SHOW SUMMARYWe’ve got a What the Duck?! episode full of supply chain excitement today with host Sarah Scudder interviewing Justin Sayre. Together, they dive into the world of supplier scorecard programs. They kick things off by spotlighting the superhero of decision-making: data. They then shift to the star of the show: setting up a scorecard program that's all about teamwork between buyers and suppliers. It's like choreographing a dance where the metrics groove to the company's goals. But that's not all – suppliers get their moment to shine as they tailor the program to their needs, forming a dynamic duo that's all about mutual success. Discover Justin's journey through roles like analyst, planner, and buyer, along with strategies for tackling the inventory management challenge. Brace for a curveball as they tackle industry changes, emphasizing data-driven decisions even in unpredictable scenarios. Stay tuned for more supply chain wisdom and connect with Justin on LinkedIn for even more insights. Tune in and get ready to quack up! Show Highlights Introduction to Justin Sayre and Supplier Scorecard ProgramsSignificance of Accurate Data in Making Informed Decisions Supplier Scorecard Program Setup Supplier Involvement in Aligning Scorecard Metrics Career Progression and Supply Chain RolesChallenges with Inventory Variances and Demand Fluctuations Impact of Industry Changes  MOMENTS TO DUCK AROUNDJUSTIN: Advancing a Career in Direct Materials“It's really important to make sure that you know your raw materials are coming in on time to make sure that your manufacturing is going to continue to go and make sure that you guys have material to make the product. You know, in the production planning role, we didn't really buy the product, but we were working hand in hand with the procurement team to make sure that we had that product here and it was the kind. And if we had to deviate, we had to make sure we had ECRs in place. We did a lot of testing, a lot of vetting. So, you know, if you don't have the raw material, it's pretty hard to make the product. So you just want to make sure that all your cross-functional groups are coordinating together and make sure that they're all on the same page and, you know, keeping the business going.”  JUSTIN: The Supplier Scorecard Process“You want your supplier scorecard set up in a way that represents your company and what is important to you to grade your suppliers on. So you want to make sure that you know what's important to your product coming in, whether it's on-time delivery or quality or innovation or, you know, whatever matches your vision and mission statement and things like that. You want your metrics to be reflective of that. So we wanted to make sure that we got those metrics and we were able to measure those metrics, and some of them are, you know, pretty subjective to, you know, not hard data but just, you know, how someone feels, which, you know, sometimes isn't that fair, but that's just how it is. You know, it's kind of hard to grade innovation with specific data points, but if it's important to your firm and important to, you know, staying competitive in the market, you've got to figure out some way that you can grade that on.” Connect with Justin and learn what he’s been duckin’ around with:Justin Sayre | Crest Pontoons Connect with Sarah and find out more about what the duck she’s up toLinkedIn |Twitter |SourceDay |SourceDay.com Had fun with the podcast? Leave us a like, share our content, and subscribe! See you soon on the next episode of What The Duck?!