SHOW SUMMARYJoin us in this episode of What the Duck?! as we delve into the world of procurement and supply chain management with the insightful Robert Seifert. From his early days as an inventory analyst to his current role as a seasoned buyer and materials planner, Robert shares his journey filled with unique cost-saving strategies and amusing anecdotes. Discover how he navigated vendor relationships, optimized inventory control, and implemented innovative solutions, all while juggling the complexities of the food industry. Gain valuable insights into negotiation techniques, demand planning, and leveraging technology for cost savings. SHOW HIGHLIGHTSRobert’s Early Career Roles Challenges and Improvements in Managing InventoryChallenges in Vendor Relationships Managing Procurement for Multiple FacilitiesChallenges of Managing Procurement for Different LocationsContinuous Improvement MethodologiesCost-Savings Strategies Implements in the Buyer RoleChallenges and Improvements in Materials PlanningLeveraging Technology to Find Cost SavingsTips and Tricks for Cost-Conscious Manufacturers MOMENTS TO DUCK AROUNDROBERT: On Creating a Lean Supply Chain“So if a team was working on, let's say, an AMD team or an autonomous machine development team was working on improving case fail by like improving the scale, right? So they break the scale apart, mind you, we join these teams then too, but we go down there before we break the whole scale apart, we clean it, we inspect it, we detect it, we correct it, and then we prevent it, right? So it's all about kind of that process and the lean supply chain.”ROBERT: Buttoning Up Demand Planning and Forecasting“If I had to follow, look like on the existing item, right? So what's the historical look like? Is it trending up or down? And then what's the shelf life on that product, right? And you know, it's really, and then you also have a space filtering too typically, right? So you gotta mix it to a meshing of the two to formulate basically like that line it was saying right, or like your minimum inventory, your safety stock. So a lot of it's been, you know, minimum, minimum inventory, safety stock trigger, but like on your existing items, you know, heavy-selling items, you want to contract long to or try to contract as much as you can right to try to get that price point down.” Connect with Robert and learn what he’s been duckin’ around with:Robert Seifert Jr. | Good Sense FoodsConnect with Sarah and find out more about what the duck she’s up to:LinkedIn |Twitter |SourceDay |SourceDay.com Had fun with the podcast? Leave us a like, share our content, and subscribe! See you soon on the next episode of What The Duck?!