ISM-Western New York, Inc.

This webinar provides knowledge regarding the many benefits that come with being a part of the ISM community. Join us and learn about the essential tools, vibrant community, and exceptional learning that enhances your professional development. You'll also gain insight into the array of programs, services, and resources that are available to you through your membership.

Procurement leaders are under pressure to do more than manage spend—they’re expected to drive measurable business value. This member-only webinar explores how AI-native cost intelligence is reshaping procurement into a strategic profit lever.

Join Gautam Pasari, Founder and CEO of True ValueHub, a 2025 ISM Supply Chain Trailblazer winner, for a focused discussion and case study on how organizations can move upstream in the cost lifecycle, increase transparency across global supply networks, and accelerate sourcing decisions without compromising rigor. You’ll gain practical insight into how AI is enabling faster, more informed collaboration across engineering, sourcing, and supplier ecosystems.

What you’ll learn:

• Why early-stage cost intelligence matters
  Understand how influencing the first 70–80% of cost during design can unlock greater savings and reduce downstream trade-offs.
• How to build transparency and tariff resilience
  See how breaking costs into clear drivers—materials, manufacturing, logistics, and carbon—creates a shared understanding with suppliers and strengthens your ability to model and respond to tariffs and trade shifts.
• How AI is accelerating sourcing cycles
  Explore how AI-enabled workflows can compress RFQ timelines from months to days, enabling real-time collaboration and more strategic decision-making.

Learning Objectives

• Identify how early-stage cost intelligence influences 70–80% of total product cost and apply this insight to improve design-phase decision-making.
• Evaluate cost drivers across materials, manufacturing, logistics, and carbon to improve transparency, strengthen supplier alignment, and model the impact of tariffs and trade changes.
• Apply AI-enabled approaches to accelerate RFQ and sourcing processes, reducing cycle times and enabling more effective real-time collaboration.

Many companies are unsure of how to begin implementing Lean and/or Six Sigma tools and techniques in their companies. Statistics and Six Sigma concepts intimidate many, but they don’t have to. Many companies have metrics they collect, but don’t really use to guide their improvement initiatives. This session will help every organization down its Six Sigma path.

•        Start with the 5Ss

•        Lean & Six Sigma definitions/applications

•        5 steps to a Lean program

•        Benefits of Lean & Six Sigma