Ep 22: Learning to Swim Fast feat. Mickey Schulte

When you’re thrown into a new role or find yourself in new circumstances, you don’t have a lot of time to get yourself into position before starting to take action. The more times you find yourself in a new situation, the better you become at learning to adapt on the fly. Learning to adapt quickly can make you a real asset to your company and team. Make that adaptation your strongest skill, and you’ll become a source of lasting competitive advantage - always in demand for the most rewarding roles.

In this episode of The Sourcing Hero podcast, Host Kelly Barner is joined by Mickey Schulte, Executive Director of the Savvik Buying Group. Mickey has over 25 years of retail and wholesale operations experience, along with a deep knowledge of business strategy, including strategic alliance development, account management, sales, marketing, and human resources. Prior to assuming his current position with Savvik Buying Group, he spent time as a Senior Vice President of Handy Hardware, and is a three-term past President of the Texas Wholesale Hardware Association. 

In this conversation, Mickey shares his perspective on:

• The difference between a GPO, buying group, and co-op
• How to make sure suppliers have an incentive to be as supportive as they have the ability to
• His advice for dealing with product and/or material scarcity above and beyond trying to optimize sourcing projects for price and quality