Ken Ward Email & Phone Number

Salt Lake City, UT, US

TeraSTRAT provides consultative solutions in manufacturing operations management, focusing on cost reduction, quality improvement, and on-time delivery through improved business processes. Functional areas include supply chain management, manufacturing operations improvement, quality assurance, strategic global sourcing, Lean / 6-Sigma, inventory.

Palo Alto, CA, US

• Manufacturer of state-of-the-art x-ray imaging components for medical, scientific, industrial, and security and inspection applications to customers worldwide.
• Responsible for 64 people in S&OP (Sales, Inventory & Operations Planning), Machine Shop Operations, Global Purchasing (North America, Asia, Europe, Mexico), Scheduling, Supplier Quality Assurance, Shipping, &.
• Implemented demand planning accuracy metric & weekly master production schedules increasing on-time completions by 47%.
• Optimized finished goods inventory while improving customer service levels and under-running budget by 25%.
• Established a comprehensive rough-cut capacity plan detailing labor and fixed asset utilization.
• Led the team to #1 position in inventory turns.

Dulles, Virginia, US

• Manufacturer of aerospace, missile, and launch systems composite and metal products for Boeing, Northrop-Grumman, DOD, and Lockheed-Martin.Responsible for 6 sites (77 people) across North America in the areas of Supply.
• Supplier on-time deliveries increased from 55% to 95% in one year.
• Inventory accuracy increased from 80% to 98% in one year.
• Reduced cycle time from 180 to 80 days
• Implemented Kanban system for indirect materials, visual factory (material and schedule boards).
• Created “cockpit chart” style metrics with individual accountability rolled up to site accountabilities.

Independent consulting contracts included planning, executing, and optimizing “flow” through revamping the plant layout for a publicly traded mfg. business in Utah. Other engagements include customer service “fill rate” improvements through improved S&OP, and cost reduction through re-sourcing domestically and internationally in addition to re-engineering.

Payson, Utah, US

• Manufacturer of gun and residential safes. Processes include multi-plant metal fabrication, welding, painting and assembly operations in a streamlined “flow” environment for top retail stores and safe dealers..
• Created S&OP (Sales & Operations Planning system), implemented 5S program, Kanban signals, Visual Controls, performed mixed-model Value-Stream Analysis and cross-training for indirect personnel while consolidating 4.
• Increased earnings by 8% in year 1 by focusing on favorable Purchase Price Variance and an additional 13% in year 2.
• Balanced supply and demand through creating and monitoring demand forecast accuracy (27% improvement).
• Implemented bar code system internally and within the total supplier base
• Initiated postponement strategy for procurement and mfg.

London, England, GB

• Manufacturer of OEM & aftermarket metal gear and housings for the aerospace industry. Operations include precision-based CNC machining, heat treat, plating, and assembly. Mentored and coached stakeholders in.
• Through Process Mapping and Value-Stream Analysis, re-structured the Materials and Procurement Groups, reducing indirect labor from 32 to 23 people while growing business 45% in sales.
• Utilized Pareto Analysis, introduced Cause & Effect Diagrams, and addressed slow moving & obsolete inventory resulting in turns improvement of 50% in less than one year.
• Improved on-time delivery of raw material through supplier certifications while strategically improving collaboration.
• Streamlined spare parts business process to achieve short lead times by creating appropriate priority system.
• Through Kaizen activities, improved material flow, reduced machine changeover times, (mainly through proximity planning for tooling), and reduced lot sizes to single units.

• Manufacturer of aerospace spare parts and OEM products for automotive and consumer products industries.Led a team of 113 people in semi-repetitive tube bending, flaring, swaging, beading, metal fabrication, and.
• Strategic Planning: Developed a strategy of product differentiation based on premium quality and on-time delivery. Founded upon excellence in continuous improvement through LEAN-based activities, 5S, DFM, Poke-Yoke.
• Lean: Implemented Kanban, Cellular Manufacturing, and created a JIT environment. Results were inventory turns of 100 on the automotive line, and 18 for the exercise equipment line, with lot sizes of 1.
• Supplier and Customer Collaboration: Negotiated supplier consignment resulting in minimal cash outlay. Implemented VMI, EDI, and DFM. Negotiated AR from 30 days to net 3. Supplier certification and continuous auditing.
• Results from our statistical approach yielded inventory accuracy of 99.9% & warranty returns of 0.07% (nearest competitor had 7%)!

Executive Mba, Business Administration

Bachelors, Business Administration

Mechanical Engineering