Morgan Steel, LLC | Memphis, TN
Private company that has annual sales of $141M and 327 employees.
Chief Operating Officer 8/2023 – 6/2025
Responsible for P&L, budget, management responsibilities over the following departments, Estimating, Engineering, Production, Maintenance, Shipping on company fleet, IT, quality, safety, purchasing for MRO, PPE Parts and items, leasing equipment and contract purchases on business items like diesel, DEF, propane, nitrogen, etc. Supplier and vendor selection, relations and management, supplier contract negotiations and management, sourcing, forecasting, international ocean and air logistics operations and interfacing with sales / marketing and finished goods assembly.
- Generated company savings by identifying, implementing strategic purchasing initiative, and reducing pricing on Diesel, DEF, propane, nitrogen, uniforms by product type, dependable supplier, and lowest cost to meet production requested dates.
- Meeting with ERP supplier on breach points in the contract that were not completed. Received credit in the amount of $131K deducted from our quarterly statement.
- Negotiated the purchase of a $1.4 million tube laser with the terms of 10% down and 90% due, six months after it was commissioned and all operators received in-house training from the OEM equipment manufacturer.
- Created a consignment inventory program with an OEM flat laser and press brake manufacturer in the amount of $265K for many critical components.
- Employed an experienced grant writer. Grants received were Training grant from University of Memphis for $92K to teach programing, operation and maintenance on our robot welder, the use of AI tools, training on SolidWorks cad programing.
- Due to needing to advance current employee working skill levels, grant was obtained with University of Tennessee and State to create the CPT3 class. Taught was blueprint and tape measure reading, fractional math, 5’s, Lean Mfg., and OSHA 10.
- Through grants that were written, a welding apprentice program was created to teach the skills needed for welders to produce high quality employees and employee class time is paid from the grant. Also, we are partnering with Collierville High School to have student welders come and learn at Morgan Steel facility with cost covered by the State of Tennessee.
- Redesigned employee Onboarding program for new employees when hired to set them up for success and lower employee turnover. The onboarding requirements were ready to be implemented.
Canceled Airgas bulk nitrogen bulk equipment contract and replaced with another supplier with same size tank, and modern technology trifecta. Did not reimburse full amount asked for. Settled on a reduction of 68.5% less.
- Created and implemented a scrap tracking form and team created an excel sheet to aid in the improvement of inventory accuracy. Through real-time scrap reporting, cycle counting, and part number etching, and supported by historical write-offs provided by the controller, this initiative is expected to reduce annual inventory write-offs by 61% in 2025.
- Started company KPI’s and the first department that was completed is the saw department and we are now able to track and show the total cuts for the day and average cuts per day. Goal was fifty-five cuts per day per operator.
- Using newly created supplier software and actual having seven flat lasers and five press brakes that communicate and send correct information, we are ready to start tracking machine date and creating KPI’s that will be posted.
- Contracted with Teletrac Navman for their fleet software, ELDs, and front facing cameras, securing a three-year agreement that cut monthly costs by 56% and assisted in lowering auto insurance premiums.
- Working with HR and Director of Operations we went from two shifts five days a week schedule, to seven days a week, daytime schedule to decrease the employee shortage we experienced.
- Worked with Bystronic to finish getting the By-Sort installed, commissioned, and operating for production.
- Through various purchasing cost reductions, consignment inventory, forgiven service and parts after discussions, and various grant programs, total savings have been realized now and continue to be realized of $1,183,250.00.
SOUTHWORTH PRODUCTS CORPORATION, Manila, AR is a private company that has annual sales of $94M.
Purchasing Manager 9/2018 to 6/2023
Responsible for sourcing, forecasting, supplier and vendor selection, relations and management, contract negotiations and management, international ocean and air logistics operations and interfacing with sales / marketing, accounting, IT, compliance and finished goods assembly.
- Responsible for an overall material budget of $34.7 million, which consisted of 47,139 p.o. lines placed in 2022 and averaged 100 existing part RFQ per day and 10 new part RFQ’s per week.
- Generated company savings by identifying and implementing strategic purchasing initiative by product type, dependable supplier, and lowest cost to meet production requested dates.
- Responsibility for supplier and vendor relations and contract management.
- Managed, forecasted, and procured finished good assemblies, sub-assemblies, and parts from international vendors in the following countries. Three vendors in China, one in Japan, one in Taiwan, two in Denmark and one in Estonia.
- Developed and implemented a dual sourcing program for many critical components.
- Responsible to report monthly and quarterly on domestic and international steel market pricing, trends, steel market forecast, new domestic and international suppliers, cost campaign pricing reductions, PMI performance, inflation current and outlook, ocean container past, current and forecasted cost, Actual % of material cost vs. budgeted % of material cost, and other forecasted pricing and trends for items such as aluminum, copper, plastics, paint and polymers and other KPI’s.
- Due to programs implemented and purchasing teams diligent work, actual % of material cost vs. budgeted % of material cost ran for the first 5 months of 2023, 0.8% - 2.6% below budget.
- Through the purchasing cost campaign programs, a savings of $742,396.00 has been realized by 6/30/2023.
- Managed a “reshoring” project to move production of select subassemblies from China to Mexico. Within seven months had found two manufacturing companies and one outsourcing company. I then qualified their capabilities to produce the needed parts and assemble them, negotiated estimated pricing and terms, setup a first part PPAP for engineering to approve all individual parts of the subassemblies and have the first parts produced and a sample production of 10 units started by two companies and completed by one manufacturer.
- Through continuous improvements supported new quality program working towards ISO 9001:2008 certification.
- Selected import / export broker / forwarder for shipments and negotiated rates and fees.
- Developed department cross-training program for daily tasks.
- Steel supplier development / management and pricing and terms negations for parts. Examples of a few steel suppliers, Ryerson, O’Neal, and Morgan Steel.
- Developed in-house replenishment program for welding items, MRO, and fasteners with Fastenal.
- Reduced electrical parts cost, improved supply reliability, and increased net payment terms by moving away from vendors to the OEM supplier. Moved from Nelson and Wright, Irby, and Carlton Bates to Telemecanique and Schneider Electric (Square D).
- Reduced hydraulic parts cost, improved supply reliability, and increased net payment terms by moving away from vendors to the OEM supplier. Moved from Airline Hydraulics and Berendsen Fluid Power Inc. to Brennan Industries, Delta, and others.
- Reduced hydraulic power units’ cost, improved supply reliability, and increased net payment terms by moving away from the following OEM suppliers, Parker, Bucher Hydraulics and Concentric to OEM suppliers MTE and KTI.
SCHNEIDER NATIONAL, Green Bay, WI is a publicly traded company that has annual sales of $3.99B and the company stock is traded on NASDQ for $29.12 per share. Revenue breakdown, Truckload is $2.2B, Intermodal is $780M, Supply Chain / Logistics is $834M. I work in the Supply Chain / Logistics division.
Account Director for the HNI Account 4/2018 -8/2018
Responsible for budgeting, contract negotiations, purchasing, vendor relations, logistics operations, carrier selection, distribution, inbound / outbound transportation, warehousing, customer order fulfillment, interfacing with finished goods production and information technology as it relates to the integration of these functions and CTPAT with KPI reporting.
- Responsible for an overall P&L/budget of $150.2 million. Warehousing $3.471M, Domestic outbound freight $85.3 M, domestic inbound $584k, Imports $1.2M and small parcel $490K.
- Generated company savings by identifying and implementing strategic company cost reductions by Continuous Improvements.
- Reduced customer late deliveries by a projected $85k in 2018.
- Through continuous improvements increased customer on time order production fulfillment rate from 89.3% to 99.1%.
- Through continuous improvements shipping errors went from 81% to 98.4% accuracy by implementing an audit count and sign off.
- Responsible to implement and maintain KPI’s to rate carrier performance for on-time delivery and on-time shipment and implement plan for under-performing carriers.
- Negotiated LTL discounts of 80 – 84% with an FAK 77.5 for all applicable class 77.5 – 300.
- Strategize lowest shipping cost to deliver to customer “right and fast” on their requested dates.
- Reduced detention charges on outbound loads to a total of 3.1% of all truckload shipments.
- Reduced detention charges on prepaid customer deliveries to 7% of truckload shipments.
- Defined finished goods shipping domestically with NMFC 100 and with the Harmonized Tariff.
- Developed and oversaw the HNI Drop Trailer Program.
- Developed and oversaw the company trailer wrap program.
- Developed Cross-Training program and training evaluation form with SOPs for all shipping functions.
- Instituted weekly dock PM walk to evaluate items to be addressed and Gemba walks with direct reports to operate under key Lean Principals.
- Responsibility for vendor contract management.
- Drove root cause analysis investigations to evaluate operational incidents and verify that internal controls are being followed.
- Through continuous improvements supported ISO 9001:2008 QC System to meet customer audit.
- Develop processes and systems evaluate and define capabilities, resources, Dock capacity, and constraints to optimize outbound material movement.
- Maintain procedures to meet CTPAT security requirements and implement supporting procedures.
- Utilized broad scope of industry knowledge and dynamic business acumen toward leading forward-thinking identification and implementation of all supply initiatives to develop and pursue strategic cost reductions.
Backhaul program with our carriers on raw materials.
Negotiated waived fees for accessorial charges.
Received weight waivers from reweigh on pallet tare weight.
PATHMARK TRANSPORTATION LLC, Memphis, TN is a privately-owned pool distribution company with annual sales of $11M. Responsible for Memphis facility budgeting, vendor relations, contract negotiations, distribution, inbound / outbound transportation and purchasing. Facility customers are Bed, Bath & Beyond and BCF.
Facility Manager 9/2017 to 3/2018
- Responsible for an overall P&L/budget of labor, production, maintenance, and utilities.
- Implement company savings of 10% by identifying and implementing strategic cost reductions.
- Through lean continuous improvement increased cartons per man hour from 41 per man hour to 50 per man hour for day shift and from 49 per man hour to 53 per man hour for night shift.
- Responsibility for vendor contract management.
- Negotiated expense contracts and on average lowered the pervious paid amounts by 63.52% for an annual savings of $89,297.16.
- Through continuous improvements reduced shipping errors.
- Responsible to implement and maintain KPI’s to rate carrier performance for on-time delivery and on-time shipment and implement plan for under-performing carriers.
- Develop a Cross-Training program /training evaluation form and SOPs for functions with a new customer.
- Instituted weekly dock PM walk to evaluate items to be addressed and Gemba walks with direct reports to operate under key Lean Principals.
- Implemented 5’s at the facility to meet GP standards.
- Establish propane and Stretch wrap commodity contracts.
- Establish root cause analysis investigations to evaluate incidents and verify internal controls are followed.
- Develop Dock Capacity plan.
- Develop procedures to meet CTPAT security requirements.
LIBMAN COMPANY, Arcola, IL a privately-owned company that has annual sales of $194.56M and manufacturing facilities in the United States and Australia.
Traffic Manager 3/2015 to 8/2017
Responsible for logistics operations, carrier selection, budgeting, vendor relations, contract negotiations, distribution, inbound / outbound transportation, warehousing, customer orders, and interfacing with finished goods production, purchasing and information technology as it relates to the integration of these functions and CTPAT.
- Responsible for an overall P&L/budget of $17.6 million. Labor and maintenance $3.471M, Domestic outbound freight $10.7M, domestic inbound $584k Imports $1.2M, Exports $234K and small parcel $490K.
- Generated company savings by identifying and implementing strategic company cost reductions by Continuous Improvements.
- Reduced customer fines for early / late deliveries by $85k in FY 2016.
- Reduced pallet fines by 91% by negotiating new pricing on grade A plts and no longer buying grade B plts.
- Through CI, increased customer on time order production fulfillment rate from 89.3% to 99.1%.
- Through CI, shipping errors went from 81% to 98.4% accuracy by implementing an audit count and sign off.
- Responsible to implement and maintain KPI’s to rate carrier performance for on-time delivery and on-time shipment and implement plan for under-performing carriers.
- Negotiated LTL discounts of 80 – 84% with an FAK 77.5 for all applicable class 77.5 – 300.
- Strategize lowest shipping cost to deliver to customer “right and fast” on their requested dates.
- Reduced detention charges on outbound loads to a total of 3.1% of all truckload shipments.
- Reduced detention charges on prepaid customer deliveries to 7% of truckload shipments.
- Defined finished goods shipping domestically with NMFC 100 and with the Harmonized Tariff.
- Developed and oversaw the Libman Drop Trailer Program.
- Developed and oversaw the company trailer wrap program.
- Developed Cross-Training program and training evaluation form with SOPs for all shipping functions.
- Instituted weekly dock PM and Gemba walks to evaluate items to be addressed with direct reports to operate under key Lean Principals.
- Implemented 5’s in the department and created teams with team leads to facilitate the program.
- Responsibility for supplier / vendor contract management relations.
- Drove root cause analysis investigations to evaluate incidents and verify that SOPs are being followed.
- Through continuous improvements supported ISO 9001:2008 QC System to meet customer audit.
- Contract negotiation and management for bulk propane and diesel.
- Develop processes and systems evaluate and define capabilities, resources, Dock capacity, and constraints to optimize outbound material movement.
- Maintain procedures to meet CTPAT security requirements and implement supporting procedures.
- Maintained Backhaul program with our carriers on raw materials, negotiated waived fees for accessorial charges and received weight waivers from reweighs and pallet tare weight.
EVONIK/CYRO, LLC, Osceola, AR a subsidiary of Evonik that is a German based company publicly traded on the DAX in Europe.
Manufacturing Services Manager 5/2007 to 3/2015
Directed manufacturing, tank farm, end-to-end supply chain, and logistics operations for a facility with a $162M annual budget, overseeing seven production lines, 9,000+ SKUs, and $26M in monthly inventory. Accountable for P&L performance, capital projects, materials management, purchasing of hazardous and non-hazardous materials, MRO and PPE items, production scheduling, warehousing, and transportation operations.
- Responsible for plant carrier selection, budgeting and KPI reporting of T/L, LTL, Bulk truck, Rail, Import /Export and vendor and contract management
- Sat on the plant’s Operating Committee that is responsible for obtaining and keeping the following:
ISO 9002, OSHA VPP STAR, EPA Performance Track, ISO 9001:2000, and RC14001Responsible Care.
- Responsible for overall facility operating budget of $162.42M.
- Responsible for 9,014 SKU’s that has a monthly inventory of $26.559M.
- Through continuous improvements reduced labor costs by $148,700 annually by filling customer orders directly from the assembly lines.
- Responsible for the production scheduling on seven different lines for a total volume of 148M lbs. annually.
- Responsible for scheduling production to increase yield and obtain machine OEE goals.
- Project planning, managing, demolition, installation and start-up of the projects / Cap-X projects, teardown of 3 500k capacity silos, internal road and rail repair, new 3 tier racking system in a 525k warehouse facility, new 1,000 pound per minute bulk container loading line and a new 50 bag production packaging line. All projects were completed on time and at or under budget.
- Reduced shipping errors and improved accuracy by from 51% to 99% by implementing key Lean Principles.
- Reduced shipping errors and improved accuracy from 51% to 99% by implementing key Lean Principles.
- Implemented TPM Focus Improvement and 5’s teams in my department.
- Through continuous improvements on-time deliveries increased from 48% in 2007 to 91% in 2009 to 97% in 2010 and 98.5% in 2011.
- Plant implementation team member for SAP. Implemented MRP, ERP, WMS modules within SAP.
- Received recognition for Outstanding Teamwork Conversion and reorganization of warehouses.
- Created program to cross-train employees in an incented pay program.
- Received the BNSF Stewardship Award for the sixth straight year for shipping over 500 haz-mat tank cars
- Responsible for vendor compliance at the plant. Manages vendor score card and SCAR and facility audits.
- Responsible for investigation and reporting at the plant level for customer QN’s.
- Responsible for purchase order accuracy and supplier invoicing issues.
- Responsible for corporate-wide logistics operations, vendor relations, contract negotiation / management, distribution, inbound / outbound transportation, international logistics, warehousing, interfacing with production operation, purchasing and information technology.
- Maintain procedures to meet CTPAT security requirements for contractors and visitors.
- Performed SAP Conference Room Pilot, Implemented, trained employees, and wrote SOPs ERP/WMS/TMS.
- Optimized logistics / supply chain success by accurately operating complex SAP WMS/TMS/ERP scheduling, purchasing, shipping and inventory systems.
- Maximized use of resources to achieve objectives by planning and prioritizing production, transportation, along with using Continuous Improvement Lean Principles to reduce errors and coordination shipments across several countries as a global team member.
- Optimized logistics / supply chain success by accurately operating complex ERP system.
KELLEY BEAN COMPANY, INC., Scottsbluff, NE
Logistics Manager 5/2006 – 5/2007
Responsible for corporate-wide logistics operations, vendor relations, contract negotiations, distribution, domestic and international logistics, warehousing, material management of packaging inventory, production operation, and interface with information technology as it relates to the integration of these functions.
- Procured and managed annual rail expenditure of $5.8 M, truckload expenditure of 4.1M, and export expenditure of 1.3M.
- Through continuous improvements reduced open freight claims from $72,109/183 avg. open days to $11,623/31 avg. open days.
- Responsible for production meeting for customer orders.
- Project planning, managing, installation and start-up of a new 1 and 2 pound consumer packaging and case packing line at 6.13% under budget.
- Developed SOPs for freight equipment loading, supplier scorecard, drop trailer and claim programs.
- Procured on contract diesel, gasoline, and propane.
PINNACLE FOODS CORPORATION, St. Elmo, IL
Supply Chain Material Manager 3/2005-5/2006
Responsible for scheduling plant production, customer order entry, on-site warehousing, inbound / outbound distribution, carrier issues and inventory / cycle count program for R/M and F/G.
- Responsible for purchasing raw materials and supplier management, which consisted of 543 SKU’s / $29.0M annually or 18.8% of total sales.
- Over 24 months reduced overtime labor costs by 98%.
- Project planning, installation, start-up, and validation of one new relish production line at 4% under budget the planned start-up date.
- Oversaw customer service group and responsible for production meeting customer orders dates.
- Through continuous improvements the production yield decreased by 12% and increased OEE to 93%.
- Through continuous improvements increased average inventory turns of 4 per year to 10 per year using the rolling 12-month cost of sales and developed / implemented a cycle count program for RM and FG inventories.
FEDDERS CORPORATION, Effingham, IL
Plant / Supply Chain Manager 11/2000-3/2005
Oversaw all plant production, scheduling, and supply chain operations to fulfill customer demand while ensuring profitability in alignment with plant P&L objectives. Accountable for end-to-end management of manufacturing, inventory, procurement, and distribution functions across the facility and capital projects.
- Directed operations across multiple production areas, including one new unit production line, one refurbished production line, a paint line, and a copper hair pin manufacturing department.
- Responsible for plant budget including all Capex projects and P&L performance.
- Managed all aspects of raw material and finished goods inventory, encompassing internally manufactured products as well as imports from two partner plants in China.
- Negotiated and managed contracts for local utilities, diesel fuel and other supplies delivering measurable cost savings and operational reliability.
- Implemented a comprehensive cycle count and finished goods inventory control program, improving order accuracy, responsiveness, and inventory integrity.
- Served as a corporate team representative in collective bargaining negotiations with the Boilermakers Union, contributing to favorable contract outcomes for both company and workforce.
- Partnered with the sister plant, Rotorex (Walkersville, MD), to ensure a consistent supply of compressors before and during the transition period leading to full production transfer our Shanghai, China facility.
- Supervised third-party warehouse operations, ensuring accuracy, timeliness, and cost-effectiveness in inbound and outbound distribution activities.
- Led the closure of the Columbia, Tennessee facility upon the launch of a state-of-the-art joint venture plant in Shanghai, China, ensuring a seamless transition of production capacity, materials, and workforce alignment.
OLD WORLD INDUSTRIES, Northbrook, IL
Transportation Specialist 8/1997-11/2000
Responsible for domestic T/L and LTL shipments from managed terminals to fill commercial customer orders. Collaborated with carriers and brokers daily on contract negotiations and carrier relations. Addressed carrier issues on a 24/5 operation. Responsible for rating shipments and adding freight pricing to the orders.
Transferred to another department and oversaw bulk deliveries via tank cars and tank trucks of runway deicer for contracted accounts.
PITTNEY BOWES CORPORATION, Lombard, IL
TMS SUPPORT Manager 4/1995-7/1997
Sales support when quoting on TMS software systems. Responsible for on time and successful implementation and training of standalone TMS systems at customer sites
TOXIDE CORPORATION, Lisle, IL
Transportation Assistant Manager 5/1991-4/1995
Responsible for monitoring and reporting on all import shipments from five sister plants in Europe and Canada. Responsible for auditing six third party distributor warehouses twice a year and conducting a physical inventory. Maintained monthly cycle counts. Addressed carrier issues on a 24/5 operation and participated in carrier relations. Processed freight claims.
CENTRAL TRANSPORT, Hodgkins, IL
Breakbulk Supervisor 8/1989-5/1991
Responsible for inbound and outbound freight that is moved through my section. Planned and managed work for teamster union employees in my section. Also responsible for “Expedited freight moved through all sections of the breakbulk facility.
NALCO CHEMICAL COMPANY, Naperville, IL
Transportation Clerk 2/1987-8/1989
Project team member for creation and implementation of field delivery and return of porta feed program. Addressed carrier issues on a 24/5 operation. Responsible for rating shipments using manual tariffs. Processed freight claims.
