July 2025 - Journal FINAL - Flipbook - Page 8
Nutrition
LOVE AT FIRST QUOTE?
Navigating the Supplier Selection Process
Mandy Gerhart
Director of Procurement
Pipestone Nutrition
Mandy Gerhart earned her Animal Science degree from Colorado
State University in 2009, a master’s in Swine Nutrition from Kansas
State in 2011, and an MBA from Colorado State in 2024. She joined
PIPESTONE Nutrition as Director of Procurement, supporting ingredient
sourcing and supply strategies to help farmers optimize nutrition and
performance.
Choosing a supplier isn’t all that different from dating—
it’s not just about looks (or price). It’s about 昀椀nding
a dependable partner who checks all the boxes and
shows up when it counts. Sure, the 昀氀ashy newcomer
with low prices might catch your eye—but will they be
there when things get tough?
We’ve kissed a few frogs and learned the hard
way what really matters in a supplier: reliability,
transparency, and alignment on what counts. Here’s
how we choose supplier partners—and how you can
avoid a bad breakup before it starts.
Diversi昀椀ed Sourcing:
Don’t Put All Your Eggs in One Basket
There are plenty of 昀椀sh in the sea when it comes to
amino acid and feed ingredient suppliers. But choosing
the right one means looking beyond just price.
It’s about knowing what each supplier brings to the
table. How do they handle unexpected issues? Have
they proven they can deliver when things get messy?
Ask the hard questions—just like you would on a 昀椀rst
date:
• How do you handle complaints or product quality
issues?
The reality is, most amino acids and vitamins are
produced overseas—primarily in China. That means
long, complicated supply chains, where bumps in the
road are bound to happen.
That’s why we’ve made it a priority to diversify. Over
the past few months, we’ve expanded our supplier
network to include a mix of domestic manufacturers,
distributors, and direct importers. This lets us spread
risk, maintain pricing visibility, and build 昀氀exibility into
our supply chain—so when something unexpected
happens, we can pivot without disrupting your
business.
Competitive Bidding:
More Than Just a Pretty Price
When it comes to our VTM premixes, we’re selective.
Each quarter, we send bids to a small group of trusted
suppliers—not every manufacturer on the market. Why?
Because we only work with partners who’ve consistently
shown they can meet our specs and deliver on time.
A low price might catch your attention, but it’s the
follow-through that counts. That’s why we also require
monthly testing on our VTMs—to make sure the
product being delivered matches exactly what we
asked for.
• What happens if tariffs change?
• Can you guarantee supply during a shortage?
Biosecurity Standards
Just like you expect your date to shower, we expect our
suppliers to meet our biosecurity standards. All vitamins
and amino acids from ASF-positive countries must
be held for 78 days post-manufacture—a researchbacked window which has shown to inactivate 99.99%
of viruses. We verify compliance through auditing
8 | PIPESTONE JOURNAL
