Thomas Parent Email & Phone Number

Data Analysis and Manipulation• Restructured vendor price lists (for over 60 electronic corporations) requiring a wide variety of data manipulation techniques in Excel and Access, to be compatible for uploading into PeopleSoft system.• Calculated resale pricing using gross margin formulas. Determined minimum order quantities based upon minimum dollar requirements and standard packaging.• Converted vendor lead time into a compatible format for upload, which was used by Planning and Sales departments to determine expected delivery dates.Special Projects• Created a comprehensive quarterly report combining changes in purchase costs, warehouse locations, quantities on hand, and order/back order status that resulted in a savings of thousands of dollars. Report eliminated 5 to 10 hours of additional work for product managers and buyers, while improving accuracy of decisions from approximately 50% to nearly 100%.• Generated Stock Rotation Reports used by product managers to identify stock with poor sales history for individual brands. These products would either be returned to the vendor or sold off at a reduced price to clear warehouse floor for more profitable merchandise.• Generated Price Protection Reports used by product managers and buyers to identify time sensitive changes in product pricing. Due to price protection agreements with the vendors, there could be additional costs incurred or partial refunds based upon fluctuations in product pricing.• Updated information for individual parts and merchandise per requests submitted by product managers and buyers.

Data Analysis and Recommendations• Performed multiple data mergers in Access and Excel to assemble vital market statistics and information on each client. Made price discount tier level recommendations for over 200 to 300 contracts for each client, based upon market share, dollar volume, and year-to-date purchases from the previous year.• Achieved 98% accuracy level with recommendations, reduced processing time by 50%, and saved each client thousands of dollars.• Prepared client contract recommendation reports using Word mail merge to create individual cover sheets that supplied key contract information. Provided an Excel summary spreadsheet stating reasons for each separate price discount tier level recommendation.Access Database Design and Programming• Designed and created an Access database program for tracking expired and renewed contracts, complete with data entry forms and pertinent contract status reports. • Upgraded existing Access database for tracking client and manufacturer signatures, by modifying entry forms and creating new reports reviewed by upper management.Special Projects• Prepared weekly Excel contract assignment and work volume report (11 spreadsheets with use of VLOOKUP) used by supervisor to determine new contract assignments for 6 Premier customer representatives.• Researched Premier internet Supply Chain Advisor program, looking for inconsistencies between contract sites and paper contracts, and completed an Excel report listing sites needing correction.• Acted as liaison between major manufacturer and multiple clients with regards to approved or revised price discount tier level selections using Premier’s online contract price activation program.• Faxed client signed contracts to manufacturers for approval signatures and verified contract content using Siebel database program.

Call Center Manager: Supervised office staff consisting of Call Center Phone Representatives, EmailCorrespondent, and Research Case Managers. Set goals, assigned priorities, and monitored quality of work.• Improved morale greatly and built effective team management by showing respect and taking personal interest in each individual, and being a problem solver, open to new ideas and suggestions. Resulted in a 35% increase of customers served with greater customer satisfaction.• Designed and introduced personal accountability system on Excel 97 which measured individual attendance and productivity. Used system for monthly individual performance reviews that increased personal improvement and morale.• Developed Access 97 database program for processing and transferring brochure and catalog requests to the mail room, producing 24 hour turnaround from requests received to mail response.• Compiled, organized, and wrote department handbook in Word 97 which greatly unified and facilitated day to day call responses and training of new personnel.• Personally managed and resolved difficult customer situations through correspondence and direct phone contact, and successfully arbitrated difficult employee situations.Public Relations• Booked yearly average of 140 press and radio talk show phone interviews for Superintendent of Schools.• Represented school and delivered speeches on various educational issues before national, regional, and local home school organizations.Marketing and Promotion• Created marketing and promotion plan that increased student enrollments from 3,700 to over 34,000 in ten years.• Designed and wrote all promotional materials and print advertising.• Determined placement of print ads in national magazines, periodicals, and card decks.• Planned and coordinated school’s product presentations annually for over 150 homeschool seminars nationwide.