at Keurig Dr Pepper, spent 30 years proving that procurement touches every part of the enterprise: growth strategy, cash flow management, brand integrity, and now climate solutions. She shares how when Mott's Applesauce needs to maintain brand integrity around goodness for families, procurement not only sources apples, it also manages relationships with 150 multi-generational farming families in upstate New York who supply 95% of the volume.
Juliana also touches on her post-merger integration playbook, which starts with something most leaders skip: generous, attentive listening across both legacy organizations to unearth where the real problems and opportunities sit. She warns against the seductive trap of focusing solely on the allure of cost synergies from combined spend, emphasizing that teams perform best when they're engaged around a purpose beyond just delivering savings. For AI and procurement's future, she argues the critical skill isn't technical fluency but learning aptitude and curiosity, since the technology itself will look completely different in a few months.
Topics discussed:
Expanding procurement's strategic impact beyond cost savings to influence growth, bottom line, cash flow, and climate solutions

Managing category management across multi-brand portfolios by tailoring strategies to specific brand requirements and positioning

Sourcing Mott's Applesauce from 150 multi-generational farming families in upstate New York representing 95% of total apple volume

Leading post-merger integration through attentive listening across legacy organizations rather than focusing solely on cost synergy 

Proactively diversifying appliance manufacturing to prepare for tariff policy expansion

Structuring global versus regional procurement models 

Building future-ready procurement teams by prioritizing learning aptitude and curiosity over specific AI technical fluency or tool mastery

Recognizing career limitations when resources don't match ambitions and identifying non-negotiable conditions for professional success

Amanda Chawla, SVP - Chief Supply Chain & Post Acute Care Officer at Stanford Health Care, inherited a supply chain where half the organization was outsourced, basic functions like category management and master data management didn't exist, and clinical staff were calling daily about missing products. Nearly a decade later, Stanford's supply chain has earned department of the year recognition and top marks in Gartner's rankings. Amanda walks through the framework she used to get there and why she still considers the transformation unfinished.
Amanda also breaks down the four-committee governance structure she built around non-labor spend: indirect, medical, pharmaceutical, and a capital committee currently in development. Each is co-chaired by the business with supply chain as a supporting arm, and every senior VP and C-suite executive has a representative on a subcommittee. Amanda makes a case for redefining the chief supply chain officer role, arguing it should function more like a chief spend management officer. She connects that vision to how she built her team, including why she looked outside healthcare to write job descriptions and how she modeled a clinical dyad structure inside a non-clinical function.  
Topics discussed:
Building supply chain infrastructure from scratch including category management, master data management, and insourcing outsourced functions

Applying a people-first transformation framework across leadership structure, technology, culture, infrastructure, and business processes

Converting a non-labor spend program into an executive-level governance model embedded in organizational operating plans

Structuring co-chaired spend committees across indirect, medical, pharmaceutical, and capital categories with C-suite subcommittees

Redefining the chief supply chain officer as a chief spend management officer responsible for organization-wide financial strategy

Modeling a clinical dyad structure inside a non-clinical supply chain function to align business partners and drive accountability

Using quarterly business reviews with internal customers like HR and marketing to build trust and expand supply chain's strategic mandate

Adopting a data-first, technology-as-enabler approach that links every metric to operational pillars and decision-making cadences

Utz Brands’ Senior VP/CPO Ron Schnur's M&A integration framework strategy challenges the standard playbook: across six acquisitions, his team at his previous company, White Wave, diagnosed each deal separately. Some received immediate full integration, others got a soft touch for a few months to protect supplier innovation pipelines that created category advantages. The critical question wasn't spend consolidation potential, but whether forcing integration would damage the supplier relationships driving growth. This "leave the nickel on the table" philosophy prioritizes speed-to-market and supplier innovation over immediate cost savings. 
At Utz, where the company faces competitors several times its size, Ron applies lessons from his roles at companies that had to "punch above their weight class" through risk-taking rather than scale. For hiring, he screens for curiosity and perseverance over technical capabilities, asking probing questions about how candidates work through challenging situations rather than testing Excel proficiency. Universities should handle hard skills; what matters is the ability to challenge first answers and grind through complex supply market problems.  
Topics discussed:
Building curiosity and perseverance over technical skills when hiring supply chain professionals for complex problem-solving roles

Applying differentiated M&A integration playbooks at White Wave Foods across six acquisitions to protect supplier innovation pipelines

Implementing "leave the nickel on the table" philosophy that prioritizes supplier innovation and speed-to-market over immediate cost savings

Competing as smaller companies against industry giants by taking calculated risks and building strategic supplier partnerships

Leveraging AI for rapid supply market intelligence gathering compared to traditional three-month global supplier assessment cycles

Developing enterprise-wide mindset that values total business impact over purchase price variance and acquisition cost optimization

Evaluating ROI on emerging technologies through targeted investments in customer-facing versus supply-facing AI applications

St. Luke’s Health System built a 330,000 square foot consolidated service center with an ASRS featuring 28 automated pickers and nearly 20,000 bins. Adrian Wengert, CSCO & VP of Supply Chain, spent 3 years visiting a dozen health systems before construction, extracting one unanimous lesson: every organization regretted not building bigger. He secured board approval for initially unused space by extending their 10-year pro forma, arguing future expansion would cost significantly more than justifying empty square footage upfront.The automation investment directly addressed Boise's labor market, where three Amazon distribution centers compete for the same warehouse talent. 
Facing inflation that has grown fourfold with vendors embedding anticipatory tariffs, St. Luke's is pursuing direct manufacturer relationships, bulk pre-buys, channel fee negotiations, market share consolidation with fewer suppliers, and e-auctions to counter double-digit quarterly supply cost increases. Their clinical integration includes a medical director in supply chain who uncovers opportunities traditional teams miss. Sustainability investments include reusable sharps containers, solar-ready infrastructure for 2 megawatts to power the building and electric vehicle fleet, and blue wrap reduction.  
Topics discussed:
Building 330,000 square foot consolidated service centers larger than needed by extending 10-year pro formas to justify unused space

Implementing automatic storage and retrieval systems with automated pickers to combat Amazon's labor market saturation

Integrating tech vendors for goods-to-person automation while managing interface complexity and validation during warehouse implementations

Unifying supply chain and pharmacy operations infrastructures to reduce transportation costs and create operational efficiencies

Combating fourfold inflation growth through direct manufacturer relationships, bulk pre-buys, channel fee negotiations, and e-auctions

Embedding medical directors within supply chain teams to uncover clinical cost reduction opportunities traditional buyers miss

Deploying contract lifecycle management tools with AI to monitor market share commitments and proactively signal deviations

Implementing reusable sharps containers, solar-ready infrastructure, and electric vehicle fleet transitions for sustainability ROI