Procurement/Purchasing/Sourcing

EXPERIENCE
9/••••• present, Self employed
Developed new earth friendly product line; traveled to China to setup production facilities; handed off to LLC group

5/•••••/•••••, Director, New Product Development & Global Sourcing, Amsterdam Corporation, Amsterdam, NY
Company is a promotional products organization that designs, develops and manufactures (overseas) metal and plastic pens, vinyl pocket calendars, and nylon hand-carried bags. Responsible for 4 direct reports and 7 outside designers
Offshore facilities (••••• plus) were in China, and those facilities utilized plastic injection molding, vinyl sheet extrusion, metal cutting/stamping, and sewing.
Directed the international strategic sourcing, manufacturing, and purchasing aspects of this product category.
Partnered with freelance industrial and graphic designers, as well as internal design and engineering staff in the process of creating quality new products.
Negotiated price, payment, and delivery terms with international (China) vendors/manufacturers (all ISO certified) to maximize business opportunities, reduce company costs and increase profit margin targets.
Worked closely with vendors/suppliers to assist in developing and implementing strategies to drive productivity, reduce production costs, and improve product quality.
Developed a chain of communication flowing from planning to forecasting to capacity requirements and manning hours.
Directed the implementation of improvement process, policies and methodologies.
Interacted effectively with all internal departments, Marketing, Sales, Finance, IT, Engineering, Manufacturing, Customer Service, etc. to ensure quality products, on-time delivery, and •••••% customer satisfaction.
Attended National and International Trade Shows shopping competitors, keeping abreast of market trends, gathering market data,
Responsible for concept to delivery of ••••• new product designs
Reduced production time from an average of ••••• days to ••••• days
Reduced FOB cost of goods by an average of 6% through lean process improvement and strong negotiation skills
Reduced landed cost of finished goods by an average of 9%
Reduced damage rate and improved R&A from an average of •••••% down to 6%

7/•••••/•••••, Director, New Product Development & Global Sourcing, Continuum Sales & Marketing, Port Washington, NY
Company is a licensee (manufacturer and wholesaler) of consumer houseware products.
Directed the research, design and creation of new products for the retail consumer house wares market under the brand names of Oster & Sunbeam. Products such as cookware, flatware, cutlery and dinnerware.
Directed the international sourcing, manufacturing, and purchasing aspects of this product category as well. Which included identifying and qualifying offshore factory locations, working closely with the factory level loading (manning hours, raw material purchasing and lead times)
Negotiate price, payment, and delivery terms with international (China, Korea, Taiwan, India, Spain, Portugal and Italy) (ISO certified) vendors/manufacturers to maximize business opportunities, reduce company costs and increase profit margin targets.
Worked closely with vendors/suppliers to assist in developing and implementing strategies to drive productivity, reduce production costs, and improve product quality.
Interacted effectively with all internal departments, Marketing, Sales, Finance, IT, Engineering, Manufacturing, Customer Service, etc. to ensure quality products, on-time delivery, and •••••% customer satisfaction.
Developed (concept to delivery) ••••• lines of cookware, dinnerware, cutlery & flatware, including management of packaging design
Strategically sourced, qualified and quantified relationships with ••••• new China based suppliers, and 3 new India based vendors

•••••, Oneida Ltd. Silversmiths Corporation, Oneida, NY
Manager, Product Development & Global Sourcing Encore Promotions Division (•••••)
Managed the research, design and creation of new products for the retail consumer house wares market under the brand name of Oneida. Products such as cookware, flatware, cutlery and dinnerware.
Managed the international sourcing, manufacturing, and purchasing aspects of these product categories as well.
Partnered with freelance industrial and graphic designers, as well as internal design and engineering staff in the process of creating quality new products and retail packaging design.
Negotiate price, payment, and delivery terms with international (China, Korea, Taiwan, India, Spain, Portugal and Italy) vendors / manufacturers to maximize business opportunities, reduce company costs and increase profit margin targets.
Worked closely with vendors/suppliers to assist in developing and implementing strategies to drive productivity, reduce production costs, and improve product quality.
Managed all international purchasing operations; MRP planning and parameters, generating, submitting and processing purchase orders, coordinated International shipping logistics, maximizing container capacity planning.
Interacted effectively with all internal departments, Marketing, Sales, Finance, IT, Engineering, Manufacturing, Customer Service, etc. to ensure quality products, on-time delivery, and •••••% customer satisfaction.
Attended national and international trade shows researching shopping competitors, keeping abreast of market trends, gathering market data, and finding alternative sources.
Reduced freight costs by •••••%; Handled ••••• - ••••• containers annually
Increased on time delivery performance to customers from •••••% to •••••% ; Controlled $•••••M in F.O.B. purchases
Was key to Encores growth from $9M in ••••• to $•••••M in •••••
Launched company into Cutlery, Dinnerware and Melamine
During ••••• Successfully transitioned Oneida Corporate from a •••••% domestic production base to •••••% import
Instrumental roll in New Process Improvements, Project Management

Manager, International Logistics/Transportation (•••••)
This position was created as a special project to coordinate all corporate international logistics/transportation efforts. There was an immediate need to consolidate and coordinate all international freight due to the fact that the Corporation had made five strategic acquisitions within the period of ••••• months.
Reviewed and analyzed all existing contracts with freight forwarding agencies and customs clearance brokerage firms for all subsidiaries.
Met with and renegotiated contracts with freight forwarding and custom clearance brokerage firms.
Created and generated new reporting systems to consolidate and manage all imported freight for all Corporate Subsidiaries.
Worked with US Customs to examine and correct (where needed) tariff duty rates.
Purchasing Manager Encore Promotions Division (•••••)
Managed all facets of international purchasing for Oneida Ltd.s subsidiary, Encore Promotions.
Supervised all Buyers and MRP planners to maintain accuracy on dates of delivery, analyzing supplier performance, and managing suppliers production schedules.
Drove process improvements in order to increase staff productivity and vendor on-time delivery performance.
Authorized all International purchase orders.
Communicated with Sales and Marketing team as well as Warehouse management regarding in-bound inventories.
Project Manager - Business Acquisition Encore Promotions (•••••)
Managed all facets of Operational matters as part of the merger of Encore Promotions with Oneida Ltds corporate offices policies and procedures.
Commuted for two years from Oneida, NY to Long Island in an effort to learn all facets of this marketing companies operation in an effort to coordinate and drive process, systems, and policy procedures improvements.
Acted as liaison between corporate office Executive management teams and Encore Promotions staff for all matters related to the smooth transition/merger of the two companies. Managed and coordinated cross training between corporate departments and subsidiary employees in every department from HR, Finance, Sales & Marketing, Forecasting, Logistics and Information Systems.
Manager, Forecast Planning for Retail Markets, Oneida, NY (•••••)
Managed all facets of product forecasting with internal customers such as market research, finance, brand management, marketing, and design and business development.
Developed and implemented a systematic approach to create a market-based and event driven forecasting system for in-line products, new products, and business development.
Managed complex projects, prioritizing work and allocating resources accordingly.
Manager, Master Production Scheduling (•••••)
Managed Production Scheduling department for the final packaging and customer order fulfillment end of flatware manufacturing.
Created and analyzed MRP, WIP, and finished goods reporting.
Supported decision making process for final assembly of available inventories of finished goods for customer order fulfillment.
Manager, Customer Service, Direct Marketing Department (•••••)

•••••, Supervisor, Hardware, Lawn & Garden Departments, Sears, Roebuck & Company (part time) Rome, NY
Managed personnel scheduling, inventory, pricing and merchandising.
•••••, Supply Chain Management, United States Navy, USS Saratoga

EDUCATION
•••••, AAS, Retail Business Management, Mohawk Valley Community College, Utica, NY

AFFILIATIONS
APICS Membership
Institute for Supply Chain Membership (currently working towards C.P.M. Certification)