Below are the 3 Category Managers, 4 Supply Chain Managers & 2 Demand Managers with JDA & other systems experience. The Thor Group® provides supply chain analysts, supply chain planners, product managers, systems analysts, software engineers, business analysts, project managers, functional consultants, developers and JDA implementation consultants with your industry & other systems experience on a consulting, contracting or direct hire basis.

Would hiring a category manager with experience working in distribution, hospitality and marketing industries help meet the needs of your organization? Educational attainment is composed of AS Graphic Design and BA Advertising. Professional certifications include JDA Space Planner V7.8.1, JDA Space Planner Working Smarter V7.8 and JDA Space Automation Professional. Has experience driving brand growth throughout category management, strategic marketing, public relations & field marketing work for various leading CPG companies. Also, experienced in creative conceptualization design, advertising and public relations.

Acting as a category manager in a distribution, developed a new category management department, as well as became category advisor for more than 50 stores during the first 12 months. Key accomplishments were generating a $700K increase in sales for company during the first 12 months, as well as increased brand presence by 23%. Moreover, designed and implemented planograms for each of the stores in my portfolio based on store sales, unit movement, profit margin, and demographic specs. In addition, created and maintained both product and fixture libraries for our JDA database, as well as successfully acquired 3 JDA Certifications.

While working for a hospitality company as a category manager assistant, developed category management strategies that boosted sales at key locations. Additionally, increased brand’s presence by 17% in pet care and 18% in chocolate, as well as prepared brand growth analysis, analyzing movement sales & pricing data. Furthermore, copied store planograms, measurements and product data for category manager.

Could the future success of your organization be helped by this category manager with extensive work experience in an academic medical center? Educational attainment is composed of Bachelor of Science in Business Administration, Major in Marketing. Computer proficiencies include JDA SCM and SAP.

Contributed to the organization’s success by managing supplier relationships within the IT space, ensuring that the clinic business needs are met. Serving in an academic medical center as a category manager, partnered with internal customers to develop, implement and manage category strategies. Also, supported the internal IT strategy for assigned spend categories. Leads cross functional teams that drive results. Key tasks were leading contract/SOW/SLA renegotiations when needed and managing termination process, as well as developing and implementing supply chain solutions related to spend category responsibilities.

Supported organizational goals and objectives by reducing spend by negotiating better cost and finding efficiencies for assigned business unit. This professional developed and implemented RFI/RFX/RFP for current and new business relationships. Part of the job was to establish performance metrics to measure supplier performance and lead supplier business reviews. Furthermore, maintained the proper and appropriate professional and ethical relationships with all vendor representatives, conducts business according to established principles and guidelines. Similarly, managed analysts and buyers within assigned category team, as well as developed individuals and created opportunities to learn.

What can your organization gain with the help of a category manager with experience working in manufacturing, software and beverages industries a current business consideration? Educational attainment is composed of AAS in Business Administration. Professional certifications involve Intactix Suite, Dale Carnegie, Leaders Course, IGA Coca-Cola Institute International Category Management, Certified JDA Intactix Suite & Space Planning Professional. Technical skills consists of JDA SCM, SAP R/3, Spectra and TDLinx.

As a sr. category manager, became the recipient of the JDA “Real Results” award for “Best in Space & Category Management” as the project lead during the sell-in, design, and implementation of the Intactix Suite database. This resulted in enhancements to reporting and analytic capabilities, optimized business processes, reduced manual tasks, increased data visibility to external teams, improved insights delivered to retail partners, improved product placement tied to shopper behaviors, and established a foundation for goal setting. Furthermore, has managed cost share programs with account teams at front-end checkout locations to enhance negotiations resulting in saving of $2 million in trade expenses.

Part of the job as a sr. solution architect in a software company was to work within the Space and Category Management Team utilizing Intactix software, solutions and services to address the unique challenges of client base which include manufacturers, wholesaler-distributors, and retailers. Also, has implemented JDA Intactix Space & Category Management software and solutions utilizing a uniform methodology to enhance client business processes towards improved efficiencies and effectiveness of data insights and analysis. Moreover, has carried out functional application design of software solutions focused on space management, assortment optimization, planogram generation, database hierarchy, and business process flow.

Could the future success of your organization be helped by this supply chain senior manager with experience working in food, pulp/paper and personal care industries? Educational background is composed of Bachelor of Science Major in Industrial Management and Minor in Industrial Engineering. System skills include JDA Manugistics and SAP.

Contributed to the organization’s success by being responsible for leading inventory management activities and creating strategic Supply Chain direction for a retail division. Serving in a retail company as a senior manager of retail supply chain management, developed road map for Supply Chain improvement activities that drives operational improvement, improved customer service and cost reduction. While working in a food company as a senior manager of supply chain, responsible for $8.1 million annual budget, as well as created 12 to 18 month plant capacity planning model in support of labor planning, financial forecasting and inventory projections. Additionally, provided 12 week guidance on production requirements to the plant on a weekly basis in support of short term labor planning. Moreover, led a focused cost reduction effort to attack expired finished goods loss resulting in savings of $500K year over year.

Supported organizational goals and objectives by implementing Manugistics as the plant’s supply & demand planning tool. Acting as a manager of planning, led the Order to Cash work stream for SAP implementation at the plant. After 12 months, was given increased scope of role to include the transportation and customer service teams at the plant. Furthermore, improved team efficiency by clearly defining expectations and empowering team.

Is impacting your organization with a supply chain manager with work experience in manufacturing, food/drink and pharmaceutical industries a current business consideration? Educational attainment is composed of BA Political Science. Computer skills include JDA Manugistics, SAP, MS Dynamics Great Plain, AS/400 (JBA) and MAPICS.

While employed in a manufacturing company as a supply chain manager, chartered and led cross-functional project team, installing Master Production Schedule (MPS) and Planning Cycle process. Also, coordinated and planned all production at multiple internal and external/contract- manufacturing locations. Key accomplishments were improving manufacturing sites weekly planned production performance from 58% to 96%, as well as creating the MPS for company-owned facilities and increased On Time in Full (OTIF) performance from 74% to 98%. Additionally, decreased average annual obsolescence by more than $150,000, as well as initiated, developed and administered the company’s S&OP process, the first in the company’s 31-year history.

Part of the job as a demand, supply and production planning manager in a beverage company was to work on project initialization and implementation resulting in successfully creating a Master Production Schedule and process for all facilities. Also, planned demand and supply for Stirrings business; partnering directly with company systems (JAD Manugistics and SAP) while also coordinating actual production at multiple co-packing facilities. Furthermore, completed customer line fill performance improved from roughly 75% to 96% during tenure, as well as plant production performance improved from 40% to 92% during tenure.

What contributions could a senior manager of supply chain integration who worked in food, cosmetics and manufacturing industries bring to your organization? Educational background is composed of BS Business Administration with Dual concentration in Operations Management and Personnel Management and Master of Business Administration. Professional certifications include APICS Certified. Software expertise involve JDA Manugistics.

Challenges like being a part of project team that implemented Manugistics Strategy to optimize supply chain network and create Annual Operating Plan and generated $5.4M in saving during first year were welcomed and successfully completed on a regular basis. As a senior manager in supply chain integration in a food company, acted as project manager for Demand Planning Optimization project implementing SAS to generate detailed sales forecasts. Project came in at budget and delivered a 9 point improvement in forecast accuracy and $2.3M in savings during its first full year. Also, acted as project manager for Finite Production Scheduling project to implement IBM-PPO at an ice cream plant. Similarly, exceeded target of $4MM to $5MM in saving in each of the past three years.

Shared expertise by being responsible for designing and implementing a “best in class” global demand planning process; transformed a decentralized, regional operation into a centralized, global forecasting organization. Serving as a demand planning/Manugistics program manager in a manufacturing company, created and delivered short and long term forecasts for sales, production and financial planning for Europe, U.S. and Canada. Furthermore, improved forecast accuracy through metrics, enhanced collaboration with sales and marketing groups and by developing new statistical forecasting models.

Would it be beneficial for your organization to employ a supply chain manager with experience working in manufacturing and industrial equipment industries? Educational attainment is composed of Bachelor of Science in Business Administration-Finance-Cum Laude. Software expertise consists of JDA Manugistics, SAP, BPCS, AS/400 and ELKE.

Serving in a manufacturing company as a supply chain manager, aligned functional responsibilities while implementing best practices for Receiving, Inventory coordinators, planner/schedulers and buyers for improved supply, physical inventories and cycle counts. Additionally, worked with all departments to drive best accuracy reporting from Production Schedule to Shipping Dock. Also, worked on cost containment and savings initiative creating RFGs (Revenues for Growth) and flat costs. This professional identified $32 million savings in actionable reformulation of ingredients and processes within the scope of Snacks, Meals & Accompaniments, Supply Chain, R&D, Marketing, Sales and Finance. Similarly, utilized best choice carriers: freight reduction in inbound costs for 2012 – $280,000, on-going.

As a supply chain manager, communicated forecast vs. actual variances to corporate Manugistics group to develop most accurate forecast. Part of the job was to do procurement of all services, MRO, engineering, capital, in accordance with risk management. Additional responsibilities were supporting and implementing new product innovations, introductions, and discontinuances, as well as acting as liaison between plants and corporate QC, R&D, operations, engineering, Manugistics and legal departments. Furthermore, contributed to system upgrades focusing on purchasing, materials management, inventory control and trafficking.

How can a global demand manager who worked in medical device, consumer goods and filtration industries help your organization? Educational attainment is composed of Bachelor of Science in Agricultural Economics. Software skills include JDA Demand, JDA Reporting, SAP, Oracle, SAP BI, Oracle Discoverer, AS400 Query, SAP APO and Cognos. Key accomplishments were reducing inventory by $1.6M by implementing a rigorous purchasing and manufacturing planning process to optimize inventory flow. Additionally, reduced past due to the customers requested ship date by 32% by re- designing the order commit and planning process.

Working with challenging issues such as leading the implementation of a global S&OP process to bring organizational alignment between the demand and supply sides of the organization were part of this specialist’s work experience. This effort resulted in a $31 million reduction in inventory; increased inventory turns by 30% and increased On Time and In Full order delivery performance by 14 percentage points. As a global demand manager in a medical device company, established and formalized the global demand planning organizations structure, roles and responsibilities and processes to align with the global organization and organizational initiatives. Moreover, established demand planning KPIs to benchmark current performance and target improvement initiative. This resulted in a targeted 53% reduction in forecast bias and a 28% reduction in forecast error in 12 months.

With a “can do approach” in the area of implementing the use of statistical analysis and techniques to drive analytics and data driven decisions around supply and demand planning improvement initiatives have been career objectives. This effort instituted the use of demand planning KPIs such as standard deviation to measure volatility.

Would hiring a demand manager with experience working in manufacturing, retail and pharmaceutical industries help meet the needs of your organization? Educational background is composed of Bachelor of Science (BS) in Business Logistics. Technical skills involve JDA, QAD ERP, SyteLine ERP and MFGPRO. Professional certifications include Certified in E3’s Marketplace Replenish by JDA. Also, has exposure to various other ERP and supply chain management applications and operating platforms.

Acting as a demand manager in a manufacturing company, managed the demand planning and respective Sales, Inventory, Operations & Planning (SIOP) process for North America retail products, totalling over $500M annually. In addition, steered package selection and implementation of robust demand management software to efficiently manage and integrate the rolling consensus forecast and SIOP process to align with enterprise systems. Additionally, reduced inventories by 15% and increased customer market share by redesigning business and system processes to focus on collaborating with key customers, enabling customer driven bottom-up forecasting. Moreover, established training for key leaders and implemented standardized SIOP processes resulting in improved cross- functional communication, improved production planning & fill rates.

While working for a retail company as a demand planning manager, responsible for demand planning activities with key customer accounts, establishing strategic customer alliances, collaborating with customers and national account managers, and interacting with various departments to drive supply chain integration and facilitate the S&OP planning cycle. Similarly, helped department achieve a reduction of overall inventory by $50M or 33% while improving forecast accuracy by 25 percentage points. Furthermore, utilized JDA’s E3 software to perform collaborative demand forecasting, exception management, and replenishment over the Internet.