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The first season of Beyond the Buy is wrapping up with a rebroadcast of a previous episode with Josh Sosland of Sosland Publishing. With the annual Milling & Baking Purchasing Seminar just a couple of months away (June 9-11 in Chicago), get ready for some great information and networking.

In the last of our 4-part series on the Pillars of a Commodity Sourcing Program, we dive into market outlook and strategy analysis. You have to know how things are working, as well as what you expect the market to do. Even if these often get more attention than some of the other pillars, they round out a well-run purchasing organization.

Part 3 of the 4-part series of the Pillars of a Commodity Sourcing Program is focused on tool and cash utilization for the purchasing group as well as the business as a whole. Here is where Matt and Alex really dive into all the possible hedging strategies and choices, going from simple to complex. These are items like an RFP, futures, options, and more. They then discuss the cash impact to the business. Understanding these tools and the cash impact on the business is key for all buyers and risk managers.

Part 2 of the 4-part series on the Pillars of a Commodity Sourcing Program focuses on personnel and controls. While this may not be the most interesting topic at first glance, having a good grasp on guidelines for control within the purchasing group is essential, as is the group of buyers and risk management people themselves. Successes will be limited by the strength of the team.

The kickoff episode of a 4-part series on what makes a top-of-the-line commodity sourcing program. Matt and Alex will dive into key categories that they use to help organizations identify areas for growth and improvement. Part I will look at business integration and policy. This lays the foundation for how a purchasing group fits in the company and details what it can and cannot do in terms of purchasing to provide visibility and structure.

Julia Hofmeister of Mercaris joins the podcast to discuss the helpful data solutions that her company is providing an under-served market. Organic and non-GMO products have been notoriously difficult to source as well as find price data. Mercaris is filling that gap through some great innovation and continues to expand to fill customers' needs. You can learn more about them at www.mercaris.com

When managing supply chain for an entire region with the different nuances and challenges that China, Australia, India, and more, Mark Torrens of MARS Petcare has a lot to balance. In his role as the Senior Commercial Manager for Petcare Asia-Pacific, Mark has brought his background in trading in Australia to good use. Understanding the variances in market trends, as well as global supply and demand factors, has allowed Mark to succeed in his daunting role with MARS. Across all markets, quality and fostering good relationships are keys that Mark discusses.

Dave Donnan of A.T. Kearney was an early guest on the podcast and a year in, we wanted to revisit some of our past episodes. Dave is great at utilizing social media, specifically LinkedIn, to get his message out and bring a valuable dialogue to professionals in the supply chain and beyond. See Dave's profile at https://www.linkedin.com/in/donnan/

David Brown has seen a lot in his career which has spanned several companies and roles. These include brokerage, CPG, commodity processor, and more. Lately, he's even found himself in an entrepreneurial role. In all of those jobs, Dave has taken pieces that have come together to create a unique perspective on supply chain and how to be successful. Plus, it does not hurt to be ready to take a risk on an opportunity that presents itself.

Bama Pie's CEO Paula Marshall joins the podcast to discuss her approach to partnership. Successes are meant to be shared, and relationships developed with suppliers, team members, and customers in order to find positive outcomes for all. Paula's insights to how things are done at Bama Pie to ensure strong partnerships can be a lesson to many in the "win now" environment of the supply chain.

Beeson & Associates, Inc. founder and president Matt Beeson joins Alex to talk about best buying practices, history in supply chain, and what are some pitfalls to avoid as a buying team. Matt's experience over the last 20 plus years working with a variety of companies' purchasing groups has provided insights into the best of the best, and how to get there. He also has had experience developing young buyers and training them to be best in class.

There is a lot of advice out there for new buyers, but Spendifference's Vice President of Client Solutions Liz Longstreet shared some great insights to her success in the food and commodity supply chain. Looking for opportunities to grow is more important than chasing a dollar, and Liz's hard work and focus to be a valuable member of a purchasing team has enabled her to advise a multitude of companies on their purchasing programs. We also had a great discussion about the role of women in executive roles, leadership, and specifically supply chain.

For Ford Mennel, grain milling is a family affair. The President of Mennel Milling (one of the largest, family owned milling operations in the U.S.) joins us to talk about the history of the company that goes back five generations to 1886. His concrete advice and ideas about the state of the milling industry and more broad applications for supplier-customer relations provide tangible benefits for those in supply chain. We also discuss the importance of relationships in purchasing, as well as the need to stay curious and expand ones knowledge.

Podcast host and Beeson & Associates, Inc.'s own Alex Norton joins to discuss his path to agriculture commodity risk management. He and Matt discuss what makes a good buying team, history of the markets over the last 10 years, and industry trends to look out for. Alex took a somewhat unconventional path, getting a B.A. in Economics from Wake Forest, but holding no training or education in agriculture prior to joining Beeson & Associates, Inc. as a market analyst. But through his research, on the job training, and MBA from the University of Massachusetts, he's become skilled in risk management strategies and outlook.

Former Cracker Barrel Senior VP of Strategic Initiatives Edward Greene saw early on that the best success came by surrounding himself with hard-working people with the right mindset. Working together with shared goals and utilizing the strengths of the individuals elevated the group beyond the sum of its parts. With history in trading and international business training, he moved to procurement/supply chain and implemented critical risk management principles in each of his career stops.

Susan Grelling of Patterson Companies, Inc. joins to talk about her unique journey through the supply chain and abroad. Susan has found a lot of success in a profession that traditionally has been dominated by men and shares her unique experience and intention for growth and development through the glass ceiling. From Minnesota, to the Former Soviet Union, Mongolia, and back, Susan Grelling has jumped into the deep end on several occasions and emerged with amazing perspective on what makes a meaningful career in supply chain.

It’s good to get perspective outside of one’s own industry from time to time. Matt Kelly (Senior Manager of Marketing & Retail Procurement) of Columbia Sportswear joins for a discussion on how to think outside of the box for purchasing strategies and the personal growth opportunities that come in unexpected places. Matt Kelly has spent time with Nike prior to Columbia and has broad experience with international sourcing challenges that many in supply chain face.

Urner Barry has provided the industry with timely market quotes and price history for 160 years. Russ Whitman, the Senior Vice President of Urner Barry, has spent his entire career with the Toms River, New Jersey company. He joined the Beyond the Buy program to give a look back at what has made Urner Barry the industry standard for meat, poultry, and egg information as well as where the company is headed. The way information is shared has changed many times over in the long history of Urner Barry, but the high quality of the information remains.

Each year the Wheat Quality Council sends dozens of cars across Kansas for a three-day tour of the hard red winter wheat crop. For the last seven years, our own Philip Beeson has been a scout on the crop tour, taking observations of the crop and talking with producers, millers, media, and others involved in wheat markets. As Kansas is the top-producing wheat state in the U.S., the market watches closely to see what the scouts find ahead of the May USDA report on new crop production. This year’s drought situation makes the tour of particular interest, so Philip gives us a preview ahead of the trip to not only the geographic center of the U.S., but also the center of the wheat production capital. You can follow the action on Twitter using our mapping tool that highlights the most useful tweets with crop yield estimates and pictures from the field. LINK: www.beesoninc.com/wheattour2018

We rely on the news in the commodity markets. What drives prices each day? What trends are developing that will shape costs into the months ahead? Thomson Reuters ag reporter Michael Hirtzer joins us this episode to discuss the behind the scenes at how critical information is discovered and reported. He shared his path to Reuters, some of the history of the news division and what makes Reuters unique, as well as how a story is developed and put out. LINK: https://www.reuters.com/journalists/michael-hirtzer