Blog Archives
Relentless Commitment
Transform Procurement: The Value of E-Auctions is a practical, clear-eyed guide to building an e-auction program that actually works, not just as software adoption but as a cultural and strategic shift inside procurement. Why do so many e-auction programs fail before they even start?
A lot of procurement teams try to use e-auctions to replace the Request for Proposal (RFP) instead of viewing them as a negotiation tool. Viewing e-auctions as a quick RFP is such a small piece of what they can do that it’s like using your chainsaw only to cut down trees. Just as a chainsaw can also help you make firewood, cut up brush into manageable piles, or even carve a beautiful sculpture in the right hands, an e-auction can also reduce lead times, bring clarity to complicated bids with lots of options, speed up contracting, and improve scopes of work. E-auction programs fail because they don’t treat e-auctions as a tool in the toolbox and don’t articulate the value of that tool to stakeholders (both internal and external).
The book highlights internal resistance as a major barrier. What are the most common forms of pushback, and how can leaders build buy-in without forcing adoption?
The example I see most often is that a supply chain or procurement leader tells their team, “We’re going to start using e-auctions.” The team goes through training, they identify categories to start with, issue an RFP, and tell suppliers there might be an e-auction in the negotiation bid phase. Then the buyer receives a phone call, usually from the incumbent supplier, who tells the buyer that the supplier won’t participate in an e-auction, that this will destroy the supplier relationship, and the buyer just cares about price and not value if they move forward with an auction. This scares the buyer, who has been well-trained that procurement is about relationships (because it is!), and they go to their leader and ask for an exception. “I know we were planning to do an e-auction for this category, but I just don’t think we should anymore.” This is the critical moment for the leader. If they say, “You don’t have to do the e-auction,” that set of suppliers and that buyer will now never try one again. If the conversation gets to this point, I highly recommend that the leader have the buyer at least try the e-auction and have a conversation with the supplier about how the buyer considered full value in their e-auction setup.
The “e-auction exception” conversation is common because the buyer never understood the reasons the company was using e-auctions in the first place. Every procurement team member has to understand the why of e-auctions: considering true value (freight, tariffs, which options are in or out, communicating clear business opportunities to suppliers, etc.), and they also have to be ready with their answer to the suppliers who make that phone call. Supplier benefits to e-auction are transparency of where they are in the market, clarity of scope, and speed to a decision. When an e-auction ends, a supplier should know if they need to start prepping their team for the business or if they should spend their resources on other opportunities. A supplier who immediately pushes back against an auction without figuring out if the buyer is running it well may not be the supplier partner the buyer thought they were. An e-auction program tends to expose poor supplier relationships because those relationships can’t survive when the suppliers have to compete on a level playing field.
As Simon Sinek always says, the answer to building buy-in without forcing adoption is to “Start With Why” and help buyers and suppliers alike understand the value of the e-auction tool.
You spend a lot of time on supplier perception and trust. What do suppliers get wrong about e-auctions? What do buyers get wrong?
Suppliers tend to fear that their full value proposition isn’t being considered in an e-auction. This is part of why I insist on running an RFP ahead of the e-auction in most cases, because it allows the buyer to eliminate suppliers that do not meet quality, service, or specification standards. Only a short list of suppliers should be invited to the e-auction, just as only a short list of suppliers is invited to any procurement negotiation. In addition, if suppliers are proposing value-add opportunities (such as a faster schedule or extra support), the e-auction can help clarify if those extras are actually desirable to the buyer. If they are, the buyer should include them in the e-auction. If they aren’t, that may be an opportunity for both parties to save cost and effort by removing the extras from the bid.
Buyers often think that e-auctions are only useful for material bids with simple, clear specifications. Due to the proliferation of e-auctions in the early 2000s, the “simple” material bids, like fasteners or MRO, can actually be the most difficult to run. Those suppliers are most wary of a “race to the bottom,” and it’s common for the buyer to forget service components like shipping, stocking vending machines, or helping consolidate similar part numbers. I will happily run an e-auction for a capital improvement project like a factory expansion or a utility line construction long before I will tackle MRO. I’ve run e-auctions for or with clients that include debt collection, temp labor markups, marketing, elevator maintenance, software implementation, and a number of other categories that are definitely not direct materials.
You open with your first failed auction. What did that experience teach you that success couldn’t have?
I learned that e-auctions were trickier than they first seemed. E-auctions are not just a matter of “publish this, and the market will bid,” they take diplomacy and finesse. They require supplier phone calls and assurances. E-auctions often require creative setups and a relentless commitment to integrity and fairness. I also learned that a failed e-auction is not necessarily a failure for the buyer. If suppliers are truly putting their best foot forward in the RFP, then they will not reduce their price in the e-auction, and the auction was a quick confirmation that the buyer is paying market price (or getting market lead time, or whatever number is in the bid). An e-auction reduction of zero means the awarded supplier has a clear understanding of the scope, that the system has captured and confirmed their best bid, and that the supplier is treating the buyer like a true supplier partner.
Author Links: GoodReads | Amazon
If you want to increase supplier transparency, reduce costs, and improve your supply chain maturity, an e-Auction program is the answer. E-Auctions have a bad reputation because there are thousands of ways to do them wrong and only a few ways to do them right.
This book is your guide to thoughtfully implementing or expanding your e-Auction program in a way that brings value to your business. It will guide you through the order to gather buy-in (executives are first, but who is second?), resources needed, major decision points, supplier management, responses to common supplier questions, process steps, and how to e-Auction traditionally “unauctionable” categories. In addition, this book includes guidelines on writing a good scope of work with detailed examples, process maps, and sample supplier communications to smooth your path through implementation.
Topics covered:
Benefits of e-Auctions for both buyer and supplier
Timeline a typical e-Auction adds to the process (spoiler alert: it’s a couple of days!)
Psychology of e-Auctions
Building an e-Auction team
Setting ceilings, bid decrements, reserves, overtime, and tie rules
Determining exemptions to e-Auction by category (e-Auctions are not just for materials!)
Measuring and reporting metrics
Training suppliers while keeping or strengthening relationships
Writing bid criteria and a solid scope of work
Calculating bid transformations and including supplier transition costs
Fitting hourly rates, project components, creative services, and staff augmentation bids into your e-Auction strategy
Running single supplier e-Auctions (when and why would you do so?)
You may have either had an experience with e-Auctions or heard about them previously, but this book is here to tell you all those rumors don’t have to be true. While e-Auctions were rapidly adopted and then abandoned in the early 2000s, we’ve learned a few things since then. They don’t have to be a race to the bottom or an opaque way to just squeeze margins from suppliers. They can instead be a fair approach to allowing suppliers to improve their value and partnership to the business and get immediate market feedback. If you have been tasked with finding better value and more cost savings with less time and fewer resources, this book is for you.
You’ll go from accepting your suppliers’ first price to negotiating value with every bid.
You’ll go from only negotiating a few of your bids to negotiating all of them.
You’ll dramatically expand your negotiation toolset.
Order copies for your team now.
The Psychology of Technology
Hal F. Gottfried’s Psychology of Technology dives headfirst into the murky and complicated waters where human psychology meets digital design. From our dwindling attention spans to the creeping influence of algorithms, Gottfried dissects the impact of our screen-saturated world with a blend of personal insight and hard research. Across its chapters, the book charts how digital life is rewiring not just how we work and play, but how we think, feel, connect, and even perceive reality. It’s a thorough, often unsettling look at how deeply the digital frontier has seeped into our minds.
What stood out to me most was the book’s voice. It’s casual, punchy, and brutally honest. Gottfried doesn’t lecture. He talks to you like a friend. He explains complex neurological and behavioral ideas without drowning them in technical jargon. I appreciated how grounded his examples were. Like reaching for your phone during a movie, or reading a news feed that mysteriously only shows you one side of a story. These familiar moments hit home. There were times when the repetition of certain themes, like the dopamine loop or “continuous partial attention,” felt like a warning bell being rung many times. Still, the urgency is warranted, and the message never feels hollow.
I also admired the book’s refusal to just dunk on tech or idealize some unplugged utopia. Gottfried knows we’re not giving up our phones anytime soon, and he doesn’t ask us to. Instead, he offers practical, reasonable ways to set boundaries, reclaim attention, and use tech more mindfully. His writing on the illusion of control created by algorithms was especially sharp. It made me realize how often I feel like I’m making choices, when I’m really just clicking what was nudged in front of me. The chapter on relationships was another highlight. It’s raw, relatable, and a little heartbreaking. It reminded me that sometimes the most human parts of us, connection, empathy, presence, are the ones we trade away for convenience without even noticing.
Psychology of Technology is for anyone who’s ever felt scattered, anxious, or just plain tired after a day online and wondered, “Why do I feel like this?” It’s not a tech detox manual or a scarefest. It’s a wake-up call wrapped in kindness and realism. Whether you’re a digital native, a burned-out remote worker, a worried parent, or just someone trying to stay sane in the noise, there’s something in here for you.
Page: 190 | ASIN : B0DYPK8RS1
Climate Dragon: Treachery, Pestilence & Weirding Weather
Climate Dragon is a thrilling and intellectually stimulating novel that delves into the multifaceted challenges of our rapidly changing world. Through a mix of speculative fiction, scientific discourse, and suspenseful narrative, author S W Lawrence presents a tale where the existential threats of climate change, cyber warfare, and pandemics collide in a world that feels unnervingly close to our own. The novel’s protagonist embarks on a journey that not only confronts these global crises but also offers a glimpse into the ethical and personal struggles that come with facing such overwhelming challenges.
From the outset, I found Lawrence’s writing to be both engaging and deeply informative. On one hand, the in-depth exploration of nuclear energy, climate science, and cyber threats adds a layer of authenticity and urgency to the story. For instance, the chapter “Quantum Weirdness” meticulously breaks down the intricacies of nuclear physics in a way that is both accessible and relevant to the plot. However, there were moments when I felt the technical exposition might feel overwhelming to those not already familiar with these subjects. Lawrence strikes a delicate balance.
Lawrence crafts characters that are both relatable and complex, each embodying different facets of the larger themes at play. The protagonist’s internal conflict, caught between personal desires and a sense of global responsibility, is particularly compelling. I found the dynamic between the protagonist and secondary characters, such as Emmanuelle and Ben, to be a highlight, adding depth and emotional resonance to the narrative. The portrayal of the protagonist’s evolving perspective on the ethical implications of their actions was thought-provoking, especially in the context of the novel’s broader commentary on climate change and human impact on the planet.
Despite the novel’s many strengths, there are sections where the pacing slows, particularly when the story delves into more technical discussions or philosophical musings. While these segments are integral to the book’s thematic depth, they may not appeal to readers looking for a more fast-paced, action-driven narrative. However, for those willing to engage with these slower moments, they offer valuable insights and add layers of meaning to the overall story.
Climate Dragon is a novel that will resonate with readers who enjoy speculative fiction grounded in real-world science and contemporary issues. Lawrence’s ability to weave complex themes into an engaging narrative makes this book a standout in the genre.
Pages: 298 | ASIN : B0CWPRTVD9
