Repeat CW Program Game Changer Eric Osterhout loves strategy and launching programs. “My main responsibilities are managing the supplier base for our program and also evaluating new technologies and new initiatives that might be beneficial to add to our roadmap to make our program more efficient,” explains the senior category specialist, SCM contingent labor for energy transportation firm Enbridge Inc.

For example, Osterhout last year led the launch of the Enbridge’s student contractor program, administered with the help of a specialized recruitment provider. The program filled 165 positions in its first year and 250 this past year, Osterhout says. He has also played a key role in developing the Diversity and Indigenous Supplier Ecosphere, which is designed to ensure that diversity suppliers are included on all sourced requisitions.

His main claim to fame, however, was leading the rollout of the Enbridge Contingent Talent Community direct sourcing program. With spend of more than $500 million in North America, the community accounts for more than 25% of the company’s sourced requisitions — a target set when the program launched in late 2020.

Direct sourcing is “the wave of the future,” Osterhout says. “You will never replace all of your staffing suppliers. But you can make them more efficient and keep the efficient ones,” he adds. “You won’t need as many because you’re sourcing leveraging your organization’s brand.”