Supplier Quality Engineer

William Bruce Walker

MBA/MsEng

**.********@*****.***

www.linkedin.com/in/wm-bruce-walker-mba-mseng

Mansfield, GA, 478-***-****

Supplier Quality Engineer

Strategic Quality & Supplier Assurance professional with 10+ years in SCM and SQA, including 5 years focused on supplier quality oversight. Expert in conducting audits, surveys, and inspections to ensure supplier compliance with quality systems, contracts, and purchase orders. Proven track record in resolving supplier quality issues, implementing root cause analysis, and delivering corrective actions to enhance performance. Skilled at confronting issues professionally, coaching teams, and representing company interests with suppliers. Adept at developing procurement quality procedures and training programs to align with customer and government standards. Holds a MsEng/MBA degree and consistently drives supplier excellence and regulatory compliance.

Areas of Expertise

Supplier Quality Management (SQA)

AS9100 & FAA Compliance

Advanced Product Quality Planning (APQP)

PPAP (Production Part Approval Process)

Lean Manufacturing & Six Sigma

Supplier Corrective Action Reporting (SCAR)

SAP (Quality Info Records, Nonconformance Management)

First Article Inspections (FAI)

Root Cause Corrective Action (RCCA)

Dock-to-Stock Strategy & Inspection Plans

Teamcenter (MPE & Functional Spec Reviews)

Quality Management System (QMS) Development & Training

Certified Engineer (Triumph Aerospace)

Certified Supplier Engineer (Sikorsky)

Problem-solving & Analytical Thinking

Accomplishments

Supplier Optimization & Cost Savings: Achieved significant cost reductions through supplier optimization and multi-branded product development, enhancing supply chain efficiency and reducing overall procurement costs.

Regulatory Compliance & Audits: Managed internal and external audits, initiating corrective actions and providing quality training to ensure compliance with regulatory standards, which improved process reliability and minimized non-conformance costs.

Competitive Risk & Brand Positioning: Collaborated with Marketing and Sales to identify competitive risks, ensuring positive brand positioning and market differentiation, leading to increased market share and customer retention.

Operational Efficiency & Cross-functional Collaboration: Led cross-functional teams in business process redesign, improving operational efficiency, reducing lead times, and enhancing customer experience, resulting in a streamlined workflow and cost savings.

Sustainability Leadership: Engaged executive stakeholders in addressing GRI Standards of Sustainability, driving eco-friendly practices and cost-effective sustainability measures across operations.

Profit-based Credit Policies & Forecasting: Developed and implemented profit-based credit policies that optimized risk tolerance, enabling more accurate unit forecasting based on vintage analysis and reducing bad debt exposure.

Loss Forecast & Collections Optimization: Led loss forecasting and collections analytics, utilizing roll rate forecasting techniques to maximize recoveries and improve operational efficiency, reducing write-offs and improving cash flow.

Cost Reduction in Customer Complaints: Reduced the cost of customer complaints by 70%, equating to savings of over $170K, by streamlining customer feedback processes and implementing proactive issue resolution.

Safety & Security Expenditure Reduction: Reduced annual safety and security expenditure by $36K through the implementation of process improvements and risk mitigation strategies.

Data-driven Decision-Making: Provided strategic direction to enhance business intelligence capabilities, improving data-driven decision-making and facilitating more accurate forecasting and performance tracking.

Cross-Department Collaboration: Improved data gathering processes by collaborating with finance, underwriting, and collections teams, enhancing forecasting efficiency by 30% and reducing time spent on data reconciliation.

Stakeholder Management & Satisfaction: Enhanced stakeholder engagement practices, improving decision-making transparency and increasing senior management satisfaction with clear, data-backed reports on performance and risk.

Global ISO Implementation & Quality Standards: Oversaw global stakeholders for ISO implementation, enhancing quality standards and customer service across multiple regions, leading to improved compliance and reduced operational risks.

Lean Manufacturing & Process Optimization: Spearheaded Lean manufacturing and 5S initiatives, aligning policies with corporate values and driving operational efficiency, reducing waste and cutting production costs.

Claims Policy Improvement: Developed and operationalized claims policies, reducing mis-escalation rates by 46%, improving operational workflows, and saving time and resources across departments.

Continuous Improvement & Training: Conducted Lean/Six Sigma training for international teams, fostering a culture of continuous improvement and achieving measurable cost reductions and process enhancements.

Executive Leadership & Risk Management: Provided strategic leadership in risk management, generating actionable insights and reports for stakeholders, enabling data-driven decision-making and risk mitigation across the organization.

Career Experience

Founder & Client Business Project/Program Management IDS, LLC Mansfield, GA 04/2018 - Present

Delivered consulting strategies focusing on risk assessments, mitigation strategies, and fostering strong client relations.

Managed budgets, aligned team efforts, and ensured timely project deliverables.

Directed strategic planning to align with long-term business growth objectives

Executive Chief Risk Officer (Director of Quality and EHS), WAM USA, Inc. - Lawrenceville, GA 03/2023 - 08/2024

As a contract executive:

Developed and executed the company’s comprehensive risk management strategy, reporting to the CEO and executive team.

Identified and mitigated technical risks, including cybersecurity threats, and implemented robust data protection measures.

Monitored and ensured regulatory compliance with air quality, noise control, and EPA standards.

Collaborated with Marketing and Sales to assess and mitigate competitive market risks.

Oversaw policy updates for decision authorities, warranties, pricing, and collections.

Director, Global Quality Management, Steelcase Inc. (PolyVision Ceramic Steel Division) 01/2015– 01/2018

Johns Creek, GA, Ocmulgee OK, Genk BE, Hong Kong, CH

Spearheaded global ISO implementation, enhancing quality and customer service.

Enforced Lean manufacturing and 5S principles, aligning policies with corporate values.

Implemented corrective actions for product, system, and process errors.

Leveraged team strengths in quality and supply chain for task assignments.

Conducted Lean/Six Sigma training for 30 international employees, optimizing operations

Senior Manager, Global Supplier Quality NEWELL Brands Sandy Springs, GA 06/2014 - 01/2015

As a contract professional engineer:

Managed cross-functional teams to ensure quality compliance and optimize supply chain operations.

Led supplier optimization efforts, achieving $50M+ in cost reductions.

Successfully moved, set up, and commissioned 500+ injection molding tools under budget and ahead of schedule.

Quality Assurance Manager, PMA Products Wencor Group Peachtree City, GA 03/2012 - 06/2014

Led continuous improvement initiatives, ensuring compliance with FAA, CFR 145, and ISO 9001 standards.

Managed audits, corrective actions, and delivered quality training programs.

Optimized supplier programs and reduced defects, resulting in cost savings.

Additional Experience

Equipment Operator / Purchasing Agent U.S. Dept. of the Interior, National Park Service Macon, GA

SE Regional Engineering Consulting Manager Raytheon, Inc. New York, NY

Program Manager, ISO Implementation Hamilton Beach Inc. Glen Allen, VA

Commissioned Officer (Aviation, Infantry, Finance, Logistics) US Army CONUS

Education

Master of Business Administration (MBA), Business Management, University of Canterbury

Master of Science (MsEng), Engineering, University of Canterbury

Bachelor of Business Administration (BBA), Oklahoma State University

TECHNICAL SKILLS

MS Office Pro (PowerPoint, Excel, MS Project, Word, SharePoint, Office 365, Teams), Smartsheet project management software, Asana project management software, Salesforce CRM, Minitab, SAP (ERP/MRP), Accounting (MS Money, Peachtree Accounting)

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