I currently manage a team of commodity and specialty buyers in 3 countries, spanning 17 time zones. During my time at Vivion, I have successfully launched new product programs including empty capsules and amino acids. My purchasing career spans an extensive background, encompassing category management, P&L and inventory control retail, wholesale, distribution and bulk food ingredients and chemicals. Importing from four continents, I manage the supply chain up to a 240-day from factory. I display strong negotiation to reduce costs for maximized profitability. I am experienced with many purchasing programs, including the development of three different ERP systems within 10 years. I lead by example as team player with strong communication skills, an innate insight of the long-range big picture, being able to quickly respond to unexpected challenges. I interact with my sales and marketing departments as their category expert. In addition, I also work with my Compliance Dept to ensure proper documentation process is followed. Being comfortable with public speaking, my presentation skills are superb, engaging my audience with persuasiveness. My experience at the Food Industry Management Program at USC solidified my skills in business management and communication.I have bought a wide variety of categories from Specialty and Ethnic Food/Beverages, HBA, Sundries, Hardware/Automotive. Currently, I am managing over 100 materials in 5 distribution centers, raw food ingredients and chemicals sold to the Food, Nutrition, Pharma, Pet, Personal Care, Industrial/Ag sectors. Many of the ingredients are commodity-based with fluctuating pricing, requiring market research and key contacts. Long range planning is essential with both imported and domestic materials.Since I have been at Vivion LLC, I have saturated myself in category knowledge and research, and built solid relationships internally and externally, which have led to my successes. I am involved in top-level decisions where my perspective and sound judgment are sought out. During the 2020-2021 supply chain crises, I successfully maneuvered Vivion key ingredient categories, with various shutdowns, Force Majeure and US CBP bans, into growth despite absence of materials from traditional suppliers. It is my expansive background in bulk raw materials, corporate retail and distributor buying and marketing, the completion of the USC Food Management Program proves me to be a well-qualified candidate for your future business plans.