Katherine Downs Email & Phone Number

Hartford, Connecticut Area

Responsible for safety, operations, and culture of $7M distribution center and (50+) employees. Intensely changed facility culture surrounding safety, SOP adherence, inventory management, and accountability. · Designed safety metrics program addressing immediate issues regarding security, OSHA compliance, and individual accountability.· Implemented local policies requiring supervisors to actively change the culture from the top down.o Decreased swings in inventory from +/-$20K daily average to less than +/-$5K through inventory adjustment policy with DC Manager approval thresholds. Increased Gross Inventory Accuracy from 50% to 90% over 6 months. Increased Net Inventory Accuracy from 80% to 98% over 6 months.o Designed and integrated process and accountability programs to drive accuracy and efficiency progressively towards KPI goals determined by executives. Back Orders decreased from 2% average to 0.3% average over 12 months.· Drove involvement of legacy supervisors through behavioral changes, clear expectations, and quantitative data analysis in weekly supervisor meetings led by DC Manager in both group and individual settings.· Improved warehouse operations through regimented housekeeping programs, leveraging cross functional teams, and interviews of all internal/external applicants for posted positions with critical lens.o Physical and systematic optimization maximized associate efforts and decreased average shift time during peak season-35% reduction.

Shelton Ct

· Managed $8M in annual fleet expenditures driving cost reduction of 10% and asset management through asset/contract cost analysis. · Planned and executed utilization/operation and compliance of GPS Routing Application for 7 DCs.o Improvement of On Time Delivery rate from 90% average to 99.1%.o Implemented internal/external ERP with immediate access to POD and invoice generation. · Successfully converted (300+) employees between (2) auto-reimbursement/compensation programs while resolving individual payroll discrepancies in compliance with IRS standards.· Standardized delivery vehicle specifications per specialized needs of Electrical Distribution business including upgraded safety features, fleet age, branding, and durability.

Capitol Heights Md

· Direct management and accountability for relocation of $11.3M inventory/120K sq. ft. facility with (72) hour turnaround on move weekend. · Physical Inventory (PI) manager for 2 DCs with $24M in inventory.o Planned and mapped PI assignments, progress reports, personnel management, and process completion for over 100 employees for each DC.o Provided data driven updates to executive team as PI progressed via online portal.

Upper Marlboro Md

· Planned and executed 7 customer focused trade shows across 5 states. o Developed best practices for event preparation, implementation, recovery, and continuity of attendee contact. o Set top show attendance, new customer acquisition, and sales records through collaboration and coordination with local managers and vendors.· Documented Project House Department processes and compiled SOP accompanied by probable customer facing scenarios regarding material damages, returns, change orders, and billing. · Managed 3rd party automation component repair center for 6 months. o Identified and resolved functional and customer service issues with upper management of Rexel Inc. and Rockwell Automation. o Increased sales by 84% from H1 to H2.

Columbia Sc

Completed an 11 week accelerated Management Trainee Program and Project on Processes to increase appliance installation proficiency. Explored multiple solutions to improve the installation supply chain process that recently underwent major changes and presented possible options not yet explored. Rotated through all departments of the branch including shipping, receiving, onsite convenience store, inside, outside, and builder sales, and showroom. Quickly became familiar with Trilogie while simultaneously compiling data to re-label the entire on site convenience store, compiling portfolios for private home owners based on lighting and plumbing fixture quotations, and obtaining materials supply shipment status and location.

West Columbia, Sc

Handled customer service issues and supervised replacement inventory control employee. Analyzed front office operations and proposed changes to improve administrative operations. Responsible for assisting in management of production flow. Collaborated with management and team mates to develop small emergency materials supply for a JIT system. Ran point on collecting data, relations with management, scheduling for team and project. Results included: increased number of orders shipping out on schedule that originally would have shipped late by 15%, increased business due to increased on schedule shipments, specific quantities of materials dedicated to safety stock, and production staff committed to purpose of safety stock.

West Columbia, Sc

Learned about the entire manufacturing process. Assisted in quoting new jobs and reviewed materials orders for accuracy. Trained in all aspects of production and became an integral part of end product quality control by reviewing and correcting finished product. Began a review of the front office, manufacturing and shipping departments to try to improve processes. Reviewed shipping/delivery schedule, contacted shipper to arrange delivery/shipping times resulting in 2 additional hours of production time previously unutilized. Analyzed production backups, determined more than half came from miscommunication between departments. Developed procedures to reduce communication errors by 10%.

West Columbia, Sc

Managed apparel for screen printing stock and audit stock orders. Assisted production by preparing garments for printing process and inspecting final product for imperfections to speed up production and improve quality control. Used organizational skills to decrease the amount of time between stock delivery and check in. Reduced stock order errors 20%.