John Baxter Email & Phone Number

Sheffield, England, United Kingdom

Business Activity: Manufacture of Hi-Fi EquipmentTurnover: £5 millionPosition Held: Head of Finance & OperationsMain responsibilities:• Management of manufacturing, finance, accounting, purchasing, HR and IT functions• Strategic planning for business developmentSummary of key achievements:• Integrated two separate manufacturing sites linking operational and reporting systems. This improved communication between the divisions and removed many inefficiencies in stock-holding • Changed IT systems from 2 independent local server based systems on each site to a fully integrated cloud-based system giving full and immediate access to information to all staff as well as eliminate data duplication. This has resulted in better and faster decision-making to meet business demands as well as reduce data errors as there is now one single source of data which needs maintaining• Streamlined activities enabling the company to handle rapid growth and substantially enhance operational efficiency and put the business in a more stable position to maintain profitability• Implemented a training programme to ensure operational leaders were equipped with the necessary skills to lead, motivate, train and retain team members and improve staff morale• Introduced a company-wide quality control process which has changed the culture to address the root cause of issues bringing a 50% reduction in product returns to date and this continues to bring quality improvements within the business. This has not been limited to production and substantial quality improvements in administration and accounting processes have also been achieved eliminating data entry duplication, improved quality and accuracy of data as well as automated reporting systems to field-based sales teams allowing faster and more focussed response to operational trends

Eastbourne

Business Activity: Building ContractorsTurnover: £8.5 millionPosition Held: Financial DirectorEllis Building Contractors are a reputable, well-accredited building contractor, established for over 25 years and one of the leading construction companies in the south east. I joined this company at a very exciting time as part of a business strategy to strengthen the senior management team to support the rapid growth plansMain responsibilities:• Control and supervision over all aspects of finance, payroll and accounting for the company• Supervision, development and maintenance of reporting systems• Management and provision of company information to senior management team• Development and implementation of key financial strategies to support the business growth plans• Production of regular management reports including cashflow, forecasting and management & statutory accounts

East Sussex

Business Activity: Manufacture of Oak Frame BuildingsTurnover: £4 millionPosition Held: Operations ManagerMain responsibilities:• Management of operations, finance, accounting, payroll, HR, purchasing, quality systems and on-site manufacturing• Successful delivery of customer building projects• Production of regular management reports including sales activity, cashflow, forecasting and management & statutory accounts• Product pricing and margin analysis• Strategic planning for business developmentSummary of key achievements:• Wrote, developed, implemented and maintained a full quality system for the business which enabled the company to achieve the prestigious BM TRADA Q-mark to become the only company in the industry to hold any form of recognised quality mark for their products. This has significantly reduced operational errors with resultant reductions in costs and aftersales.• Wrote and developed fully integrated and automated reporting systems for sales activity, margin analysis, production scheduling and production performance.• Ongoing development of the company quotation system allowing faster and accurate quotes to be produced by the sales team.• Implementation of new production shift system increasing production capacity and improving customer lead-times with minimal changes to operational costs.

East Sussex

Business Activity: Manufacture of Hi-Fi EquipmentTurnover: £1 millionPosition Held: Operations & Finance DirectorMain responsibilities:• Management of on-site manufacturing, finance, accounting, purchasing, sales administration and IT functions• Production scheduling, MRP including direct control and authorisation of all purchasing• Strategic planning for business developmentSummary of key achievements:• Wrote and developed a serial number registration system enabling the company to record, monitor and report sales of any product and history of product movement, repair and end-user registration• Re-organised manufacturing layout, team structure and build planning process to ensure full integration into sales planning process, improve productivity and develop team approach within the whole business• Wrote and developed an integrated accounting system for sales ledger, purchase ledger and cash book to replace manual systems which enabled more accurate and faster reporting of data• Wrote full build and packing instructions for manufacturing to ensure consistency of products and quality delivered to customer• Development, audit and maintenance of bills of material allowing company to introduce seven new products to market at the same time without shortage of parts and without over-buying of new or existing components

Hertfordshire

Business Activity: Distribution of Laboratory EquipmentTurnover: £9 millionPosition Held: Financial ControllerMain responsibilities:• Control and supervision over all aspects of finance and accounting of the company• Supervision, development and maintenance of IT system• Management and provision of company information to group and local managementSummary of key achievements:• Part of implementation team for SAP/R3 system in the UK• Following a period of unreliable system performance and complete lack of financial and sales information prior to my joining the company, stabilised company's software systems and established reliable, accurate and timely reporting systems• Set up and maintained automated reporting systems for management on daily weekly and monthly basis• Wrote and developed a fully integrated and automated credit control software system to enhance credit collection rates and ensure proper recording of credit control data resulting in a 20 day reduction in debtor days within 60 days of implementing system

Cambridgeshire

Business Activity: Manufacture of Hi-Fi EquipmentTurnover: £5 millionPosition Held: Operations DirectorMain responsibilities:• Highlighting and resolving any issues arising in the day-to-day running of the business• Ensuring focus on strategic goals and measurement of performance against targets including business appraisal reviews• Control and supervision over all aspects of accounting and administration of the companySummary of key achievements:• Introduced formal accounting policies and procedures• Implemented fully integrated MRPII software system in the company (Fourth Shift)• Set up management information systems• Set up automated sales reporting systems• Prepared disclosure documentation package in preparation for the successful sale of the company to TAG McLaren

London

Business Activity: Distribution of Power Tool AccessoriesTurnover: £3.5 millionPosition Held: Financial ControllerMain responsibilities:• Control and supervision of all aspects of accounts• Development and maintenance of management reporting systems• Maintenance of computer systems• Preparation of business plans, forecasts, cash flows• VAT/PAYE/Payroll compliance• Company secretarial duties and insurance arrangementsSummary of key achievements:• Introduced full sales reporting systems by product• Implemented a staff performance appraisal system• Prepared full business plan and review for new ultimate holding company in USA which prevented the closure of the UK distribution company - the UK company then ran very successfully with a fuller product range out of larger premises in Essex• Re-sourced a key product line from the Czech Republic which resulted in annual cost savings in excess of £100k• Introduced accounts reporting package to parent company in Denmark and ultimate parent company in USA

Hertfordshire

Business Activity: Photoprinters & DesignTurnover: £2 millionPosition Held: Financial DirectorSummary of key achievements:• Re-financed the company to ensure financial support from the banks• Re-focussed the administrative and financial side of the business to ensure that it could operate effectively on reduced resources and effected a staff rationalisation programme bringing admin staff levels down from 7 to 3• Negotiated insurance claim following a major fire at the Manchester plant which resulted in closure of the branch

Nottingham, United Kingdom

Summary of key achievements:• Planning and supervision of audits of public and private companies• Production of financial statements, management accounts and consolidated group accounts• Preparation of tax computations• Secondment to management consultancy department