Eric Michael Email & Phone Number

Grand Rapids, Michigan, United States

Manage a team of individuals responsible for driving profitable growth across the various business channels including commercial bread, deli, frozen, tortillas, and gas station businesses for Aunt Millie's. Accounts are mainly in the states of Michigan, Indiana, Ohio, and Illinois. My main goals include achieving assigned objective/plan, including net sales, market share, budgets and sales margin. Other responsibilities include, but are not limited to:• Managed and oversee direct reports to achieve internal and external business targets and goals.• Build and maintain lasting customer relationships with accounts/customers.• Oversee pricing and promotional strategies at accounts. • Be the go-to data source for category analysis and consumer insights to my customers, helping to maximize sales and profitability.

Greater Grand Rapids, Michigan Area

Responsibilities included business planning & analysis, creating valued business partnerships with customers by becoming a business advisor, achieving mutually beneficial agreements through skilled negotiation and understanding of the customer’s business. I also: • Drove profitability and built sustainable sales plans to deliver volume across multiple categories.• Provided category analysis and consumer insights to my customers. • Developed and provided resources and tools to Aunt Millie’s corporate retail team.• Facilitated sales meetings with customer and company management as well as field visits.

Greater Grand Rapids, Michigan Area

As the Shelf Management Specialist I managed all activities relating to optimizing assortment and shelf management. I also:•Leveraged space management technology and applications in order to meet or exceed the established shelving principles and standards. •Worked in a team fashion with Customer/Retailer Teams in order to achieve shared team’s volume targets.•Led customer shelf management initiatives and ensured the understanding of shelf management principles and standards across all customer teams.•Provided Category Management support and analysis and advised in shelf management.

Grand Rapids, Michigan

•Communicated weekly priorities and display plans to all Nabisco Sales Reps and District Managers for all 230 Meijer stores, across 6 states.•Acted in a team role with the Customer Business Lead, Shelf Management Specialist, Category Advisor, and region leadership to maximize sales and create growth. •Developed relationships with key customer decision makers to grow the overall cookie and cracker category and enhance our competitive position. •Managed all remodels and new store openings and lead all market tour visits in stores.•Presented at monthly Sales and Planning meeting as well as quarterly retail meetings. •Built all NOS orders, forecast, and set up New Items, special packs, and in store demos. •Kept a customer specific authorization list and monitor items to make sure they scan in the back door.•Handled all store level issues, monitor inventory issues and build plans to work through and manage a store reset budget through Acosta.•Worked with logistics and help manage the non-store receiving issues.•Developed custom Meijer Point of Sale from the ground up with a third party agency; supported Shopper Marketing to execute key signage/displays and provide post event reviews.

Chicago, Il

•Coordinated a retail team of 35 part time and full time merchandisers and reduced the merchandising overtime budget by 60%; hired and trained employees in merchandising standards and safety. •Initiated first team merchandising meeting in 3 years to motivate and align employees to sales standards. •Served as Customer Retail Manager for 16 Food 4 Less Midwest stores: adapted and sold in national marketing campaigns to the local market, conducted monthly meetings with buyer, and communicated weekly priorities.

Chicago, Il

•Developed skills as a Sales Representative, Retail Merchandising Supervisor (RMS), Category Advisor, Customer Category Manager, and Logistics Supervisor in a rotational training program. •Managed a sales territory of 14 stores with Nabisco sales over $800,000 and finishing 2nd in Q1 2013 in the Chicago Region Sales vs. Objective (123.7%).•Interpreted Nielsen data and presented to Mondelēz leadership a category review of F4L Midwest recommending key initiatives to improve sales within the category.

Fort Wayne, Indiana Area

•Managed numerous recruitment, corporate donation and community involvement projects. •Supported executives by compiling reports and graphs for Board of Directors meetings; analyzed and interpreted raw data of steel imports for Steel Dynamics and competitors. •Established groundwork for the implementation of SDI’s corporate wellness program in meetings with Weight Watchers Inc. personnel.

Fort Wayne, Indiana Area

**Summer Employment