Customer Service Manager

Walter “Rod” Stearns

***** *. **** ***** ****** Home Phone: 913-***-****

Olathe, KS 66061 E-Mail: ********@*******.***

Linked in profile: www.linkedin.com/in/rodstearns

Senior Manager/Manager Distribution and/or Transportation Services

Demonstrated abilities include:

Distribution facility and network optimization Facility security and maintenance

Quality control/assurance Haz Mat and International shipping

Regulatory compliance Employee development

Budget preparation and management Performance evaluation

Inventory control and maintenance Team building

Strong customer service commitment Continuous improvement processes

Analysis and problem solving Excellent verbal and written communications

Cross-functional leadership P & L Responsibility

Contract development and negotiations Project management and leadership

Supply Chain/Procurement

Professional Experience

Thermo Fisher Scientific, Remel Products, Lenexa, KS 1/2009- 8/2010

US Manager, Distribution

Directed operations of eight (8) regional distribution centers nation-wide, and managed all distribution functions at the Central

Distribution Center in Lenexa, KS (135,000 sq. ft. facility).

• Managed twelve (12) direct exempt reports and ninety-five (95) indirect hourly employee reports.

• Responsible for maintenance of staffing at all facilities, including hiring, performance evaluations, coaching, counseling,

and progressive discipline of permanent and temporary employees.

• Prepared and managed an $11 M budget with P & L responsibilities for all distribution operations. Efforts to reduce

costs led to $1.25 M savings in 2009.

• Successfully maintained inventory control levels above 99.85% through weekly cycle counting and semi-annual wall-to-

wall- physical counts.

• Maintained quality of cold chain and non-cold chain products and supplies within the warehouse by insuring temperature

monitoring and regulatory compliance within the distribution center(s).

• Led a cross-functional team to optimize the central distribution center by 30,000 sq. ft. through consolidation efforts and

implementing new racking, conveyance systems, workstations, and a new shipping system.

• Responsible for maintenance of the facility and material handling equipment.

• Responsible for writing and maintenance of Standard Operating Procedures (SOP’s).

• Procured equipment and supplies for distribution operations.

• Managed receiving, put-away of products, and shipment activity to customers in an SAP S&D environment.

• Directed the movement of four distribution centers into larger, more efficient facilities while closing two older, smaller

facilities.

• Managed cross-docking operations and shipment of products and materials to the regional DC’s.

• Responsible to insure staff was DOT and IATA certified to handle and ship hazardous materials and dangerous goods.

• Successfully managed domestic and international shipments to customers, insuring regulatory compliance.

• Maintained and successfully monitored the security of all DC’s with video and internal alarm systems.

• Improved processes to increase productivity and efficiency of operations. Lines shipped per man-hour, and packages

shipped per man-hour improved by 11%.

• Successfully implemented a new shipping manifest system throughout all distribution centers improving order

throughput 14%.

• Reduced customer complaints by more than 20% from previous year resulting in significant savings to the company.

Sanofi-Aventis US LLC, Kansas City, MO 2/1988- 9/2007

Formerly known respectively as Aventis Pharmaceuticals; Hoechst Marion Roussel; Marion Merrell Dow; Marion Laboratories

following mergers and acquisitions.

US Manager, Transportation and Distribution Services - (1991-2007)

• Optimized number of distribution centers by reducing five regional DC’s down to 3 DC’s.

• Improved customer service and reduced shipping costs by $3 M from the DC’s by moving from air shipments to ground

shipments.

• Reduced distribution labor costs and shipping costs by $1 M through consolidation of LTL and small parcel shipments

into truckload shipments while improving customer service and minimizing claims.

• Improved packaging for cold chain shipments resulting in use of gel packs rather than dry ice.

• Participated on a corporate compliance/security team to successfully achieve C-TPAT (Customs Trade Partnership

Against Terrorism) certification for the distribution and transportation operations of the company.

• Optimized picking, packing, and shipping operations by introducing new racking, conveyance, and manifesting

workstations throughout the distribution center

• Managed highly successful customer service levels in distribution and transportation operations shipping cold chain and

non-cold chain products.

• Successful control of pharmaceutical inventory movement throughout the warehouse, including DEA controlled

substances, and maintenance of cold chain products.

• Project leader of a team that successfully selected a new freight management system used by all regional distribution

centers.

• Successfully provided for security of pharmaceutical products within the warehouse and throughout the supply chain.

• Managed a budget of $40M including all domestic and international transportation

• Saved over $25M in transportation costs over the last three years through successful bidding, negotiations, contract

development, and award of business in all modes of transportation.

Supervisor, Sample Fulfillment – (1988-1991)

• Supervised a team of 20 direct reports, shipping roughly 8,000 to 12,000 packages of pharmaceutical samples per day

direct to physicians. Consistently met challenge of shipping 100% of all daily orders processed.

• Managed labor force; trained employees; monitored employee performance and development; developed operations

shipping area and new processing procedures.

Education

The Pennsylvania State University, State College, PA

• Completed 31 graduate credit hours in Health and Physical Education

• Served as a graduate teaching assistant in the required freshman health program

Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ

• BA Degree, Health and Physical Education

Orange County Community College, Middletown, NY

• Associates Degree, Physical Education

Professional Affiliations and Personal Development

• Health and Personal Care Logistics Conference

• Council of Logistics and Supply Chain Management

• International Logistics Association

• Trainer of DOT, IATA, IMDG Hazardous Materials and Dangerous Goods, previously held certifications.

• Distribution and Transportation Management certification courses completed at SW Missouri State University

• Import and export compliance seminars, and C-TPAT certification seminars sponsored by US Customs and TSA.

• Proficiency with Microsoft Word, Excel, and PowerPoint

• Worked in SAP SD environment (which included warehouse management)

• Continuous improvement (Lean tools; Practical Process Improvement techniques; Quality Management)

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