Eric Laurent Email & Phone Number

Appleton, Wisconsin, United States

Provide purchasing leadership and guidance to the entire company-wide print platform, (9 different printing platforms, across 6 different locations nation-wide) working to create synergies between the plants, leverage buying opportunities where possible, and create corporate-level supplier agreements supporting overall company goals. Lead cross-functional teams to establish standard operating procedures, best practices, problem-solving and cost-saving initiatives for the company. Negotiate and maintain national volume-based procurement pricing agreements for key materials that are vital to the business.Monitor supply-chain markets and provide ongoing updates to key personnel within the company, communicating of key metrics and market data with a specific focus on paper markets.

Appleton, Wi

Responsible for all procurement of materials associated for production of children's books, utilizing manufacturing operations involving: Sheetfed Offset presswork, heatset web offset presswork, saddlewire, perfect bound and mechanical binding, as well as assembly and fulfillment operations. (Roll stock, sheet stock, inks, coatings, corrugate packaging, wire and adhesives for book binding, shrinkwrapping films, finsealing films, along with miscellaneous other materials used in these processes.)Other roles and responsibilities within the company:-Administration of benefits for employees through open enrollment each year, as well as with new hires to include: Health and Dental benefits, Life/AD&D Insurance, Short Term/Long Term Disability.-Submission of claims on employee's behalf in regards to Worker's Compensation, Short Term and Long Term Disability-Inventory Management of all materials within the company, reporting monthly on company status on all materials -Collection and coordination of CPSIA product material testing on an annual basis-SFI Chain of Custody Annual certification-ISO 9001: 2015...On leadership team that will achieve certification in 2021

Appleton, Wi

Procurement of assigned items and subcontracting services for the company at their best value, while maintaining appropriate levels of inventory of raw materials and/or finished good product. Responsibilities:-Maintain and forecast inventory levels of assigned products lines and raw materials, with particular attention given to retail accounts, their specific requirements, (some specifically requiring GMI certified printers), and various print-related purchased items, both finished goods and raw materials.-Negotiate terms and pricing with domestic and international suppliers. Communicate material requirements to suppliers and coordinate deliveries to ensure manufacturing and customer service of adequate levels. -Qualify suppliers for appropriate services for existing and new products, while maintaining existing supplier relationships. -Ensure chosen suppliers provide adequate quality documentation, addressing specific needs for retail customers.-Appropriately and professionally manage quality issues as they arise to maintain schedules as needed.-Work closely with Marketing and Sales with new product development and current product rationalization. -Coordinate appropriate trials in manufacturing to arrive on the best method possible to manufacture a product.-Assist Accounting with resolving price discrepancies and inventory errors.-Create purchase orders as needed for the department.

Specialties include Graphics Finishing, including diecutting, foilstamping, embossing, laminating, aqueous and specialty UV coatings, mailing enhancements, handling of plastic materials including gift cards, faux credit cards, and plastic packaging.

Provide overall management, leadership and technical support to all departments of the company; including Estimating, Customer Service, Sales Support, Scheduling, Maintenance, Prepress, Pressroom, Digital Pressroom, Bindery, and Warehouse/Shipping departments. Responsibilities:-Creation and implementation of the production portion of the company's annual budget. Draft narrative of all areas managed and the production plan for the upcoming year, including strategizing of labor, payroll increases, capital investments, identification of equipment needs and negotiation of purchase price, and negotiation of key supplier contracts and pricing structures. -Meet weekly and monthly production utilization goals, managing labor costs, and executing weekly strategy for staffing of production departments based on forecasted workloads.-Oversee and actively participate in maintenance activities, including repairs, general building maintenance, procurement of parts at competitive rates, and scheduling preventative maintenance activities on equipment as needed.-Conduct press trials of new materials and supplies, processes, inks, and printing substrates, including magnetic stocks, in-line die-cutting on press, kiss-cutting of pressure sensitive labels on press, plastic/polystyrene presswork, iron-on transfer cloth presswork, as well as soft-touch aqueous coatings. -Technical planning of jobs including layout, imposition, and identification of equipment to achieve most efficient and profitable production plan.Continuous Improvement Activities:-Chain of Custody Certification-(Forest Stewardship Council / Sustainable Forestry Initiative)-Company Website redesign-Makeready sheet waste reduction in pressroom-Redesign and implementation of company Employee Handbook-Justification, procurement, and negotiation of digital press-Revamp/redesign of overall job workflow

Responsible for planning, organizing, and directing activities of the Outsourcing Department. Management of daily and long-term activities and performance of projects outsourced. Serve as a liaison between Customer Service Department and outside suppliers. Insure consistency and compliance with company purchasing procedures and policies.; Communicate specifications to outside suppliers via a purchase order. Discuss changes to projects in process when necessary, while acting as an escalation point of contact on quality or service issues.-Strengthen company's position with suppliers to procure work. -Negotiate with supplier partners to achieve a profitable sourcing solution.-Develop and maintain records on all suppliers and their capabilities.-Create a streamlined workflow to upload AS 400 data into PeopleSoft procurement program.-Provide ongoing training to the Service Department in use and troubleshooting of the PeopleSoft system.-Development and implementation of the Outsourcing Department and procedures relating to outsourcing. -Assembly of the Outsourcing team, planning, assigning, and directing work; as well as conducting year-end and mid-year performance reviews.Continuous Improvement Activities:-Banta Leadership Foundations-Banta Project Breakthrough Project, including participation in initiatives for: -Reducing Quote Turnaround Time -Belt Press Service Cell Concept Value Stream Mapping

Exceeded goals by providing a single source solution to the customer through project management of print production services ranging from prepress, web and sheetfed printing, perfect binding, saddlewire binding, mechanical binding, distribution and/or mailing, and fulfillment services for local, national, and international accounts.Responsibilities:-Management of internal service team through ongoing training, delegation of tasks, and final decision-making.-Championed several continuous improvement committees, including production-driven programs, as well as customer-specific programs.-Pre-planning of projects before becoming active, including initiating meetings with production management to actively discuss project specifics.-Continuous written and verbal communication with internal and external customers, namely Scheduling, Prepress, Printing, Binding, Shipping, Billing, and Accounting department personnel.-Initiated and managed customer visits for on-site approval of live jobs.-Participated in on-site meetings at customer's place of business.-Profitability management of subcontracting and outsourcing as account load dictated, including supplier selection.

Managed, maintained, and coordinated prepress services, per customer requests and requirements. -Managed and contracted outside supplier services. -Prepared all projects for final shipment. -Prepared written explanation of all billing in an organized statement for sales personnel.-Serviced a diverse account load, including a prominent electronics and appliance company, for which a weekly tabloid campaign was produced encompassing over 50 versions nationwide.

B.S., Industrial Technology, Concentration: Graphic Arts Management

Bachelor Of Science (B.S.), Industrial Technology/Graphic Arts Management