Jennifer Waters Email and Phone Number

Manager of all purchasing activities, from concept through production implementation, on new programs for suspensions, steering components and assemblies, brakes and drivetrain. Responsible for all procurement activities for parts within commodities that are undergoing engineering changes. Responsible for all sourcing and quoting activities to meet the corporate strategy. Responsible for meeting cost targets that include, but not limited to: component and assembly cost, tooling costs, logistics and packaging costs. Responsible for aligning implementation timelines.

Lead and implement projects for the Cylinder Product Group to reduce costs and define strategic initiatives for the global sourcing of cylinder assemblies and components.- Facilitate internal process improvements to reduce operating costs and improve process inefficiencies for worked components to reduce material costs and internal transfer pricing to customers.- Directed insourcing projects to an internal facility, overseeing all aspects of validation including component, assembly and test, leading cross-functional team to ensure timeline and budget conformance.- Collaborate with and lead cross functional management teams to provide best practices and strategic resources for source change projects.- Successfully implemented projects that have garnered $2 million in savings for Caterpillar.- Lead stakeholder meetings; collecting facts and data to clearly define current status, to-be status, and request formal approval to move forward with projects.- Create budgets and project plans for project efficiency.

Managed a team of direct reports that coordinated and implemented all engineering changes and led New Product Introduction (NPI) projects. - Trained new team members in tactical processes for role; coached employees for development and identified opportunities for advancement.- Established standard work for the Product Change Control team, identified metrics for efficiency and measurement.- Identified core processes to support the business, and worked with other supervisors to create a facility process to ensure success for implementation and coordination of engineering changes and team engagement.- Implemented a metrics based performance plan to ensure that all work is done efficiently; completed this with input from the team to gather their perspective and engagement in the process of a structured performance management process.

Managed assembly routings for Medium Wheel Loader miscellaneous control valves - Updated and managed all production routings and assembly instructions to support implementation of engineering changes.- Completed time studies to create baselines for process efficiencies and identify areas for improvement.

Managed implementation off all engineering changes, and coordinated all NPI (New Product Introduction) for Miscellaneous Control Valves- Facilitated meetings to review all engineering changes, identify and assign action items with clear due dates to ensure timely completion of work.- Coordinated and tracked all NPI projects to ensure on time completion and delivery to customer.- On average, managed 200+ engineering changes per year, and 7-10 NPI projects per year

Various positions as a production line employee, including: heavy and light fab welding, CNC grinder and lathe machining center, operator station assembly.