Sara Mcgowan Email & Phone Number

Kernersville, Nc, Us

Responsible for all supply chain activities in North America as well as indirect and resin procurement globally. Standardize indirect procurement processes across 6 global facilities and drive strategy to closely manage inventory levels, proactively manage potential material risks, and oversee global and regional RFQs. Categorize indirect spend, identify opportunities for cost savings and supplier consolidation, and develop direct reports' business acumen skills.• Developed global buyer team to eliminate plant procurement "silos" and provide round-the-clock procurement support for U.S. plant operations. • Achieved $830k annualized savings in indirect spend in <1 year within role.• Benchmarked global kraft, parchment, interleaf paper usage, resulting in RFQ on $1.2M spend, yielding 20% cost reduction via resourcing and negotiation activities.• Negotiated U.S. plants’ copper strategy with overseas supplier for 100% cost avoidance vs. current sole-sourced domestic copper supplier, increased payment terms by 60 days, with no increase to lead time or plant inventory dollars.• Conducted cross-functional Kaizen events to eliminate procure-to-pay challenges, publish departmental responsibilities, resolve 114 aging invoices, and drive 100% supplier invoice submission compliance going forward.

Developed and drove the business unit procurement strategies across 6 global facilities, accounting for $431M in annual direct spend, 566 suppliers, 7,912 MIDs, with responsibility for all NPI project activities. Collaborated with key internal stakeholders to develop global product risk mitigation plans and leverage purchasing activities. Led regular communication cadence among sites to generate cost savings ideas and best practice cross-pollination, support site initiatives, and communicate business updates to category managers for strategy alignment and activity coordination. • Spearheaded project to identify and onboard anti-counterfeit technology for use in all business units, minimizing lost revenue and brand damage due to counterfeit activity. $2.7M recovered in 2022 in counterfeit products in China.• Directed cross-functional, global team in multi-phase project to insource externally purchased patch cords, resulting in +$500k hard savings, consolidation of suppliers, and increased plant efficiencies in India.• Drove $3.4M in cost reduction initiatives across business unit above $8.2M established 2023 goals. • Developed procedure with business unit counterpart for quarterly, mass updating of SAP to combat rapidly changing supplier lead times during challenging supply chain years. Included directing work streams of multiple departments such as planning, IT, and site procurement.

Greensboro/Winston-Salem, North Carolina Area

Developed business plans in response to business needs and created a category team that spanned across all facilities and business units to drive regional and global leverage encompassing $100M spend. Led category management for N.A. to produce multi-million-dollar cost savings for the MRO/Indirect category. Constructed and communicated the strategy to the organization while identifying new opportunities to support objectives. Analyzed the regional spend/supply base driving the development of the category strategic initiatives and meeting KPI objectives. Negotiated key agreements, memoranda of understanding, confidential disclosures, etc.• Promoted to manager within 7 months of being hired, managing 4 direct, 7 indirect reports and 17 plants (1 in Canada, 4 in Mexico, 12 in U.S.).• Standardized Indirect Procurement purchasing processes across North America.• Developed and published a Preferred Vendor List for 60% increased policy adherence in region.• Achieved 70% of 2018 cost saving goal within 2 months of hire.

Greensboro, North Carolina

Provided the lead role in the U.S. regarding MRO expenses and services while meeting key, strategic KPI goals. Responsible for $40M in spending. Conducted weekly staff meetings for indirect procurement teams in both the U.S. and Mexico. Negotiated contracts with suppliers and collaborated with legal to develop additional means to accelerate achieving greater spend under contract. • Achieved monthly average net 45.2 days-to-pay terms against the 2017 goal of net 34.• Drove and managed Pricing Improvement Plans of more than $890k within first 6 months.• +$2M identified in two months spend reports, incorrectly classified as indirect spend in the system, then corrected.

Winston-Salem, Nc

Managed $25-50M in category spend including MRO, capital equipment, operating resources, raw material, and services while achieving cost reduction targets per performance management objectives. Led cross-functional teams in RFI/RFP events, negotiated terms of agreements, implemented sourcing strategies across the division, and managed key supplier relationships.• Exceeded 2016 $300k personal productivity goal by mid-year through contract negotiations with existing temp labor provider ($294k), leveraging facility needs and bidding janitorial services ($28k), introducing new temp labor supplier, and eliminating operational overtime ($80k), and collaborated jointly on RFP event yielding 14% savings on $7M of commodity spend. • Negotiated extended pay terms with top spend suppliers, improving working capital by more than $321k per day.

Kernersville, North Carolina, United States

Negotiated contract details and pricing structure on behalf of supply management and engineering for purchases of capital assets related to logistics and warehousing. • Provided expertise and leadership for inter-departmental projects as it pertained to packaging, logistics, and freight.• Analyzed raw data to determine supplier/carrier opportunities including dedicated lanes, milkruns, consolidation, and shipment reductions, resulting in 11% fewer lanes.

Kernersville, North Carolina, United States

Placed orders and enter vessel manifests for ocean shipments in SAP. Led weekly WebEx conferences with Japanese supplier. Implemented and controlled component deviations. Calculated, monitored, and controlled past dues with constant communication and partnership with overseas supplier. Ordered expedited deliveries for late, incoming port arrivals. Prioritized container arrivals. Coordinated and communicated Quality Engineering reviews and returns for defective components. Monitored and updated Supply Management’s daily Critical Report. Troubleshot and provided supporting research to Warehouse Receiving for items on the Problem PO Log. Travelled to Japan to lead process improvement projects.

Winston-Salem, North Carolina, United States

Assisted classroom teacher of moderate-to-severe students with disabilities at Carter Vocational High School. Prepared and carried out daily lesson plans. Supervised and managed students both in classroom activities, transitioning around the school and off-campus, and arrival/dismissal times. Assisted students with physical mobility, adaptive communication, and emotional wellbeing.

Winston-Salem, North Carolina, United States

Executed lesson plans, supervised school trips, and performed other teacher responsibilities as needed. Instructed at elementary, middle, and high school levels, across all subjects.

Defiance, Ohio, United States

Led weekly lectures for undergraduate students in various business disciplines. Created and maintained syllabi, lecture materials, grades, as well as provided career guidance to students. Courses taught included: Business Communications, Principles of Marketing, Management Information Systems, International Business, and Microsoft Office (Word, Advanced Excel, PowerPoint).

Master'S Degree

Bachelor'S Degree