Andrè Vermeulen Beyond the Sticker Price Introduction: The Evolution of Value If you have been following my recent discussions, we have already dismantled the dangerous obsession with the lowest price. In The Cheap Trap , we explored why a l... Logistics Procurement Supply Chain
Andrè Vermeulen Beyond the Contract In my last article , we debunked the myth of the "cheap" supplier. We explored how the lowest sticker price often masks an iceberg of operational risks, ethical liabilities, and long-term costs. But e... Logistics Procurement Supply Chain
Andrè Vermeulen The "Cheap" Trap We have all been there. You are looking at two supplier bids. One is a well-known, stable partner with a fair market rate. The other is a new entrant promising to slash your costs by 20% immediately. ... Ethics Logistics Procurement Supply Chain
Andrè Vermeulen 5 Counter-Intuitive Truths Shaping Business in 2026 The Noise and the Signal The narrative of business transformation is dominated by a single, seductive idea: technology as the ultimate solution. But this view is dangerously incomplete. While buzzword... Logistics Procurement Supply Chain
Andrè Vermeulen The 5 Principles of LEAN in 2026 If you’ve been in the procurement and supply chain game for as long as I have, you remember when LEAN was treated like a religion. The mantra was strict: cut the fat, reduce the stock, and chase the a... Logistics Procurement Supply Chain
Andrè Vermeulen Procurement Operational Renaissance If there is one thing I have learned over the many years in this game, from the paper-pushing days of the early 90's to the cloud revolutions of the 2010's, it is that procurement is cyclical. We osci... Procurement Supply Chain
Andrè Vermeulen Mastering Risk in the "Fragmented Reality" of 2026 I’ve been in this game for thirty-five years. I remember the frantic globalisation of the 90s, the shock of 2008, and the scramble of 2020. But as I sit here in December 2025, looking back at a year t... Procurement Supply Chain
Andrè Vermeulen The Invisible Handshake If there is one thing I’ve learned in my years navigating the shifting tides of supply chains, from the paper-heavy days of the late 80s to the hyper-connected, AI-driven landscape we stand in today, ... Procurement Supply Chain
Andrè Vermeulen Why 2026 Demands a Dual-Lens Strategy (Kraljic + Kenton) I remember when "digital transformation" meant moving from a typewriter to a desktop computer, and when "supply chain visibility" meant calling a factory manager on a landline to ask if the truck had ... Procurement Supply Chain
Andrè Vermeulen The Human Element in a Digital World We stand at a fascinating crossroads. Over the last three and a half decades, I’ve watched procurement evolve from a back-office clerical function into a boardroom powerhouse. But as we close out 2025... Procurement Supply Chain
Andrè Vermeulen AI Hype vs. Reality It is December 2025. Take a look around your office, or your Zoom screen. Does the energy feel different to you? A year ago, we were all running on pure adrenaline. We were told that Generative AI wou... Logistics Procurement Supply Chain
Andrè Vermeulen Hybrid Models, Reshoring, and Your Final Decision Resilience Trumps Efficiency We've reached the end of the "Make vs. Buy Decision" series. For the last 30 years, the winner in manufacturing was the leader who built the cheapest supply chain. For the... Logistics Procurement Supply Chain