Dave Mielke

Spring Hill, KS

www.linkedin.com/in/dave-mielke

ac8kay@r.postjobfree.com • 913-***-****

Senior Operations Director

Operations Management / Strategic Direction / Team Leadership & Training / Regional Management

Continuous Improvements / Distribution, Transportation, Warehouse Management

Strategic thinker, respected leader, and agent of change with a dedication to driving operational success, high cost savings, and turning potential losses into profitable growth. Insightful with 20+ years of expertise in distribution center management, warehouse operations, transportation and logistics. Focus on driving revenue with no compromise on customer service. Able to quickly identify gaps, redesign processes, and craft impactful solutions that increase efficiency, productivity and quality.

Areas of Expertise:

Operational Excellence

KPI/Performance Management

Distribution Center Management

Process Improvements

Revenue Growth and Cost Control

Safety and Compliance

Customer Service/Satisfaction

Labor Management/Hiring & Training

Profit Plans/Profit and Loss (P&L)

Team Building and Leadership

Professional Experience

Standard Beverage Corporation – Lawrence, KS

Regional Director-Operations (5/2018 – 1/2019)

Drove seamless operations and profitable success through financial and team management. Directed up to eight reports and oversaw 215 staff. Cultivated a strong team environment working toward common goals. Created cost efficiencies by optimizing headcount. Harnessed a culture dedicated to safety by developing and leading safety committee meetings and training organization wide. Crafted strategic vision and executed plans, tactfully galvanizing teams, managing resources, and overcoming barriers to success.

Selected Contributions:

Expanded customer base threefold including additional cross-dock locations, asset purchases, headcount evaluation, and production process improvement.

Added three facilities to distribution network through strategic negotiations and increased capacity to deliver on demands, maintaining high levels of customer satisfaction.

Slashed distribution expenses by $3.6M annually by adding three cross-dock facilities throughout the state, enabling warehousing of high volume, in-demand SKUs, eliminating 16 shuttle trucks daily, lowering cost-per-mile by 34%; reduced cost of goods by nearly $2M by analyzing current inventory and performing SKU rationalization.

Continuously met profitability, productivity, and efficiency KPIs every period while controlling expenses and headcount.

Cut turnover by 39% and attracted new talent by creating new pay structure.

Minimized errors and redundancies, streamlined processes, boosted fulfillment accuracy, and expedited production by analyzing warehouse and distribution operations including performance and productivity metrics and root causes.

QCD (Formerly Mile Hi Specialty Foods) – Shawnee, KS; Denver, CO; Suffolk, VA

Regional Director of Operations (8/2014 - 5/2018)

Developed strategic vision to facilitate financial and operational success, continuously exceeding goals and customer expectations. Governed warehousing, logistics, and distribution for five distribution centers, spanning 16 states and 480 employees. Ensured food safety compliance with annual third-party audits. Resolved a range of issues across operations, communication, revenue, procedures, systems, applications, procurement, and inventory. Met demands region wide by effectively managing and allocating resources. Managed Profit and Loss (P&L) of $470M and headed all forecasting and budgeting functions. Steered operations of $6M freight department and a portfolio of key customer accounts focusing on national restaurant chains. Applied knowledge of warehouse management systems including Power Enterprise Suite and SAP.

Selected Contributions:

Oversaw production volume of nearly 35M cases annually while attaining CPH goals and labor projections.

Attained all KPIs across all distribution centers by revising operational processes and providing cost-effecting retraining for staff.

Reduced staffing turnover from 60% to 11% by launching new staffing, hiring, and training guidelines, and ensuring positive employee relations; reduced labor costs by 22% and increased customer satisfaction.

Minimized DART and incident rates by nearly 20% by chairing safety team and influencing safety decisions and improvements organization wide.

Lowered operational costs by $1.1M by creating and implementing a new process for selecting and loading product, leading to reduced warehouse headcount by 18%; completely re-routed distribution, eliminating 9% of routes while meeting customer delivery time expectations.

Decreased vehicle accident rate by 7% by installing cameras in delivery vehicles and visiting distribution centers to train drivers on safety procedures.

Mile Hi Specialty Foods – Shawnee, KS

Distribution Center Manager (2/2014 - 8/2014)

Improved operations and positioned center for continued success by steering profitability, process standardization, safety initiatives, staff training, and performance management. Directed a team of 170 individuals and headed a safety committee for five distribution centers across 16 states. Pinpointed and drove cost efficiencies, controlled expenses, managed inventory levels, and assessed order processing, resulting in attainment of financial objectives.

Selected Contributions:

Increased customer engagement by 22% and reduced complaints by 30% cultivating a workforce focused on exceptional service.

Gained recognition from Starbucks as top distribution center in U.S. by exceeding KPI goals and reducing complaints within one month; drove effective turnaround of worst performing Starbucks distribution center into a top 10 ranking facility.

Spearheaded company expansion by leading build and launch of new distribution center from conceptualization through to completion including hiring and recruitment of staff.

Reduced labor costs by 22% while increasing customer satisfaction at one facility.

Coca-Cola Refreshments – Topeka, KS

Warehouse Manager Distribution Manager (8/2007 - 2/2014)

Guided and mentored a team of 40 warehouse employees and 45 delivery drivers. Boosted team performance by leading employee training and development and performance evaluations. Managed P&L for distribution and warehouse operations including forecasting labor budgets. Maintained high performance record with an emphasis on exceptional service delivery, follow-through, and attention to detail, yielding higher sales and repeat business. Led shipping and receiving and outbound logistics, processing 19M cases annually on time and with accuracy. Reduced annual distribution center expenses by $540K and optimized delivery process by revamping delivery routes and schedules.

*Prior roles as District Manager at Aramark Uniform Services.

Education and Credentials

Six-Sigma and Lean/Kaizen certifications

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