Materials Planning & Supply Chain Leadership (30+ Years)
Resume:
Chris Brown
Summary of Qualifications
I am passionate about Materials Planning, Procurement, and Inventory Management. I have been fortunate to gain extensive experience in Materials and Supply Chain Management, Planning / Procurement, Logistics, ERP Implementation and Usage, and Inventory and Documentation Control in a variety of industries including High-Tech, Semiconductor and Medical Devices. I’m a passionate, self-directed professional and possess an intense work ethic. I’m also a team player and collaborator who can communicate effectively at all levels in the organization and with Staff, Customers and Suppliers. These traits enable me to complete assignments on-time and to deliver results that enhance the bottom-line.
Over the course of my career, I have:
• Worked in both large and small companies in several industries and have been able to thrive and contribute in high-pressure, fast-paced and rapidly changing environments.
• Built collaborative working relationships with key Suppliers that enabled assurance of supply for critical parts to maintain build schedules and ship product to Customers on-time.
• Enhanced customer satisfaction by providing accurate and current delivery information to both internal sales teams and customers.
• Developed and implemented manual MRP systems utilizing Excel spreadsheets to drive the materials planning process.
• Maintained efficient inventory flows within company factories with excellent on-hand inventory accuracy.
• Managed RMA processes so that defective parts could be returned to the factory, analyzed and corrected/prevented.
• Fierce supporter of Materials Staff, offering support, encouragement, training and advancement as warranted by the company.
• Ensured that applicable regulatory, ISO and GxP standards and guidelines were adhered to in my areas of responsibility.
• I’m a native English speaker, fluent in French, and highly conversant in Spanish.
• I’m APICS-CPIM certified.
Attached is a copy of my resume that further details my background, experience and talents. Best Regards,
Chris Brown
*************@*******.***
CHRIS BROWN
Santa Clara, CA 95051
https://www.linkedin.com/in/chris-brown-27551942/ 408-***-**** *************@*******.*** Materials Planning and Procurement professional (MRP jockey) with extensive experience in Supply Chain Management and Inventory Control. Expertise in ERP systems usage (Oracle, Netsuite, SAP, etc.), planning, procurement, logistics, manufacturing documentation management, production procedure generation, quality control (TQC, SQC, CPI), inventory management, shipping and receiving. Product Life Cycle experience includes R&D, NPI, Production, Discontinuance and Obsolescence as well as structured Deviations. Team player and collaborator who can communicate clearly and effectively with all levels in the organization. Maintain even keel in dynamic and ambiguous environment. Active builder of solid relationships with internal / external customers and suppliers, team members, and management. Knowledgeable, competent, committed, and flexible across multiple functional areas. Native English speaker; fluent in French; highly conversant in Spanish; nominally competent in Italian, Russian and German. BUSINESS SKILLS
• ERP Implementation / User
(Oracle, SAP, Netsuite)
• Customer Order Systems (Salesforce)
• MRP / Production Requirements Planning
• Materials Procurement including RFQ’s,
PO’s, negotiations, invoicing, reconciliation,
vendor profile management
• Inventory Management
• Third-Party Outsourcing / Sub-Contracting
• Mechanical drawings, schematics, BOM’s etc.
• Warehouse Management
• Excel: VLOOK-UP and Pivot Tables
• Process Improvement Expertise
• Regulatory Standards Conformance
• SOP, Work Instruction Development
• Start-Up Experience
• Effective Communicator
• Innovative Problem Solver
• Self-Motivated Team Player
• Quick Study / Results-Oriented
PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE
Valley Transportation Authority (VTA) / San Jose, CA 01/2025 –06/2025 Provides countywide transportation planning for Santa Clara County, California Material Management Analyst – Performed ERP data integrity and transition support -- Provided engineering documentation review and analysis of Supplier BOMs and mechanical drawings as company prepares to load and verify Vehicle Maintenance data into SAP. Heavy use of Excel, PDF - to - Excel Parsing, and SAP. Spinal Kinetics / Orthofix, Sunnyvale, CA 06/2022 – 9/2024 Medical products company that designed and manufactures the M6-C™ artificial cervical disc device, the only artificial cervical disc that mimics the structure and movement of a natural disc. Materials Supervisor - Managed staff in Planning, Procurement, Inventory Control, Logistics, Shipping / Receiving and the Warehouse. MRP and Kanban planning; FDA regulated. Projects included Integrity of Documentation, Database, Physical Inventory, and Processes. Used Oracle.
• Supervised highly competent Materials staff; increased scope & skillsets; supported individual growth; promote direct report two levels to Shipping / Receiving Clerk III.
• Planned and directed execution of Warehouse re-configuration to meet OSHA requirements.
• Formally documented informal and tribal procedures, updated SOPs and Work Instructions as necessary.
• Provided research and response to inquiries by Finance re: PO status and standard cost deviations.
• Managed deviations in Supplier deliveries and billing by setting expectations, communicating discrepancies, negotiating solutions, documenting agreements, and following up as appropriate.
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CHRIS BROWN Page 2
• Participated in SCAR/CAPA/NCMR creation, review and resolution.
• Followed rigorous QMS / FDA regulations.
• Created and maintained manual MRP for majority of production parts, both direct and indirect. Created a Production Plan for Work Orders (WOs) updated daily by the Inventory Control Specialist. Result: Advanced awareness about the exact inventory levels available in the next week; specific bottlenecks; outlook for near-term stock-outs; clarification of the product mix of Work Orders to be issued to Production now and in the near future; clear, concise, consistent, and accurate data to be reported to Operations on a weekly basis as well as when requested.
• Researched and executed an ECO to scrap old, unused labels (39 part numbers; over 100 rolls). Result: cleansed database; fixtures reconfigured for improved material stocking; identified weakness in the ECO process designating Use As-Is on an ECO while retaining inventory that needed to go to Scrap.
• Full Physical Inventory was conducted in January 2024 (18 months under my supervision) and passed with extraordinary results: 0.03% variance.
• The facility shut down in July 2025.
Q’Apel Medical, Inc, Fremont, CA 01/2020 – 04/2022 Medical device company that develops novel catheter technology and products for neurovascular interventions. Materials Planning and Procurement – As Procurement Project Specialist, performed key supporting functions such as MRP database administration and management, inventory control, materials planning and procurement, and logistics support through the entire product lifecycle (PLC). Used Netsuite.
• Developed and implemented “manual” MRP system utilizing complex Excel spreadsheets to drive the materials planning process.
• Monitored key parts, assemblies, and product inventory levels to ensure accuracy and alignment with MRP output.
• Scheduled procurement of parts and assemblies to support build plans including sequenced outsourcing to third parties for coating, testing, and sterilization services.
• Ensured that appropriate GMP and regulatory standards were adhered to.
• Researched sources and procured PPE supplies during pandemic to enable Production to continue to operate without disruption.
• Built collaborative relationships with key suppliers to enable assurance of materials supply during challenging times.
• Participated in CAPA/NCMR creation, review and resolution. Mindray North America, San Jose, CA 12/2017 - 11/2019 Medical products company focused on innovative patient monitoring, anesthesia, and ultrasound imaging devices and systems to improve healthcare for all. Product Allocation Specialist - Managed all product allocations for Ultrasound Sales and Service. Reviewed orders from Salesforce and prioritized them. Verified inventory availability to fulfill these orders. Created delivery notes and collaborated with shipping department to ensure orders shipped on time. Used SAP.
• Coordinated with Customers and Representatives to provide order/materials status. Provided estimated arrival time and tracking information.
• Optimized delivery and installation schedules.
• Successfully escalated and expedited orders to enable on-time deliveries to customers.
• Developed and communicated Ship Plans to ensure month-end shipments were made on time.
• Company shut down West Coast manufacturing operations. Redapt, Inc. via Staffing Technologies (6-mo Contract position), San Jose, CA 04/2017 - 10/2017 Infrastructure and systems integration company that focuses on customization of datacenter hardware. Inventory Control III - Managed all inventory movement and security at satellite site. Used Great Plains ERP.
• Managed and executed all Inventory receiving, kitting, allocating, warehousing, Return Material Authorization (RMA), invoicing and shipping functions.
• Performed cycle counts on inventory and tracked and reported on inventory accuracy.
• Maintained asset inventory in Great Plains (GP Dynamics). CHRIS BROWN Page 3
Amazon Lab126 via Shimento (11-mo Contract position) Sunnyvale, CA 07/2016 - 06/2017 Inventory Control Specialist - Managed count, storage and tracking of physical inventory of prototype devices, equipment, consumables for unreleased product testing (Amazon Echo product family). Violin Memory, Inc., Santa Clara, CA 12/2014 - 03/2016 Pioneer in the development of all-flash arrays (AFA). Acquired by Soros’ Quantum Partners. Logistics Analyst – Managed inventory levels of field-supplied parts across global enterprise. Used SAP.
• Performed Inventory Control for warehouses in 70 locations worldwide utilizing complex set of spreadsheets and included spare parts inventory fulfillment.
• Tracked RMA returns based on Salesforce.com data.
• Collaborated with technical engineering staff, account team and customers to ensure faulty parts were returned to HQ (reverse logistics) for analysis and corrective/preventative action (CAPA).
• Created Support Renewal Quotes for Sales Representatives utilizing Salesforce.com data. Google e-books via Randstad (24-month Contract position) Mountain. View, CA 02/2012 - 12/2014 Quality Reviewer – Ensured Quality of proprietary vendor publications in German, Italian, Latin and English. Supported Google E-books project to put over 3 million books on-line. Responsible for online review of books and manuscripts dating from 1520 AD to present. Also proof-reading of current German- and Italian-language magazines. Transcribed, edited and released digitized, unabridged version of Goethe's 19th century masterpiece Faustus, from old-style Fraktur or Gothic typeface. Best assignment ever in the whole wide world. Self-Employed: Licensed Realtor, Mortgage Loan Officer 11/2003 – 4/2015
• Reviewed and ensured accuracy and completion of detailed legal contracts.
• Managed high volume of face-to-face Customer interaction in often challenging situations Hewlett-Packard / Agilent Technologies, Palo Alto and Santa Clara, CA 4/1980 – 7/2003
• Supply Chain Management Program Manager (Corporate Engineering) – Completed break-up between HP and Agilent companies for Corporate R&D Documentation group.
• Business Process Manager (Corporate Systems Division) – Managed manufacturing documentation processes across corporate and multi-divisional customer bases.
• Product Documentation Process Developer (Multi-Divisional Organization) – Developed and implemented process efficiency improvements, reducing PCO data entry time from 7 hours to 20 minutes.
• Production Scheduler (IC Divisions) – Supported joint production in Palo Alto, Corvallis and Fort Collins.
• Document Control Manager (Manufacturing and Opto-Electronics Divisions) – Ensured rigorous control of manufacturing documentation. Implemented automated ERP.
• APICS-CPIM certified.
EDUCATION / CERTIFICATIONS
Bachelor of Science – equivalency – in Materials Management / Supply Chain / Business Management based on 4 decades in professional career
Bachelor of Arts (B.A.) in French; minor in Russian and Linguistics, San Jose State University, SJ, CA Master of Arts in French (minus dissertation), University of California at Berkeley, Berkeley, CA APICS Certification, CPIM (Production and Inventory Control Management) Hazardous Waste Generator Certification (3-day Training), Kern County Community College, CA. Chris Brown - List of Skills
Area Skill
Admin Computer skills
Data entry
Document management
Order entry
Organizational skills
Proofreading
Time management
Typing
Communication Communication skills
Effective Communicator
Engineering Product lifecycle management
NPI
ERP Customer Order Systems (Salesforce)
Enterprise software
ERP Implementation / User (Oracle, SAP)
ERP systems
Microsoft Dynamics GP
NetSuite
Oracle
Salesforce
SAP
SAP ERP
SAP Materials Management
Warehouse management system
IT Tools Adobe Acrobat
Microsoft Access
Microsoft Excel – VLOOKUP and Pivot Tables
Microsoft Office
Microsoft Outlook
Microsoft PowerPoint
Microsoft Word
SharePoint
Management Leadership
Management
Project management
Self-Motivated Team Player
Supervising experience
Team management
Professional Skills Analysis skills
Business analysis
Customer service
Data analysis skills
Data analytics
Innovative Problem Solver
Negotiation
Quick Study / Results-Oriented
Translation
Quality Continuous improvement
Lean manufacturing
Process improvement
Process Improvement Expertise
Root cause analysis
Statistics
Regulatory Regulatory Standards Conformance
FDA Compliance
Supply Chain Inventory control
Inventory management
Kanban
Logistics
Manual Demand Planning, Manual Production
Manual MRP, shortage reports
Manufacturing
Materials management
Materials Procurement
MRP
Order Fulfillment
Plan to Stock
RFQ’s
Procurement management
Production planning
Project coordination
Purchasing
SAP Supply Chain management
Shipping & Receiving
Shop Floor Control
Sourcing
Start-Up Experience
Supply chain management
Third-Party Outsourcing / Sub-Contracting
Vendor Profile management
Warehouse management
Training SOP, Work Instruction Development
Training
Tutoring
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