Article: This is your captain speaking

The past three years have been challenging for American Airlines, prompting a push from procurement for value creation. John MacLean, vice-president of purchasing and transportation, explains how the function has coped

Winter 2009-2010

INTERVIEW: JOHN MACLEAN

By Nick Martindale

The past three years have been particularly difficult for procurement. How have you coped?

What kind of systems do you have in place to monitor suppliers that could be at risk of failure?

Have you come under pressure to improve working capital? If so, how have you balanced this with the above?

How have you gone about cutting costs, both within the department and across the airline as a whole?

How has that translated into your relationships with suppliers?

In terms of your own resources, have you found yourself under pressure to do more with less?

Have you found that you're able to influence areas that previously would have been out of reach for procurement?

What kind of strategy do you have regarding fuel?

Aside from fuel, what are the other core categories for you?

Have you had to put strategic initiatives and longer-term aspirations on hold to focus on the current situation?

Recently, you've moved into revenue generation, a new role for procurement. What does this involve?

What are the main challenges and opportunities for procurement over the next few years?

Does that uncertainty affect your long-term decision-making?

How has the procurement function at American Airlines changed since you joined back in 1992?

Teague, P. (2009). John MacLean, supply chain manager of the year.Purchasing, 138(10), 12. Retrieved from the ProQuest database.