Spring has sprung. The markets, manufacturing and perhaps even … employment may be emerging from hibernation. And while we’re all happy to see the economy awakening from a brutal recession (please don’t hit the snooze button), it will mean some changes as we shift from buyer’s market conditions. Indeed, we’re already seeing commodity prices rising, undoubtedly putting pressure on many of you to in direct materials procurement roles.

In order for us to put our collective heads together about what we’re seeing in the commodities markets and strategies for how to react, I have scheduled an open discussion on April 30th. The roundtable style conference call is the April member call for the Strategic Sourcing & Procurement Group on LinkedIn. The dial in details will be distributed through the Group website (you’ll need to join if you haven’t already).

The format of the call will be fairly loose. I’ve lined up a couple of experts from our global category management team to share their insights into commodities - trends, risks, strategies, etc. But, I would welcome some volunteers to discuss their experience and strategic recommendations. And of course, we’ll open up the lines for plenty of Q&A time.

So, in the spirit of collaboration…

• Would anyone like to volunteer to share your perspective? If so, we can include you in the opening section as we tee things up.
• Do you have any questions on commodities you’d like to have answered? This is a great opportunity to hear from your peers and experts on a very important topic. Make the most of it.

If you would like to participate or have questions, you’re welcome to leave your contact info or questions below in the Comments or email me directly.

Justin Fogarty is Managing Editor of Supply Excellence and community manager of Ariba Exchange. For any questions or feedback on the blog or its contributors, Justin can be reached at jfogarty[at]ariba.com.