President's Article "Serving our Members with purpose and passion..." By George F. Nagy, C.P.M., President NAPM-Orange County, Inc. Affiliated with the Institute of Supply Management

I hope all who attended the April dinner meeting enjoyed it as much as I did. It was a special night, mingling with suppliers, recognizing a special supplier, an exciting speaker giving us insights into the politics of life and business. We had a C.P.M. presentation, introduced new members, participated in the governing of our association by voting for new members to sit on our Board of Directors, in all a very good night.

I don’t know about you, maybe it’s spring, but I find myself more optimistic about the business environment. The indicators, although subtle, appear more positive than they have been during the past year. I expect business in general; will slowly emerge from this period of indecision.

As the US military focuses on rebuilding in Iraq the chances for improved stability in that part of the world grows. Challenges remain both overseas and at home. A good time to remember that with every challenge there are opportunities.

Many of us, over the past year or more, have had to deal with the blight of a slowing economy. Dealing with excess inventory, supplier failures, layoffs, slow sales, delivery problems, doing more with less, all has taken its toll. At this point some of you probably feel like veterans.

The trick now is not to let up too soon. There will be opportunities to take advantage of in the coming months that just might give your company an edge in speeding it’s recovery from the present business slowdown.

What can you do to prepare yourself and organization to identify, and maximize, these opportunities?

I urge you to be prepared to act swiftly and decisively. Network with your colleagues in the association to find out what is going on in their business. Use the resources of the association and the educational offerings to get up to speed. Communicate with your suppliers—what are their plans? Initiate discussions of “what if” scenarios to get others in your company involved in new strategies. Remember companies like and reward the alert, resourceful buyer. We may soon find our selves once again competing for limited resources in the marketplace.

Are you ready?