This two-day, hands-on workshop is designed for professionals in casting and forging facilities who manage supplier relationships, resolve recurring issues, and want to gain control over cost and performance using structured methods and data-backed approaches.
Participants will leave with practical tools to reduce supplier-related waste, negotiate more effectively, and implement ongoing supplier management strategies.
Day One: Problem Solving & Indices Training
Thursday, June 12, 2025 | 8:00 AM – 12:00 PM (4-Hour Session)
Participants will be introduced to simple, effective root cause analysis methods tailored for manufacturing environments, including 5 Whys, Fishbone Diagrams, and Pareto analysis. Then, they’ll explore how to apply material indices to track cost trends and support data-driven supplier negotiations.
Homework Assignment: After Day One, each participant will identify one real supplier problem from their plant that can be analyzed and addressed using the tools provided. They’ll apply both the problem-solving framework and an appropriate index to begin assessing the situation.
Attendees should come to Day One with a known supplier problem, operational impacts from that problem (productivity, scrap, lost time, RMA’s, etc.), the commodity involved, and the total spend with that supplier.
Day Two: Real-World Problem Solving & Negotiation Strategy
Thursday, June 26, 2025 | 8:00 AM – 12:00 PM (4-Hour Session)
The second day focuses on guided application. Participants will:
- Walk through the solution to their chosen supplier problem
- Apply real index data to validate the root cause and support cost discussions
- Build a negotiation strategy using facts, root cause data, and supplier history
- Draft a plan for ongoing supplier monitoring and cost accountability
Who Should Attend:
- Plant managers
- Purchasing and supply chain professionals
- Quality and process engineers
- Anyone responsible for supplier performance and cost
Takeaways:
- A ready-to-use toolkit for solving recurring supplier issues
- A fully developed negotiation plan backed by data
- A practical approach to managing supplier cost increases and quality breakdowns
- Confidence in using material indices to drive results
