Charlie Vu

Senior Buyer and procurement professional with 7+ years' experience across renewable energy, engineering-led operations, manufacturing and international supply chains, complemented by an MSc in Supply Chain Management from Aston University. Managed £3M–£3.5M annual procurement spend for materials, equipment and critical components across five operational sites, with hands-on responsibility across purchasing strategy, strategic sourcing, RFQs and tendering, commercial evaluation, supplier selection, negotiation, contract and PO terms, supplier performance and supply risk. Combines strong commercial judgement with practical supply-chain delivery, balancing cost, quality, lead time, availability and risk rather than lowest price alone.

Consolidated 40+ suppliers into six strategic partners, delivered 10–12% procurement savings and improved supplier OTIF from 92% to 98%. Experienced in supplier development and qualification, international sourcing, SAP/ERP/MRP and cross-functional working with Engineering, Operations, Finance, Legal, site teams and senior management to improve commercial value, supplier performance and supply continuity.

Customer Team Member – Stock & Store Operations - CO-OPERATIVE GROUP LIMITED - Manchester, UK

(2026-04)

• Inventory & Availability: Monitor stock levels, investigate discrepancies and support accurate inventory control and product availability within a high-volume UK retail environment.
• Replenishment & Operations: Coordinate daily replenishment against demand and trading priorities, resolving stock and availability issues to maintain operational continuity.

Store Operations Assistant – Supply & Replenishment - HOME BARGAINS - Manchester, UK

(2025-10 - 2026-04)

• Inventory & Replenishment: Managed stock accuracy and replenishment across high-volume FMCG categories, responding to demand changes and trading priorities to support availability.
• Stock Control: Investigated inventory discrepancies and prioritised fast-moving lines to minimise potential stock shortages.

Supply Chain Lead - TAN LINH WIND POWER JSC

(2022-12 - 2024-11)

• Procurement & Spend Management: Managed £3M–£3.5M annual procurement spend for materials, equipment and critical components supporting maintenance and operational requirements across five wind-power sites.
• Procurement Strategy & Supply-Base Development: Developed sourcing approaches across multiple categories using supplier, spend, operational and supply-risk considerations; consolidated 40+ suppliers into six strategic partners to strengthen commercial leverage, procurement control and supply resilience.
• Competitive Tendering & RFQ Management: Led tender and RFQ exercises within approved supplier panels, preparing procurement requirements, obtaining quotations, coordinating supplier clarifications and managing commercial evaluation through to recommendation.
• Commercial Evaluation & Supplier Selection: Built detailed commercial comparisons and recommended preferred suppliers to Directors and management based on cost, quality, lead time and supply risk, while challenging unnecessary scope and expenditure to improve overall value.
• Commercial Negotiation: Negotiated pricing, payment terms, MOQ, delivery schedules and Incoterms (EXW, FOB, FCA, CIF, CIP), contributing to 10–12% procurement savings while protecting operational requirements and supply continuity.
• Contract & Commercial Risk Management: Reviewed supplier-drafted contracts and negotiated commercial provisions covering payment, warranty, delivery, acceptance, penalties and termination, working with Legal, Finance and Directors to agree terms that protected the business from commercial and delivery risk.
• Post-Award Supplier & Contract Management: Managed delivery delays and changes to scope, price and quantity, escalating supplier non-performance and applying contractual penalties and negotiated partial compensation where appropriate.
• Supplier Performance & Continuous Improvement: Introduced OTIF KPIs and structured supplier reviews, improving delivery reliability for critical turbine components from 92% to 98% and strengthening visibility across delivery, quality and supplier issues.
• Supplier Evaluation, Qualification & Resilience: Assessed existing and alternative suppliers across capability, commercial position, delivery performance and supply risk, supporting supplier selection decisions and a more resilient, commercially effective supply base.
• Engineering & Stakeholder Collaboration: Worked closely with Maintenance/Engineering, Operations, Finance, Legal, site teams and Directors to translate operational requirements into sourcing priorities, evaluate supplier options and resolve commercial, delivery and supply-risk issues.
• Operational Procurement & Supply Continuity: Coordinated procurement requirements, suppliers and inbound progress against maintenance priorities and required-on-site dates across five sites, resolving supply and delivery issues to protect operational continuity.
• Procurement Governance: Maintained structured tender/RFQ records, commercial comparisons and supplier recommendations to support transparent review, approval and purchasing decisions.
• Inventory & Supply Improvement: Rebuilt inventory controls through cycle counting, reconciliation and stronger ERP discipline, improving inventory accuracy from 83% to 98% within nine months and reducing excess stock by 15% while protecting critical-parts availability.
• SAP & Procurement Execution: Used SAP to manage purchase requirements, purchase orders, inbound progress, inventory and procurement visibility across five sites and third-party logistics movements.

Purchasing & Export-Import Specialist - EASTERN MEDICAL EQUIPMENT CO., LTD

(2018-12 - 2022-10)

• International Procurement: Managed sourcing and purchasing for 50+ medical-equipment SKUs across 20 international suppliers, balancing price, quality, lead time and availability to maintain reliable supply and 98% service levels.
• RFQ & Commercial Evaluation: Managed supplier quotations and purchasing evaluations, comparing commercial and supply requirements to support supplier selection and purchasing decisions.
• Commercial Negotiation & Cost Improvement: Delivered 12% purchasing cost savings through supplier sourcing, quotation evaluation, negotiation and purchasing optimisation while maintaining service and availability requirements.
• Supplier Qualification & Supply Resilience: Identified, evaluated and qualified alternative international suppliers; qualified three alternatives within 72 hours during COVID-19 disruption, maintaining 100% product availability.
• Supplier Relationship Management: Managed international supplier relationships and resolved commercial, availability and delivery issues to protect supply continuity and service performance.
• Demand & Purchasing Alignment: Aligned purchasing decisions with demand and inventory requirements, reducing stockouts by 15% while maintaining appropriate product availability.
• Lead-Time & Process Improvement: Redesigned customs-documentation and clearance workflows, reducing customs delays by 15% and shortening end-to-end lead time from 45 to 37 days.
• International Logistics: Coordinated overseas suppliers, freight providers, customs clearance and inbound delivery, applying Incoterms and customs-documentation requirements to support compliant and timely purchasing.

Senior Purchasing & Merchandiser - CRYSTAL MARTIN CO., LTD

(2018-02 - 2018-12)

• Materials Procurement: Managed sourcing, purchasing and material supply supporting £1.5M+ annual textile export orders for UK and European retailers, balancing cost, quality, capacity, availability and delivery requirements to achieve 98% fulfilment.
• Supplier Sourcing & Evaluation: Benchmarked, evaluated and onboarded 10+ materials suppliers against price, quality, capacity and delivery requirements.
• Commercial Negotiation: Negotiated supplier pricing and MOQ, reducing material costs by 5–7% while protecting production and quality requirements.
• Supplier Performance & Quality: Managed supplier performance across quality, cost and delivery and led corrective action with 2 key suppliers, reducing material defect rates from 12% to 4% within 3 months.
• Supply & Delivery Management: Coordinated material availability, suppliers and logistics partners to protect production requirements and sustain 95% on-time delivery.

MSc - Supply Chain Management - Aston University (2025-01 - 2026-01)