Experienced Category Advisor / Analyst / Space Planning

Jim Cline

**** ****** **., ***** ** ***** | cell: 469-***-**** ******@*********.***

Experience in business planning/analysis/sales, replenishment, technology, space-planning, marketing and creative problem-solving.

Professional Profile

Business Planning/Analysis

Organizing raw data into key reporting tools, in a quick manner, is a process I pride myself in. Ability to analyze an entire category’s performance to store level and react with replenishment in a short time, is a walk in the park. Strong analytical background with: budgets, forecasting/production planning, replenishment, sales reports/analysis, inventory management and data collection.

Core Leadership

Incorporating my skill sets will add another dimension to internal planning and external organization. In my roles, I have been a key player and strong leader, immediate to be an asset. I have respect for the inner workings and the people who have made it possible.

Working with retailer space allocation, store counts, display locations, sales turn, ROI & open to buy is a key process in understanding their needs and achieving goals. As with any company, they want their suppliers to be on-top of their business. More than just servicing their immediate needs, but also knowing trends, markets and solutions to help drive their sales.

Space Planning

JDA Space Planning. Use of demographics, SKU rationalization and planograms to implement the proper store level traiting for optimal visibility and sales performance/results.

Technical Knowledge

Advanced skills in Microsoft Excel, Microsoft Office Suite, Retail link, Business Objects, JDA Space Planning, Adobe PhotoShop, Macromedia Dreamweaver, HTML, and Adobe Design Suite. Proficient in both Windows & Macintosh platforms.

Team Builder

Collaboration with other divisions of the company to share and develop useful business tools. Periodic recap meetings to set priorities and distribute responsibilities. Willing to dive-in and take on new challenges to achieve results.

Goal Achiever

Consistently exceeds set objectives and supports company while striving to make individual as well as corporate goals. Processes to reduce store level markdowns, while keeping shelves full to meet demand.

Professional Experience:

Hines Nut Company, Dallas, TX (Wal-mart Account) 01/03 - 04/12

Category Analyst / Advisor

• Immediate hire to prepare companies Annual Business Review & Strategic Planning/Goals for Wal-Mart account. Helped to present the historical company overview, ABR & SP/G to Wal-Mart buying team.

• Focused on store inventory analysis. Analysis of store on-hands and actual sales/trends, allowed for sending the correct amount of product to stores. 30-40% increase in category sales for non-promotional months.

• Maintaining display through event, while achieving 80% sell-thru.

• Worked with buyer(s) on category budget goals, promotions and supplier performance targets.

• “Category Advisor”, granted access to all SKU’s in categories involved.

• Helped buyer(s) with analysis in other category’s

• Helped define the 2-3-5 year Strategic Planning goals for all suppliers in category

• Assisting with aligning all categories SKU’s in to finelines/groups, reducing analysis and reporting time immediately by 50%.

• 6 years holiday planning lead analyst (50% category sales in 11wks). Planning with buyer(s) on volumes, assortment and layout. Tracking replenishment for all suppliers. Preparing scripts and replenishment product for most suppliers to ensure stores were in-stock to cover demand.

• During the holiday program, stores with correct volumes averaged less than 3% in MD’s dollars verses 7-12% in heavy stocked stores.

Space Planning

• Assigned 7 modular categories. Analysis of SKU performance, SOTC items and regional modulars.

• Department restructured through the years eliminated several modular category locations, resulting in combined categories and some SKU rationalization. 40% loss in modular space, major facing reductions and 8-15% reduction in SKU’s.

• Modular traits/planograms were reduced to make tracking process more efficient. ALT Groups were created for each SKU with multiple suppliers. Reduction in planograms by 45%.

• Built trait tracking report for each category to make sure each store was correctly traited for assigned SKU’s. 98% stores were correctly traited for categories covered.

Marketing / Merchandising

• Worked with buyer(s) and suppliers on efficient and effective promotional vehicles. With reduction in available promotional space, smaller and assortment shippers were designed. Better visibility, less product on display, easier replenishment and more sales was achieved.

• Half pallet shipper designed had a 40% increase in sales compared to case stack product and was small enough to be included in small prototype & NHMkts

• Utilizing my PhotoShop skills and 3D modeling in ProSpace, virtual displays were built to represent displays/ programs to suppliers and senior WM buyers. Modeled in actual store setting for realistic look.

Levi Strauss & Co., Frisco, TX (National Account Office - JCP) 06/00-12/02

Sales Support / Analyst

Key Responsibility: Accurately updating Weekly and Monthly selling information for Dockers® Slates® division (Retail/Catalog). Setup automation for maintenance of business plans and reports. Inventory bulk analysis updates.

Preparing sample lines for sales presentations. Assisting marketing division with product setup for sales meetings. Helping with implementation of new floor layouts in model stores.

• Sales information from JCP site was available at the first of week. Through the LS&CO system it was mid-week before data was available to query using MS Access. With strong skills using MS Excel, data was able to be populated into reports immediately from JCP site reports. Automating the process, reporting time took only a few hours. Updating both weekly and monthly plan. Ability to start performance analysis that day.

• Attending training courses in Business Objects & Demographics

• Worked with trends and targeting opportunity doors, demographic reporting tools

• Helped Dockers division beat Annual Plan for 2 consecutive years

Unique Images, Addison, TX 06/99 – 06/00

Screen Printing Manager

Applied advanced technical and organizational skill sets to increase efficiency. The result is a streamline production flow that meets or exceeds Customer needs and increases profits.

• Streamlining production flow, Unique Images profited 20% in the department

• Working directly with promotional and key accounts to strengthened relationships,

understanding their needs to improved quality and customer service

• Working directly with customers / vendors on specialty custom production orders. Some orders

requiring specialty printing techniques or production platforms built.

• Production mistakes were reduced to less than 1%

Laid Back Enterprises, Inc. Oklahoma City, OK 09/95 -05/99

Manager / Chief Technician

Manufacturing/Production Company of novelty and specialty items. Clients ranged from companies such as: Mom & Pop, Cracker Barrel, Spencer Gifts and Catalogs.

Hired as manager for the screen printing department. Initial task was to help select automatic equipment to increase production. Layout of both manual and automatic equipment to work efficiently together in new space. Responsible for all aspects of overseeing department, while also producing product. Administration and floor supervision work

• Incorporated and set-up automatic capabilities, repairs and maintenance on equipment

• Training unskilled employees in all aspects of screen printing

• Working closely with the key internal departments (art, purchasing, sales & assembly)

• Production cost analysis, setting piece print quota per design

• Tracking supply and labor cost for department

• Inventory tracking (MIS system implementation)

USA Embroidery & Screen Printing Co. Oklahoma City, OK 04/92 -09/95

Production Manager

Logo Wear, Inc. Broken Arrow, OK 02/90 -03/92

Production Artist / Screen Printer

Reasor’s Foods. Owasso, OK 08/88 -04/92

Grocery Stocker / Display-POP Construction

Education:

Tulsa Technology Center, Tulsa, OK 05/90

Advertising / Design - 2 year Technical Degree

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