Manager Customer Service

MICHAEL E. SCHWING

Cell: 330-***-**** *******.*******@*****.***

Career Profile

Experienced in strategic & tactical sourcing, supplier relationship management, and

rapid product development with Fortune 400 and privately held enterprises.

Experience

Foundations Worldwide Inc. August 2011 – February 2013

VICE-PRESIDENT – OPERATIONS & SUPPLY CHAIN – PURCHASING/PROCUREMENT

Recruited during a crisis period following the upgrade of federal Consumer Products Safety Commission

requirements for infant cribs and resulting 200% sales surge in 2011 & 2012. Directed the sourcing/purchasing,

planning, customer service, and logistics functions of this privately held, 35 employee, $30M (sales), designer and

manufacturer (100% sourced) of commercial child-care products. Six key Asian manufacturers, four domestic

manufacturers, 30+ other finished goods and component suppliers. Three direct and nine indirect reports.

Implemented weekly formal communication meetings with key Asian manufacturers to confirm

capacity, monitor manufacturing challenges, improve lead-time, manage product changes, address

quality issues, and ensure on-schedule release of containers to the port.

Negotiated favorable purchase of $80,000 in Asian product tooling following a breach by the sales

broker involving an oral non-compete agreement, $175,000 in defective product, and unpaid

receivables to the product’s original manufacturer.

Negotiated flexible 20-year lease for new headquarters and overflow warehouse storage at below

market rates. The new facility doubled office and warehouse space, and includes flexible

warehousing to address seasonal space needs. The facility had been vacant for nine years and

required extensive repairs to fire protection, HVAC, data and phone systems, and office cosmetics

before occupancy.

Personally managed $2.5M international transportation spend (20 > 60 40’HC containers/month,

20% customer direct shipments) with daily international communication required during critical

periods. Used competitive quoting to ensure high value/low cost transportation.

Personally supported four product development engineers in developing new products (Gaggle™

stroller, SleepFresh® crib cover, & more), new manufacturing suppliers, implementing productivity

and quality changes, and confirming supplier adherence to product specifications.

Implemented a formal process to confirm supplier product costs, eliminate PO/invoice discrepancies,

simplify international “landed” cost calculation, and track proposed product cost changes.

Developed product “tune-up” photo presentations to improve Asian supplier’s understanding of

specifications and document opportunities for improvement (container loading efficiency, product

packaging improvements, product labeling standards).

Annual Asian travel (Shanghai, Dongguan, Shijiazhuang) to accelerate initiatives in lead-time

reduction, material changes, quality improvements, and new product opportunities with suppliers.

Newell-Rubbermaid Incorporated – Wooster & Mogadore, OH July 1995 – July 2011

COMMODITY PURCHASING MANAGER 2004-2011

CONTRACT MANUFACTURING PURCHASING MANAGER 2002-2004

Responsible for $24 million spend in retail packaging (corrugate cartons, graphic cartons, promotional displays,

folding cartons, and adhesive labels) for six plants in North America (half of all-Newell corrugate spend). Previously

responsible for $20 million spend in contract manufacturing (injection and blow molding) of finished goods and

components. Both roles involved very heavy involvement in the product development process (1,000+ product

change requests annually), support to out-sourced manufacturing, and year-on-year cost reduction performance.

Sourced and implemented a $900,000 capital equipment project saving $700,000 in folding carton

materials and $300,000 in labor annually. Enabled TakeAlongs® market share increase by doubling

throughput, reducing packaging cost, and increasing sustainability score by 10%. Repurposed prior

packaging equipment for incremental labor savings on Twist & Seal® product line.

MICHAEL SCHWING – PAGE 2

Reduced cost of Rubbermaid graphic cartons by $300,000+ annually by matching graphic printing

process to the unit demand for the products, championing “right size” cartons and using competitive

bidding. Overall process resulted in four annual cost reductions on key customer “Black Friday”

promotional SKU (1,750,000 units annually).

Reduced cost of Rubbermaid folding cartons by $135,000 (4.5%) in 2005, $150,000 (5.0%) in

2006, and $90,000 (3%) in 2010 by implementing new materials, bulk packaging methods, and

continued analysis of min/max programs at the supplier.

Corporate Commodity Leader to create a consolidated all-Newell negotiation for blister card (11%

savings) and folding carton (10% savings) categories. Role involved leading/coordinating /

supporting team of peers at nine Newell SBUs and managing the RFQ process and face-to-face

negotiation with suppliers to achieve best total cost.

Negotiated contract manufacturing for injection, blow, and structural foam molding including tool

amortization, lead time reduction, and guaranteed annual cost reductions. Obtained $500,000

savings in 2004 by consolidating molding suppliers and negotiating extended payment term design.

Purchasing representative within a cross-functional product development team (marketing,

engineering, purchasing) charged with developing products outside Rubbermaid’s core, incorporating

new technology, new materials, and new suppliers.

Outsourced 25% of 2002 blow molded shed product line ($10 million in purchases) in 30 days

when seasonal demand unexpectedly doubled at key customers; half involved new supplier

qualification.

Successfully negotiated early termination of three long-term manufacturing contracts enabling in-

sourcing and cost avoidance of $500,000.

CUSTOMER CLAIMS MANAGER 2000-2001

CORPORATE CREDIT & COLLECTION MANAGER 1995-1999

Led customer financial analysis, collections and chargeback resolution for Rubbermaid and Newell-Rubbermaid Inc.

Team leader of three credit analysts and thirteen non-exempt collectors in the credit analysis and collection of

5,000+ accounts in North & South America, Asia, and the mid-East. Managed thirteen associates resolving

customer deductions for $1.0 billion Rubbermaid unit of Newell-Rubbermaid Inc.

Reduced customer claims by 75% in 24 months through negotiation, collections, and

communication of root cause issues in Rubbermaid’s supply chain. Negotiation included

$6,000,000 from Rubbermaid’s 2nd largest customer, involving claims for shipping compliance

violation, invoice post audits, and unauthorized sales allowance claims. New claims decreased

15% annually between 1999 and 2001 as a result of improved reporting to operations and

logistics.

Education

MBA (Finance) Xavier University, Cincinnati, OH

BSBA (Finance) Ashland University, Ashland, OH

Strategic Sourcing and Negotiations; A.T. Kearny Company

Effective Negotiating Seminar; Dr. Chester Karrass

Technical Competencies

ERP:

SAP MAS500

Microsoft Office:

Advanced Excel Word

Outlook Access

Power Point

PTC Windchill (product life-cycle management software)

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