Project Manager Customer Service
Resume:
ROBERT J. CONGDON
Medford, NJ *8055
SUMMARY
Senior level experience with IT in the retail industry, primarily in Store
Systems, Point of Sale, and Loss Prevention.
PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE
ASCENA/CHARMING SHOPPES, INC. - BENSALEM, PA 8/2000
- 1/2014
Nation's largest Plus-Size specialty apparel retailer. Operating 2100
stores under Fashion Bug, Lane Bryant, and Catherine's Stores brands.
Manager, Store Systems
Responsible for managing staff of Business Analysts for new development and
existing production systems within Store Systems vertical. Supervised
third party developers and internal business analysts in the design,
development, and implementation of the Oracle POS system using VeriFone pin
pads. Interfaced with non-technical users for the design and
implementation of related applications in the corporate credit operation,
tax, loss prevention, and sales audit areas. Developed a on-shore/off-
shore contractor support process to supplement internal production support
for mission critical systems.
Designed, developed, and implemented a state of the art payment processing
system using Point to Point Encryption and Tokenization thereby taking the
new in-store POS system out of the realm of PCI auditability. Worked
closely with the corporate credit operations management team during the
implementation to ensure accountability and integrity of the new
application.
Sr. Business Analyst, Store Systems
Performed a lead role in the successful implementation of a new Island
Pacific POS system for Lane Bryant. Led a team of 4 Analysts that created
and defined functional specifications. Met with Store Operations and other
headquarters personnel to understand business requirements and develop
specifications. Complete structured testing of new system in QA Lab prior
to pilot.
Involved in every step of the SDLC process of many major store systems
projects, ranging from gathering user business requirements, preparing
functional specifications, developing use cases and test scripts,
interfacing with the development team for any clarifications, performing
unit, system, and end user testing, and pilot/roll-out implementation.
Lead Analyst responsible for the design and implementation of an internal
gift card and merchandise credit system used by all of our 2100 stores, and
5 e-commerce web sites. Gift card system consists of online POS
authorization with a sub-second response via corporate-wide VPN, a backup
manual authorization facility, financial and customer service reporting at
corporate and at each brand headquarters, and an Interactive Voice Response
(IVR) unit for customer inquiries. System consists of over 2 million
active gift cards with an average balance of between 10 and 20 million
dollars. During peak times the gift card system authorizes over 2 cards per
second for several hour periods. Reduced fraud in the merchandise credit
area by over $100,000 annually and vastly improved the financial reporting
of outstanding customer merchandise return balances.
CA TECHNOLOGY, INC. - MOORESTOWN,NJ 10/1996
- 8/2000
Pre- and Post-Sales support for this premier supplier of Loss Prevention
systems for supermarkets and discount retailers. Systems use CCTV with POS
monitoring to identify suspicious cashier activities. Nationwide
installations.
Director of Consulting and Professional Services
Responsible for building and developing consulting, implementation, and
support services ensuring profitability is optimized and customer
expectations are met. Develop and manage an audit services outsourcing
initiative for retail customers. Headed up an internal Interaction Design
Task Force responsible for a complete re-design of customer screens, flow,
and other operational interfaces for the newest version of the company's
flagship retail software product.
Director of Systems Implementation
Assist in the pre-sales efforts to prospective customers. Trade show
manager dealing with all show logistics. Overall Project Manager role.
Determine specific customer requirements and advise programming staff which
develops software. Supervise system integration of hardware components and
software quality assurance for retail customers. Responsible for system
installation teams; scheduling, job completion, training, and overall
customer satisfaction.
AW COMPUTER SYSTEMS, INC. - MT. LAUREL, NJ
8/1991-10/1996
Major integrator of legacy POS terminals with state of the art IBM
4680/4690 Store Systems, NCR UNITY, and ICL ISS400 client/server based POS
controllers. Our customers included 4 of the top 7 US supermarket
companies.
Project Management Coordinator
Responsible for 4 Project Managers' activities. Designed a comprehensive,
integrated Frequent Shopper System for a major supermarket; containing
discounts, points, electronic coupons, and other features. System
supported a variety of POS terminals under a common platform. Tested,
trained, and supported integrated EFT pin pads interfacing with POS
terminals for Credit and Debit authorization. Installed hardware and
software systems in customers lab sites and pilot stores. Provided on-going
customer support and scheduled system enhancements.
Project Manager
Primary liaison between internal development staff and Retail/Supermarket
customers. Introduced potential customers to technical aspects of our
products. Designed functional specifications with customer for systems
development. Managed, developed, and monitored Project Plan measuring
progress. Trained key customer contacts in system operation.
EARLIER EXPERIENCES:
BARNES & NOBLE/B. DALTON BOOKSELLER - NYC, NY Director of Store
Systems 6/1990-5/1991
Responsible for POS Help Desk of 15 people providing 7 day per week, 19
hour per day coverage for 1200 B. Dalton and Barnes & Noble specialty
stores nationwide. Integrated 2 newly acquired Divisions into standard
Company POS system. Relocated POS Help Desk 1000 miles. Developed and
executed transition plans to maintain uninterrupted store support.
Recruited and trained completely new department of 15 people in 3 months.
Improved NCR service from 46% to over 85% satisfaction level. Selected and
installed all in-store hardware consisting of PC's, POS terminals, and
scanners.
JAMESWAY CORPORATION - SECAUCUS, NJ Director of Store
Systems 1/1985-5/1990
Planned and delivered an on-line Credit Card authorization system using POS
terminals and leased line network. Reduced discount rates due to electronic
draft processing and saved $340,000 while improving customer authorization
time from several minutes to 5 seconds. Participated in studies to develop
Long Range Business Plan for UPC scanning implementation, including
evaluating systems and testing, with price verification using radio
frequency terminals. Designed and managed a Promotional Price Look Up
system. Achieved savings in excess of $1,350,000 annually due to actual
store payroll reductions. Interfaced extensively with Merchandising to
implement on-line system. Designed and installed one of the first software
systems for the IBM 4680 POS system in a mass merchandising environment
F. W. WOOLWORTH CO. - NEW YORK, NY Director of Retail Systems
Development 9/1969-1/1985
Responsible for developing a long range IT strategic plan to complement and
support the business strategic plans for the Woolworth U. S. Variety
Stores. Plan emphasized development of systems applications that tied
together merchandising, regional offices, and store operations areas.
Overall IT responsibility for selecting Turn-Key Merchandise Information
and POS Packages for two newly formed specialty concepts. Worked closely
with senior management of these concepts. Led a group of 5 senior IT
Internal Consultants in responding to top management's requests for new and
enhanced systems. Served as a member of the IT Steering Committee that
allowed management to prioritize systems implementation. Performed initial
research, analysis, and feasibility on large scale systems.
Director of Integrated Store Systems
Directed the full line discount store division's initial entry in a totally
integrated Merchandising Information System. Served as the primary IT
liaison with top management in determining their business systems
requirements. Managed a $1.5 million budget while coordinating the IT
development staffs' efforts of approximately 75 managers and programmers in
3 major Data Centers. Introduced the concept of SKU numbers for over
65,000 items. Designed on-line Purchase Order Management, Store Receiving,
and Inventory Control systems reducing inventory while improving turnover.
Saved over 120 work hours per store by installing a POS Price Override
system, designed many store backroom systems.
EDUCATION and TRAINING
Attended University of Wisconsin - Waukesha and Milwaukee Campuses, Liberal
Arts Major.
Graduate of Waukesha County Technical College, Data Processing Major,
A.A.S. Degree.
Sat for the Certified Computer Professional (CCP) exam; awarded in 1982.
IBM Project Management Methodology, 2006
Situational Leadership Training, Ken Blanchard Inst., 2007
ITIL v3 Certified, Service Management Fundamental Competencies, 2008
Fundamentals of Project Management, 2010
Defining Successful Projects (Business Analyst), 2011
Project Planning and Control, 2012
Project Leadership Workshop, 2013
Contact this candidate