Our cover story this month,saw us traveling to Columbus, Ohio to meet Johnny Howze III, Senior Vice President and Chief Procurement Officer at NiSource. For Howze, procurement and supply chain are no longer functions that sit quietly in the background of the enterprise. Rather, they have been transformed into strategic enablers of massive growth…
NiSource: Elevating Procurement and Supply Chain as a Strategic Growth Driver
As utilities navigate rising energy demand, ageing infrastructure and growing customer expectations, procurement is emerging as a critical strategic function capable of shaping enterprise growth and resilience. At NiSource, supply chain transformation is no longer centred solely on cost reduction. Instead, the organisation is repositioning procurement as a driver of operational discipline, infrastructure expansion, supplier collaboration and intelligent decision-making, underpinned by technology, data and a renewed focus on enterprise-wide value creation.
NiSource is one of the largest fully regulated utility companies in the United States and the challenge and scale of leading a transformation designed to reposition procurement and supply chain as strategic partners is considerable.
NiSource manages around $4 billion in capital and operational spend while supporting extensive gas infrastructure projects and a growing electric business through NIPSCO in Northwest Indiana. “We replace a lot of natural gas pipelines to serve our customers and the Columbia Gas companies,” explains Johnny Howze III, Senior Vice President and Chief Procurement Officer at NiSource from his office in Columbus, Ohio. “We also have a small electric business, NIPSCO, where we serve 500,000 electric customers as well as natural gas service customers. I view that as the growth part of our business because in Northwest Indiana, growing our electric system and modernising our infrastructure is one of the key things we’re doing now to create value for our customers.”
We also enjoyed a fascinating discussion with Dirk Dohmen, Group Purchasing / Services at Pfalzwerke. As the energy sector undergoes profound change, German energy provider, Pfalzwerke is reshaping procurement into a strategic engine for growth, resilience and digital innovation. Dohmen discusses building a modern procurement function, accelerating AI adoption through a partnership with Lio and preparing the business for the future of energy infrastructure.
Elsewhere… we have exclusive reports from The Supply Chain and Procurement Conference 2026, which looked to build on the success of last year’s inaugural event. And we also spent some time at ASEAN… This year, a wide array of expert speakers were complemented by interactive sessions and panel discussions with leading decision-makers on the latest trends and challenges affecting the industry, both now and in the future.
Plus so much more!