SCOTT EISENBERG PACKING A PROCUREMENT PUNCH

Transpak’s Scott Eisenberg charts key moments in his career, including how he has approached transforming operations at a bespoke packaging solutions producer.

“Three things define a best-in-class supply chain,” Scott Eisenberg tells us. “The first is agility, and the ability to adjust to spikes and lulls in demand without delaying delivery to customers. Second is having a contingency plan in place for critical materials, both from a supplier and geographical perspective – you only have to look at COVID and recent geopolitical events to see how crucial this is. Last is a constant revolving door of communications between yourself and suppliers to discuss planning, risks and disruptions.”

Eisenberg has lived and breathed procurement for almost all his adult life. With a degree in Supply Chain and Logistics Management and Marketing at Portland State University, and an Executive Masters in Business Administration from the University of Oregon, he now serves as Head of Global Procurement & Payables at California-based specialist packaging producer TransPak. His view on what constitutes a best-in-class supply chain operation has been nurtured and informed by over a decade working at the forefront of procurement.

This began at Daimler Trucks, where Eisenberg was initially responsible for the global sourcing of axles, drivelines and transmissions across Mercedes, Freightliner, Western Star and Mitsubishi Fuso vehicles. He was promoted into a continuous costimprovement consultant role, focused on automation, waste reduction, and digitisation initiatives. In his first year in this position, Eisenberg’s team achieved its threeyear cost target - success that triggered a rapid progression through the company. Towards the end of 2016, he rose to the role of Global Lead for Body Electronics, covering the likes of autonomous driving, cybersecurity and active safety systems.

Eisenberg then switched focus to the medical device industry, building a highly successful procurement team at British firm Smith & Nephew. During the COVID pandemic, in partnership with Oxford University, he spearheaded the creation of a new supply chain to facilitate the production of ventilators, a feat that earned him a global impact award, not least because the operation was up and running within two weeks to help meet surging demand for the product.

“I’ve always thrived on being set challenges and being able to bring my own ideas and strategies to the table – this is what I love about working in procurement,” says Eisenberg, who started his work developing the global procurement function at TransPak in February 2021. “I’ve learned many things along the way, too. The ventilator project taught me that treating suppliers with respect and fairness goes a long way. By doing so, they will go the extra mile when you need them most – this was certainly the case when we were up against the clock to produce an entirely new product for the company.”