Rick Jacobs, vice president supply chain, Eaton Corp.
Interview by Paul Teague -- Purchasing, 11/2/2006 2:00:00 AM
Rick Jacobs, vice president of supply chain, Eaton Corp.
What is your purchasing background?
I have been fortunate in my career that I have worked for some great companies including General Electric (GE), Honeywell and, now, Eaton. During my career, I have held nearly every purchasing position. In addition to purchasing experience, I was also a general manger of a manufacturing division with for almost 4 years. So I have experience with both the purchasing aspect and business needs.
What is your educational background?
Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering
Master of Science in Industrial Management
Graduate of the Harvard Business Marketing program
Graduate of Columbia General Management program
How long have you been at Eaton?
I have been with Eaton three years and am proud to work with such great people.
What is Eaton's annual spend, direct and indirect?
Approximately $6.0 Billion USD
How many people are in the purchasing department?
Globally, we have about 500 people in purchasing
What's the major purchasing challenge you have at Eaton?
Our biggest challenge is to simplify our business to help us make the best total cost decisions.
What are your major purchasing initiatives?
The four major global initiatives are: digitization of end-to-end transactions; completion of our global supplier quality system; global deployment of our supplier collaboration tools; and leveraging spend across the entire enterprise. We believe these initiatives, combined with our supply chain management education program and our outstanding associates, will make us a stronger company.
What are your biggest purchasing successes?
Our biggest recent success is the deployment of the global supply chain management leadership process. This process brings our supply chain management leaders from all over the world together several times a year in different regions to share best practices, develop global strategies, gain alignment and prioritize projects.
How closely do you work with C-level executives?
Our focus is to ensure our supply chain management goals are globally aligned. To do that, our team works directly with executives in both the businesses and support functions on a regular basis.
How has the role of the buyer changed over the last few years?
In my opinion, buyer roles continue to evolve from transactional to strategic. I believe, however, the biggest changes are still ahead of us. These new challenges will include digitization of transactions, making globally leveraged purchasing decisions and providing business intelligence to each buyer.
What's your advice to others who want to advance in the field of purchasing?
Have good analytical skills, understand finance, be open to change, suggest bold ideas, and believe in continuous learning.
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