Today on What the Duck?! Host, Sarah Scudder, is joined by Nisha Reddy. They dive into all they ways to reduce the cost of your commodities. If you’re struggling to deal with price increases from your suppliers, which is almost everybody given the craziness where we're at with inflation, then you won’t want to miss this discussion. Nisha graduated with a degree in Neuroscience, so the purchasing and procurement space was very new to her. After discovering her passion for purchasing through her work experience, she became a strong presence within her company as a buyer in the automotive industry that is dedicated to reducing costs across eight commodities.  Show Highlights Putting Out Fires Professional Juggler Building Positive Relationships with Stakeholders 8 Categories of Commodities Most Difficult Commodities of 2023Business Impacts of Price IncreasesConcerning Commodities from a Cost Perspective MOMENTS TO DUCK AROUNDNISHA: Building Positive Relationships with Stakeholders“In the beginning of my career and when I started this job, I did expect a lot of imposter syndrome, and I really had to prove myself with my work and my knowledge. So, I had to do a lot of extensive research in the markets for my commodities that I manage. I had to make sure I prepared before every single meeting that I went to. But this not only helped me substantiate my skills and my presence in my company but helped me to build trust with my suppliers too, and so that they knew that I knew what I was talking about, that I was interested in what I was talking about.”NISHA: 8 Categories of Commodities “I manage expendable packaging, returnable packaging, raw resin, injection molded parts, molded rubber parts, labels, stickers, extruded rubber, extruded plastic, and I've dabbled in aluminum and steel as well. And so each commodity has to definitely be treated differently because they act differently in the market. And I've had time periods where organ pricing has plummeted and then say polypropylene and nylon pricing has skyrocketed. So, it's easy to get bogged down by the little details of each of your commodities, but it's important that you take some time each quarter to evaluate market forecasts and define your cost-saving goals appropriately.” Connect with Nisha and learn what she’s been duckin’ around with:Nisha ReddyConnect with Sarah and find out more about what the duck she’s up toLinkedIn |Twitter |SourceDay |SourceDay.com