Keith Farmer
*** ******* ***** ***** **** Wayne, IN 46804 260-***-****
acpjs0@r.postjobfree.com
SUMMARY OF QUALIFICATIONS
Result driven and self-motivated manufacturing, purchasing, and inventory
professional offering 20 years of operations experience in plastics
packaging, food, automotive, HVAC, and textile industries. Committed to a
vision of Lean Enterprise and Continuous Improvement. Creative problem
solver devoted to a team approach in executing new and established
strategies.
KEY ATTRIBUTES
V Purchasing Management - Supplier Analysis and Selection, ERP, MRP,
Negotiation
V Inventory Management - Kanban, Inventory Reduction, Warehousing,
Distribution, Consignment, Shipping & Receiving
V Quality Assurance - Lean Manufacturing, 5S, Value Stream Mapping, Six
Sigma, JIT, SPC
V Process Development - Continuous Improvement, Kaizen, Taguchi DOE,
SMED, Process Flow Mapping, Time Studies, Poka-Yoke
V Operations Management - Safety and Environmental protection,
Production Planning and Scheduling, HACCP, Product Development,
Standard Operating Procedure, Training and Team Building, Plant
Management
V Leadership & Personal Skills - Dependability, Organization,
Communication, Broad Knowledge Base, Analytical Minded
V Business Management - Cost Analysis, Small Business Start-up, Project
Management, Microsoft Excel
PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE
1 SUPPLY CHAIN MANAGEMENT - PURCHASING & INVENTORY
. Purchased and forecasted service parts and production components
with a $20M spend. Managed raw material inventory for production
lines averaging a daily value of $2.5M. Sourced materials, created
multi-year supplier agreements, and negotiated price.
. Reduced inventory level from $5.4M to $3.8M while increasing turns
from 10x to 24x annually by developing raw materials and finished
goods inventory models. Established KPI's using statistical
methods which include indicators that show when system changes
should be made. Sustained 95% service levels to customers and
distributors
. Developed a reliable supplier base by reducing the number of major
suppliers from a "price only" buying relationship to several long-
term partnership suppliers committed to quality, reduced lead times
and competitive pricing (15-20% less total cost) reducing total
annual cost by $850K
. Leveraged purchasing power and reduced component costs up to 11%
through vendor development and long-term partnerships
. Created a robust purchasing department and reduced buyer's time on
task by 5% through automated MRP reporting processes and pull
systems, bar coding, mixed-model deliveries and Kanban systems.
Developed policies and procedures to ensure efficient operation of
the purchasing and receiving departments
. Developed inventory optimization strategies to reduce, and often
eliminate, the company's excess and obsolete inventory as a result
of frequent engineering changes and product phase-outs.
Synchronized the change process through effective communication and
close functional partnerships with suppliers, engineers, and
operations managers
. Performed demand planning analysis derived from sales history and
customer ordering patterns
. Engineering buyer for new product development and engineering
changes throughout the product life cycle. Supported engineering
department via supplier selection, prototype samples and production
components
. Established a production forecasting, demand planning & scheduling
system which synchronizes customer demand with product mix to
support 6 distribution centers. Scheduled production equipment and
set staffing levels. Restructured the company's product line
through demand analysis to produce only products with high sales
volumes while eliminating products that are not profitable
. 15% reduction in raw material outages and production downtime by
establishing a cycle counting program
. Established a commodity pricing strategy for components containing
high percentages of copper, steel, and aluminum which tracks market
pricing trends of the raw materials and their relationships to the
anticipated component purchase prices. Analyzed spend and
developed strategies to reduce and stabilize cost through metals
contracts and index pricing
. Managed a production facility warehouse and inventory at 6 food
distribution centers. Synchronized the supply chain to include
forecasting, purchasing, production, finished goods, warehousing,
distribution, and sales for multiple product lines
. Manage the supply chain of vehicles ($7M) to 55 dealerships
including inventory and distribution. Forecast, acquire, and
ensure a continuous supply of vehicles coming from auctions and
wholesalers through effective management of buyers, dispatchers,
service centers, and title office. Analyze sales data, vehicle
specifications and customer demographics to create purchasing
models
2
3
4 PRODUCTION AND OPERATIONS
. Recruited, trained and lead the development of Kaizen teams in a
non-union environment. Empowered individuals to make qualified
decisions and take action while increasing process reliability
. Reduced tooling changeover times on vacuum forming equipment from 6
to 2 hours through SMED techniques. Customer response time reduced
3 days and plant capacity increased 8%
6 QUALITY ASSURANCE
. Aligned customer performance requirements with product quality
specifications (voice of the customer), reducing consumer inquiries
from 33% to 14%. Aligned product specifications with equipment
capabilities which reduced nonconforming product by 14%
. Technical advisor and liaison between the customer and
manufacturing, working adjacent to the vice president of sales
7 BUSINESS AND PROJECT MANAGEMENT
. Effectively managed production operations, human resources and
product quality at a sewing company built exclusively for Vera
Bradley (NASDAQ:VRA) handbag production with a multi-national
workforce of 210 employees
. Designed and built 3 industrial sewing companies from building
acquisition to shipped goods. Configured the production facility
into manufacturing cells using lean manufacturing, JIT and TPS
methods which streamlined workflow through visual management
concepts
. Lead the business start-up of Cleo & Dot, LLC children's clothing
company. Implemented on-line ordering capabilities, recruited and
contracted national sales reps. and developed a sales commission
program. Facilitated teamwork among designers, sales, office and
marketing staff in launching the business
. Capital equipment purchases up to $400K
EMPLOYMENT HISTORY
Inventory Manager - Buy here/pay here automobile company with 55
dealerships in 3 states
Superior Auto / SAC Finance - Ft. Wayne, IN 2014 - Present
Purchasing Manager - $150M manufacturer of geothermal heating and
cooling equipment.
Water Furnace Intl. - Ft. Wayne, IN 2008 - 2014
Inventory Manager, Plant Manager - $25M holding company composed of 8
business units
specializing in contract sewing, screen-printing, embroidery, and
property management
Equity Management Group - Ft. Wayne, IN 2002 - 2008 (business
closed)
Inventory Manager, Purchasing Manager - Regional coffee roaster ($30M)
that provides coffee, tea and
supplies to retail and office coffee service markets
Cadillac Coffee Company - Ft. Wayne, IN 2000 - 2002
Purchasing Manager, Production Manager - Regional snack food producer
($60M) of potato chips, tortilla chips & pretzels
Seyfert Foods, Inc. - Ft. Wayne, IN 1995 - 2000 (business closed)
EDUCATION AND TRAINING
. Ball State University - Muncie, IN
BS - Industrial Technology Minor: Business Management
AS - Plastics Manufacturing
. APICS - CPIM Certification
. Internal Certification in Lean Manufacturing
. Court appointed mediator
. CPR, First Aid, and Member of Emergency Response Team
. OSHA - General Industry Safety Training
. Microsoft Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook
. ISO 9001:2008 Internal Auditor