11 minute read
A GLOBAL AFFAIR
BY MICHAEL POWER
A GLOBAL PERSPECTIVE
JEFF RUSSELL CHARTS A PATH FROM HOCKEY RINK TO BOARDROOM
The ways in which people get started in supply chain are as varied as those who work in the field. For Jeff Russell, that path was by way of a hockey rink and small-town Ontario.
“My original dream was to play pro hockey in the 80s,” says Russell, now corporate purchasing manager for Miller Waste Systems Inc. in Markham, Ontario. “It didn’t work out, so I fell into purchasing by accident and it’s just been one steady thing after another.”
At one point, Russell also dreamed of enrolling in the Norman Patterson School of International Affairs at Ottawa’s Carlton University. By that time his ambition had shifted from hockey to working in global affairs. But the program allows 25 to enroll each year, and during the admission process Russell placed 26th.
“It was a small class and that was it,” he says. “So, I was left going, ‘what do I do now?’”
But Russell’s options were hardly limited. By that time, he had received a business accounting diploma from Algonquin College of Applied Arts and Technology and a BA in Law-Sociology, along with an Honours in sociology, from Ottawa’s Carlton University.
Russell was born in Shawville, Quebec but grew up in the small, Northern Ontario mining town of Ear Falls, about a five-and-a-halfhour drive northwest of Thunder Bay. His father worked in several mines in the area, including an iron ore mine for almost 15 years. Russell says that he grew up around the mining industry.
“I left (Ear Falls) to play hockey but if you talk to my parents they’ll tell you that I left to go to school,” Russell says. “My dad, being in the mining industry, was quite big on getting an education as opposed to playing pro hockey. I did chase the dream, and that was what I wanted to do and up until I turned 19, that’s what I did. I played hockey and tried to make a go of it and then called it quits.”
Russell had worked as an accounts payable clerk before attending Carlton and so was able to use his prior experience to land a role as a purchaser at Nellcor Puritan Benett (Meville) Ltd. in Ottawa. He became a buyer at Pratt & Whitney Canada in Mississauga in 1998 before taking on another buyer role at ABC Technologies the following year. He eventually moved on to become first a buyer-planner then a strategic sourcing specialist at Honeywell before then landing the role of procurement director at Crane Supply, a distributor of pipe, valves and fittings. Since then he has worked as procurement director, carbon, at Samuel, Son Co, purchasing manager at both Curtiss-Wright Corporation and ABS Machining, before getting his current role at Miller Waste Systems last April.
Along the way, he also received his Certified Procurement Professional (CCP) designation from the Purchasing Management Association of Canada (PMAC) in 1999 and the Certified Purchasing Manager (CPM) designation in 2002 from the Institute of Supply Management and the Certified Supply Chain Management Professional (CSCMP) designation from Supply Chain Canada (formerly PMAC) in 2009. He has been a member of the Chartered Institute of Purchasing and Supply since 2011 and, in 2016, was invited to join the International Federation of Purchasing and Supply Management, which grants the IFPSM accreditation.
He has gotten background training related to Canada Customs from the Canadian Society of Customs Brokers and has received his Green Belt certification in Six Sigma. While he has trained as a Black Belt he is not yet certified, and has also taken the Design for Six Sigma (DFSS) training in lean management for design but is not yet certified.
After all his training and experience, Russell is quite happy to now work in the supply chain field, despite earlier ambitions in both pro hockey and international affairs. “In hindsight, with the amount of international business I’ve done, I’m almost in that role, just not doing it for the government,” he says.
DAILY ROUTINE
These days, a typical day for Russell starts with reviewing key performance indicators (KPIs) along with scanning the news for changes in global markets that may impact future costs on critical items like foreign exchange rates or scrap metal costs. Global raw material is tied to the US dollar, so understanding its future impact on imported products in Canada is very important, he notes.
Up next is a review of his emails to review submitted requests for products or services that require immediate attention. He also works with his team in directing and supporting what they do while helping with any issues they may have. A senior role means balancing strategic, long-term initiatives with a more hands-on approach to short-term, tactical tasks. This helps ensure purchasing objectives align with corporate objectives.
Conversations with suppliers help to resolve issues, highlight opportunities and tie what’s
happening in the marketplace back to news received earlier in the day, which clarifies how these factors affect the products and services being bought.
A major draw of the purchasing and supply chain field is the variety of tasks and issues that arise, Russell adds. While those issues are often similar, it’s never quite the same from one day to the next. New challenges, different people and a constant push to coordinate between multiple branches within an organization to support company objectives keeps the profession interesting.
But the three challenges of cost, quality and delivery are always present. Purchasers must ensure the best price with a high-quality product or service while also ensuring timely delivery. Technology, which has become increasingly important, could now be considered the fourth component that purchasing professionals must work to balance.
“You’ve got to make sure that the suppliers and manufacturers that you choose can meet all four requirements as you move forward,” he says. “There’s always the competing element of all those. You may trade off on delivery for something cheaper, so you have to balance that. And then you’re looking at costs in terms of inventory and impact to the operation. If you can get it faster but pay more, you can make those types of decisions and pay it off. There’s always those types of situations.”
SHUTDOWN WOES
The biggest challenge to emerge recently has been the global pandemic, which has affected virtually all areas of business and private life. Russell began at Miller Waste Management last April, as the pandemic hit its peak. The economic and business shutdown at the time allowed him to learn about the new role at his own pace. Contacting suppliers for information has been time consuming and, with many working from home, it sometimes took a week or longer to get a response.
“It’s definitely confusing,” he says. “I’ve been meeting with suppliers online and have
met with a few in person. Visitors must wear a mask, no handshakes and keep a distance, which is funny sitting at a large boardroom table at opposite ends of the table instead of sitting directly across from one another.”
Miller Waste Systems is an essential service, and Russell notes the challenge involved in working with suppliers that have reduced staff or even shut down their operations. It’s tough ensuring continuity and sometimes necessary to locate new sources of supply or buy extra inventory to accommodate lengthening lead times and shortening supply lines.
As well, prices have risen as the Loonie’s value has dropped, since most Canadian products are bought in US dollars around the world, Russell says. There are challenges within the supply chain as well, as a lack of ocean vessels has meant fewer shipments from overseas.
“It’s almost like a perfect storm – all these different scenarios are coming together, highlighting risks and impacts,” Russell says. “It highlights the fact you need to ensure you have a supply chain risk mitigation plan in place. Otherwise, your supply chain will impact your operation in a negative way.”
For businesses and their purchasing organizations, Russell suggests planning and patience to weather the pandemic. Ensure your risk mitigation plan is written down and review it twice a year, he advises. If no such plan is in place, start working on one as soon as possible. For those who source globally, identify domestic sources and have backup sources for your primary source.
“Your strategic plan should identify the sources of supply by commodity and as a buyer or purchaser you should be aware of the capabilities of your suppliers,” Russell says.
THE GLOBAL STAGE
Among other things, the pandemic has illuminated the fact that Canada isn’t as self-sufficient in key products, services or materials as it should be, Russell notes. Free trade and global commerce will always be part of the country’s economy and it’s important to recognize opportunities in these areas. And while it makes sense to protect local industry, Canada should ensure it doesn’t shut out the US, its closest trading partner, in the process.
Meanwhile, many finished products like electronics and clothing are manufactured in low-cost countries with very little of it made domestically. Companies should pass along some of the savings they get from this arrangement to consumers so people can enjoy more of the buying power that would result.
“I’m a big proponent of having global sourcing opportunities and companies should be able to pass it down to their consumer base so that way everybody achieves it,” he says. “I definitely agree that we should have more trade domestically, but I also agree that we should be doing more globally and reaping the rewards. You’re going back to economies of scale – some countries are going to be really good at certain things and other countries are going to be really good at other things. It’s about identifying what those economies of scale are and who the manufacturers are so you can reap the rewards.”
For its part, Canada exports raw material then imports finished products. The country could likely do a better job of understanding the raw materials exported so we’re not paying as much for the finished product, Russell says. If Canada exports iron ore and imports steel or nickel, how much of the raw material is returning as a finished product? How much of that raw material originated in Canada that we could benefit from?
“We can get a little more sophisticated that way,” Russell says. “The US is so concerned about all the minerals that are coming from the Congo area. They’ve got policies that review that. They police it, they want to know. If they can track that to the nth degree, Canadian companies should be able to benefit from knowing how much of our raw material was exported out into a finished product before it came back into Canada as a finished product so we can get credit for it.”
SUPPLY CHAIN EDUCATION
The supply chain and purchasing worlds have gained widespread attention since the pandemic began. But there’s still more that can be done to boost the profession’s profile, Russell says. Many universities abroad do far more to promote the field to students as a potential career than is often done at Canadian institutions, he notes. While Canadian colleges do promote the field at the college level and there are a few MBA programs that concentrate on supply chain, there remains no business degree in purchasing or supply chain like there is in, say, accounting. Canada must promote the field as a viable career path while showing the sorts of tasks involved, Russell says.
“You could be negotiating a multi-million-dollar contract for a product or service for your organization,” he notes. “If you were to save 10 per cent off the purchase price, this is the benefit that you’re going to see in the bottom line. We don’t do enough to promote in Canada at Canadian universities.”
Along with a lifelong hockey interest, Russell also competed at a high level in judo. Recently he has contemplated joining a judo club locally, in Stouffville, Ontario close to his office. He has also thought about enrolling his daughter, 11, in the sport once clubs are allowed to operate again. He and his wife also have a 14-year-old son. The family also just got a new pet, Ginger—a Pikachu dog, or cross between a Pekingese and a Shih Tzu.
These days, Russell’s sporting hobbies include golf in the summer and alpine skiing in the winter. He also loves to read fantasy books, with his favourite authors including Terry Brooks, Jay Kristoff and James Islington. Growing up, he devoured his father’s collection of novelist and short-story writer Louis L’Amour’s books and now owns his dad’s entire collection of over 100 books.
Finally, for those new to the profession, don’t be afraid to start at the bottom and learn the concepts and processes by working as a buyer, Russell adds. While the day-to-day, tactical work of a junior buyer may be repetitive, the position helps to develop an understanding of the concepts and processes of the field while on the job. This process can help supply chain professionals perform better when they reach more senior levels within the profession.
“Too often people fresh out of school are getting into senior-level positions without really, truly understanding the role properly because they haven’t taken the time to learn as their predecessors have,” Russell says. “I truly believe that purchasing and supply chain management is the heart of any organization that can make a company even more successful if given the opportunity.” SP
