Earlier this month, Supply Management . com ran a story on how a 21-year old student saved Dow Corning 370,000. Gareth Davies, who is currently studying purchasing and supply chain management at the University of Glamorgan, spent a year at Dow Corning in Barry, Wales as part of his training where he renegotiated a variety of contracts making savings worth around 20 per cent.

That’s right, a 21-year old student kicked-ass in his first outing. Imagine what you can do as a pro if you take Gareth’s simple advice and take the right approach to get the right deal, using the right tool in the right circumstance! Knowing where to start, what tool to use, and how to use it is a great edge … and if you have optimization and spend analysis in your toolkit, the savings, even in today’s economy, are there for the taking. (And if you need to brush up on your skills, I’d recommend checking out Next Level Purchasing‘s SPSM curriculum. It might be for you.)