For the last several years I've been working in supply chain management as the Purchasing Manager for TapeMaster Tool Company, in the Metro Detroit area, and as joint owner of Preferred Centerless and Oakland Blanchard Grinding, two of the area's leading grinding shops. While I'm chiefly procuring raw materials for jobs - that is to say, metals - I spend a lot of time working with and vetting outside services to our shops, vendors providing such services as heat treating, nondestructive testing, finishing services, and so forth.

In this space I'll share some thoughts and experiences regarding procurement, particularly in the post-COVID era, and also as impacted by the Russian aggression campaign in Ukraine, as of this writing in 2024. Stay tuned.