Strategic Purchasing & Supply Chain Leader

Robert Christian Ambrose

816-***-**** ********@*****.***

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/robert-ambrose-3a0b3b73

Purchasing Manager Strategic Sourcing & Supply Chain Leader

Results-driven supply chain professional with 15+ years of experience leading purchasing, sourcing, and supplier management across manufacturing and multi-site operations. Proven success driving multimillion-dollar cost reductions, strengthening supplier partnerships, and ensuring continuity of raw materials and packaging to support production. Known for building strong cross-functional alignment with operations, QA, and finance to deliver reliable supply, quality, and margin improvement.

Core Competencies

Strategic Sourcing & Procurement Supplier Negotiation & Contracting Raw Materials & Packaging Cost Reduction & Margin Improvement Inventory Optimization Demand & Production Planning Support Supplier Performance & Scorecards ERP/EDI Systems (Deacom, Meditech) Forecasting & MRP Risk Mitigation Cross-Functional Leadership Continuous Improvement (Lean)

Key Achievements

• Delivered $1.36M+ annual cost savings through supplier consolidation, contract renegotiation, and standardization.

• Reduced stockouts by 68% by improving forecasting collaboration and supplier SLAs.

• Improved pricing accuracy by over 75%, strengthening margin control and financial reporting.

• Generated $194K YoY margin improvement while reducing overtime labor by 99% through operational and supply optimization.

• Led complex supplier transitions with zero disruption to production or customer service.

Professional Experience

Founder & Principal Consultant

Optym Supply Chain Solutions February 2026 – Present

• Operational Procurement, Terms & Vendor Management (OPTYM)

• Founded a supply chain and contract optimization consulting firm focused on helping healthcare systems, manufacturing organizations, and GPO participants reduce costs, improve contract compliance, and enhance operational efficiency.

• Specialize in contract analytics, supplier alignment, and data-driven savings validation through ERP and dashboard tools.

• Provide strategic advisory services in sourcing, procurement transformation, inventory optimization, and supplier performance management.

• Develop standardized workflows, SOPs, and reporting structures to improve visibility, accountability, and decision-making across supply chain functions.

Consulting Engagement – Curvo Labs (1099 Contractor)

• Lead contract data preparation, validation, and system integration for multi-entity healthcare clients participating in group purchasing (Vizient/commit programs).

• Build and standardize contract line-item datasets, including cross-referencing, cleansing, and categorization to enable accurate savings tracking.

• Support implementation of contract management modules across multiple client instances (Health Future, Asante, St. Charles), ensuring proper configuration and member alignment.

• Partner with data and ETL teams to facilitate bulk contract uploads and dashboard reporting for PO-based savings tracking.

• Develop SOPs and process documentation for contract loading, validation, and ongoing maintenance.

• Assist in creation of custom market baskets and analytics to track compliance, tier attainment, and realized savings.

Supply Chain Operations Manager

Western Smokehouse Partners – Mexico, MO July 2025 – Present

• Lead purchasing and sourcing of raw materials, ingredients, and packaging for high-volume food manufacturing facility.

• Negotiate pricing, terms, and service levels with protein, ingredient, and packaging suppliers to meet cost and quality targets.

• Partner with production, QA, and planning teams to align material availability with production schedules and food safety requirements.

• Manage supplier performance through scorecards focused on cost, service, quality, and on-time delivery.

• Utilize ERP (Deacom) to manage POs, inventory, lot traceability, and demand planning inputs.

• Drive continuity planning for critical materials to mitigate supply disruptions.

Director of Supply Chain

Lake Regional Health System – Osage Beach, MO February 2024 – May 2025

• Directed enterprise purchasing and sourcing strategy across multiple sites with responsibility for contracts, supplier performance, and inventory.

• Negotiated agreements delivering $1.36M+ in savings while improving service reliability and compliance.

• Built supplier scorecards and executive dashboards to improve visibility to spend, performance, and risk.

• Led distributor and supplier conversions to strengthen pricing consistency and service levels.

• Partnered with finance to manage budgets, accruals, and cost forecasting.

Department Manager, Supply Chain & Procurement

Lake Regional Health System – Osage Beach, MO September 2016 – January 2024

• Managed day-to-day purchasing, vendor relations, and inventory replenishment for high-volume operations.

• Standardized procurement workflows and contract compliance to improve cost control and audit readiness.

• Delivered $194K YoY margin improvement and reduced overtime labor by 99% through supply and process optimization.

• Collaborated with operations leaders to align sourcing strategies with service and growth plans.

Education

• Master of Business Administration (MBA) – William Woods University

• Master of Management / Operations Leadership – William Woods University

• Bachelor of Science – Central Missouri State University

• Associate of Applied Science (A.A.S.), Culinary Arts – East Central College

Certifications

• Lean Six Sigma – Green Belt

• ServSafe Certified (Valid through 6/2027)

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