Manage all initiatives related to purchasing, receiving and inventory of food, beverage, and supplies. Coordinates receiving activities and EOM. Responsible for processing invoices, statement reconciliation, vendor management, order guide maintenance, receiving team scheduling and financial flash reports.

Managed a distribution team which included purchasing, warehousing, and fleet management. Functioned as interim produce buyer while interviewing for a new candidate. Repaired and established vendor relationships, established best practices and introduced operational changes for more order fulfillment efficiency. Developed 2017 crop plan, decreased spoilage by approximately 40%, developed department through team building and professional development. Drafted and instituted new company return policy. Completed NECS Entree software training.

Some of what I accomplished:Plan, direct and coordinate the activities of buyers and related workers in purchasing by evaluating departmental requirements. Organizing and supervising the comprehensive purchasing functions for the company. Develop a friendly, professional relationship with suppliers for long term benefit. Review, renew, evaluate and manage vendor contracts. Develop new supply vendors for good and services, negotiating the best possible price and service guarantee. Manage freight routes, brackets and freight lane optimization to ensure best delivered costs. Audit and adjust system costs. Attend trade shows and conferences. Reduce dead stock through proactive management, effective communication and persuasive follow up.Some of what I've accomplished:Negotiated new freight carrier for major vendor saving over $18,000 in freight costsReactivated dead rebate contractsReplaced FTL contracts with LTL while maintaining or lowering current product costs

In addition to responsibilities from previous role:Developed and implemented strategic plans, resolved receiving and billing issues. Managed material flow to insure inventory is maintained to the optimum level to support customer deliveries while keeping inventory holdings at the appropriate levels; facilitated and conducted physical inventories and system updates; coordinated the activities of buyers and related workers in purchasing materials, products and services. Prepared purchase orders by verifying specs and pricing, obtaining recommendations for substitutions.Key ContributionsPlayed significant role in successfully managing inventory with sales averaging 1.4 million per weekTrained and mentored four co workers promoting maximum productivity, efficiency, and quality

Promoted to purchasing department, Served as liaison between sales and product vendors.Analyzed data, planned inventory needs, created and tracked purchase orders with accurate informationEnsured timely expediting of special orders.Key ContributionsContributed to meeting of company revenue goals exceeding $20 million by working independently and cross functionally to procure ingredients, packaging, and finished goods. Managed product categories and new item line setup

Based on previous successes, approached by company partner and asked to lead project to transition from legacy route accounting system to windows based system for data entry, purchasing, and accounting departments. Responsible for effective provisioning, installation/configuration, operation, and maintenance of systems hardware and software and related infrastructure. Participated in technical research and development to enable continuing innovation within the company. Ensured system hardware, operating systems, software systems, and related procedures adhere to organizational values, enabling staff, volunteers, and partners. Minimized staff resistance to change by conducting one on one sessions with key department staff to explain benefits of new system and get requirements. Learned processes in A/R, A/P, Purchasing, Credit Management and Data Management for both the legacy and new systemKey ContributionsDiscovered major program bugs by applying stringent and thorough test casesAs intermediary to program developer and senior management, communicated relevant issues, bug fixes and served as primary resolution pointConducted training sessions for all departmentsContributed to delivering live system two months ahead of schedule

Supervised staff and inventory, while providing progressive food and culinary expertise within a variety of settings. Charged with developing new innovative menus and recipes, preparing dishes, and ensuring the highest levels of sanitation and customer service.Retained by several major companies, including: Lettuce Entertain You Enterprises, Chartwells Foodservice and Service is Us

Rendered an exceptional level of service to a variety of businesses and community organizations.Grew client base and retained clientele through over delivering on quality and care.

Began as QA Engineer and progressed through different positions leading to Technical Project Lead/Support Specialist for data mining software company. Assessed client data warehousing needs, test and ran SQL scripts to establish customer database (Oracle and Sybase) and extract historical scripts. Provided limited client training. Collaborated with project managers, database support personnel, programmers, and quality assurance personnel to drive overall refinement of the implementation process. Provided written and oral feed back on project status and updates.KEY CONTRIBUTIONS Provided emergency on call support and resolved database issues for Bank of America.Developed and administered in house training classes.Served as interim Database Administrator and Support Specialist during company reorganization