If you are old enough to remember baseball great Reggie Jackson, as I am, you might also recall that he liked to refer to himself as “Mr. October” based on his prolific performances in postseason. Another term used to refer to Jackson was “The Straw that Stirs the Drink” because he was the guy that made everything else work. That is the phrase that comes to my mind when I think of our Supplier-Partners – “The Straw that Stirs the Drink”. USA Supplier-Partners make everything else possible for our Alliance as they deliver industry best quality, savings, innovation, and customer service, and we truly appreciate each and every one of them. A listing of our suppliers, including key contact information and a summary of services provided can be found on our website at USA Supplier-Partners.
We recently introduced what we affectionately refer to as the “Wall of Fame” at our offices in Overland Park. We post the name and logo of all our currently active Supplier-Partners on the wall immediately visible as one enters the office. It looks great and is a fitting tribute to this group that is so integral to the success of USA and our members. We look forward to having you stop by and see it in person once operations return to normal and the office reopens!
Speaking of Supplier-Partners, just because we had to cancel the Executive Summit this year did not mean our 2019 Supplier of the Year honors were forgotten. As always, our Suppliers were in the thick of our 2019 accomplishments and we want to offer special congratulations to our 2019 Suppliers of the Year as voted on by our members:
- Services: Energy Solutions
- Materials: Curtiss-Wright (AP Services)
- Technology: Paragon
Well Done! I say it every year, but only because it’s true- the competition is very stiff—in some cases, just hundredths of a point separate first and second place. Keep up the good work, everyone!
Elsewhere, the USA Supply Chain (SCM) Team is not letting Covid-19 slow us down. There are many other activities going on this fall, including our Engineer of Choice (EOC) and Parts Quality Initiatives as well as development of new agreements and ongoing implementation of our new rebate forecasting process. The Team is also in the process of fully implementing Microsoft Teams and will be meeting virtually in early September for 2021 planning. The future is bright, and we eagerly look forward to more great things as we continue to collaborate and grow the Alliance. Thank you so much for your support and please feel free to reach out to me with any questions or suggestions!
