Don Perigny

Living most of his life in the Northeast of the United States, Don Perigny is a proudly married father of three. Transitioning from a career as a professional athlete, Perigny describes how he found himself in the medical industry as “getting lucky”. 

Joining Werfen in 2003 as Senior Manager, Global Procurement, Perigny today holds the position of Director of Strategic Procurement and Supply Chain Compliance. Loving what he does for a living and the great company that he works for, Perigny explains that he doesn’t compare himself with other professionals.

 “I always want to be in the middle of it, pushing buttons - that’s what makes me tick,” he says. I think the old athlete in me is what drives me; I want to be the go-to guy, the guy out there on the pitch,” he says.

Perigny is proud of his transition from a professional athlete into a successful business career. “I still get excited going to work every day. I love a big challenge.” 

What’s in-store for the next 12 to 18 months? 

In the next 12 to 18 months, Perigny expects to see more pandemic impact: “The effects of the pandemic will continue to have an impact on procurement, and I think if we plan for anything less than that, we are fooling ourselves.” 

He adds: “We must continue to be flexible. We must continue to be creative, expect the unexpected and pay attention to what’s going on in the world. After our work in 2020, we thought we were bulletproof, but we continue to be surprised every day. Will the market correct itself? Most likely, yes. Will labour rates go back to where they were? No way. It’s costing us 2 to 2.5% more for raw materials.”

But Werfen is committed to its ‘why we can’ attitude. “We are in it for the long haul,” says Perigny. With the world upside down and in a complex environment, it will be important for organisations to approach suppliers as partners. Perigny explains: “My approach is simple: be consistent, be firm, be fair, be nice, and be available.”

Future trends

Looking to the future, Perigny says: “The suppliers that hung in there will continue to thrive. I think they are only going to get stronger. Those that are inflexible, are going to be in trouble.

“Suppliers should look at which customers stood by them during the pandemic and prioritise those who did. We learned a lot about ourselves and our suppliers. As a business, we were good at controlling what we could, and that helped us build even stronger relationships with our suppliers during the pandemic. We want to continue being great customers, partnering with our suppliers for the long haul.”

Read the full story HERE.