Supply Chain Project Manager

Nick Hilborn, P.Eng, CSCP

Industrial Engineer – Supply Chain Business Analyst – Experienced Consultant

Versatile, diligent, and customer-focused supply chain and logistics professional with over ten years’ experience leading

and contributing to numerous continuous improvement initiatives and software deployments in Canada and the U.S. with

particular knowledge of the retail supply chain (grocery, apparel, general merchandise, automotive parts, and foodservice).

Thorough knowledge of warehouse operations & management systems (WMS) and a subject matter expert in engineered

labour standards (ELS), process re-engineering, and work measurement techniques. Familiar with MS Office Suite

(Excel/Access/Project/Visio), lean six sigma techniques, software development life cycle methodology (SDLC), enterprise

resource planning (ERP) software, and business intelligence tools. Pro-active, organized, quick learner with a strong

attention to detail and quality. Self-motivated team player with strong business acumen and problem solving capabilities.

Ability to implement and manage change in corporate and unionized environments.

PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE

Hilborn Consulting Inc., Toronto, Ontario (Mar 2010-Present)

President & Owner

Hudson’s Bay Company, Toronto, Ontario (Apr 2012-May 2013)

QA Lead / Senior Business Analyst, Supply Chain & Logistics Systems

• Developed test strategy, created test cases and managed software defect resolution for Omni-Channel

Commerce project involving the re-platform of systems to handle new system functionality and the

growth of Lord & Taylor and The Bay e-commerce business.

• Coordinated all testing activities related to Manhattan WMOS and managed test plans based on functional

and interface design documents, process flow diagrams, and standard operating procedures, as well as

adapting to changing business requirements and new code releases.

• WMS subject matter expert – Relied upon to provide functional expertise of Manhattan WMOS. Worked

effectively with all application work stream owners and project stakeholders to gather business

requirements which contributed to development of program test strategy and project plan.

• Managed testing, certification, integration, and deployment of UPS shipping manifest software with

Manhattan WMOS.

• Developed reports and provided frequent status updates to senior management with respect to test

progress and defect resolution.

Loblaw Companies Ltd., Mississauga, Ontario (Mar 2010-Dec 2011)

Support Analyst, Application Production Support

• Provided 24/7 functional support for Manhattan WMOS and Legacy WMS production issues and “Flow”

program implementations as senior member of Application Production Support (APS), including incident

resolution, defect identification and management, and new code deployments.

• Worked closely with project teams and Manhattan resources to identify, resolve, and document process

gaps and potential software bugs to improve operational efficiency within the WMOS software.

• Responsible for building/reporting weekly IT supply chain metrics, running database queries and updates

using SQL, and managing team coverage schedules.

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Nick Hilborn, P.Eng, CSCP

• Assisted with IT annual audit compliance, incident resolution documentation, and knowledge

management material including the APS Handbook - an internal document describing all protocols and

activities related to production support at Loblaw.

Hudson’s Bay Company, Brampton, Ontario (Jan 2010-Mar 2010)

Project Manager, Supply Chain – Special Projects

• Managed multiple supply chain improvement projects including:

o Distribution network capacity analysis of the The Bay, Zellers, Home Outfitters, and Fields banners.

o Procurement and item assortment study for the Pharmamart business including sourcing and costing of

merchandise and selection of third party and direct-to-store vendors.

West Monroe Partners ULC, Mississauga, Ontario (Jul 2006-Aug 2009)

Senior Consultant

• Managed multiple projects and client relationships and played essential role in planning and execution of project

deliverables including determining scope, budget, resources, and timelines as well as preparing and updating

project plans, technical documentation and reports. Identified and mitigated project risk and assessed impact

resulting from technological and/or process changes.

• Significantly reduced labour costs through successful development and implementation of Engineered Labour

Standards at a C&S Wholesaler’s facility including layout re-design and management training.

• Re-engineered all retail store practices and administrative functions resulting in improved forecasting capability

and lower operational costs for Stop & Shop’s Deli, Meat and Seafood departments.

• Quickly and effectively resolved system and testing defects during implementation of Manhattan Warehouse

Management software for PartSource/Canadian Tire. Identified and resolved issues resulting from integration

testing of Vocollect with Manhattan WMOS. Used HP Quality Center to effectively manage test plan and defects.

• Decreased labour costs, optimized employee scheduling, and improved communication in majority of Metro’s 160

stores across Ontario through accurate diagnosis, development of Engineered Labour Standards, and

implementation of Best Practices for shelf replenishment and cashier functions.

• Successfully managed maintenance and auditing of Engineered Labour Standards for various grocery and

foodservice clients in Canada and the U.S. including Sobeys, Sysco, Metro, C&S Wholesalers, and U.S.

Foodservice. Also provided support for clients during union audits.

Sobeys Inc., Mississauga, Ontario

Industrial Engineering Specialist, Business Process Optimization (Sep 2005-Feb 2006)

• Conducted studies to improve productivity of store level processes and development of best practices under the

SMART Retailing program leading to implementation in 675 stores and development of the Peer-to-Peer program

that allows for improved business process management and best practice comparison between stores.

• Contributed to the development of a database that effectively and accurately traces meat products through the

supply chain as required by provincial legislation.

• Developed project dashboards, analysis of national and regional key performance indicators (KPIs) and creation

of reports for senior executives on status of national store operations programs including SMART Retailing,

Workforce Management, Meat Traceability, Self-Checkout Kiosks, and Gift Card programs.

Continuous Improvement & Engineering Specialist, Logistics & Engineering (May 2001-Sep 2005)

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Nick Hilborn, P.Eng, CSCP

• Generated perpetual multi-million dollar labour cost savings, and improved productivity and accountability

throughout the distribution network by developing, updating and validating Engineered Labour Standards.

• Provided nation-wide technical support to all distribution centers and training for all matters related to Engineered

Labour Standards including being a key resource during union audits.

• Developed and improved internal methodologies and best practices related to Engineered Labour Standards

including optimizing data collection techniques including work sampling and time studies, as well as contributed

to the development of a standardized central registry of MOST elements.

• Improved EXE system stability and made enhancements to base code through testing and implementation of

software upgrades. Also contributed to the testing and integration of voice-picking software Vocollect into EXE.

• Performed operational reviews of distribution centers and proposed solutions which resulted in simplification of

warehouse processes and enhancement of software functionality.

• Developed and completed warehouse re-slotting pilot project to reduce store re-stocking costs, resulting in more

than $3M in company-wide annual store operating costs.

• Contributed to various projects including distribution network and capacity analysis, contingency planning for

labour disruptions, facility space utilization and racking analysis, and roll cage feasibility study.

EDUCATION & PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT

• Bachelor of Engineering (B.Eng), Industrial Engineering, Ryerson University, Toronto, 2003

• Certified Supply Chain Professional (CSCP), Association for Operations Management (APICS), 2010

• Lean Six Sigma Green Belt Certification, Institute of Industrial Engineers (IIE), In-progress, 2013

PROFESSIONAL AFFILIATIONS

• Licensee - Professional Engineers Ontario (PEO)

• Member - Institute of Industrial Engineers (IIE)

• Member - Association for Operations Management (APICS)

HONOURS AND AWARDS

• Recipient of Graham Eves Award for student leadership, Institute of Industrial Engineers, 2001

• Recipient of Dennis Mock Award for outstanding voluntary extracurricular contributions to school or academic

program department, Ryerson University, 2003

COMMUNITY SERVICE

• Good Shepherd Ministries (December 2007-2010), ChumCity Christmas Wish (December 2005), Mississauga

Food Bank, (December 2003 & December 2004)

REFERENCES AVAILABLE UPON REQUEST

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