Sue-Li Cushman
Happy Valley,OR
Summary
Achieved an excellent record of managing and executing high profile projects and strategic initiatives under pressure, while maintaining positive employee morale. Have a passion to build and foster a high performing team to deliver exceptional products and services to internal and external customers. A change agent that thrives on start-ups and transformative projects; with ability to juggle multiple initiatives while focusing on details. Ability to empower and create the best environment for any team to foster continuous improvement and Lean thinking to generate results.
Overview
14
14
years of professional experience
Work History
Director of Direct Sales
Columbia Distributing
02.2019 - Current
- Responsible for health and execution of three departments: Inside Sales, Graphics and Customer Service generating & processing 120 mil revenue per year
- Centralized each department to create synergy and cost savings of 700k+ per year for the organization
- Strategically implemented Telephony, CRM, B2B ecommerce, SharePoint Power Automate processes and Salesforce tools to facilitate order enablement
- Rolled out new B2B ecommerce Retailer Portal and grew platform to process over 5% of the entire company's volume in less than 3 years
- Oversaw B2B enhancements utilizing Agile Project Management and Software Development methodologies
- Developed B2B ecommerce standard support and maintenance framework between IT, Graphics and Customer Service
- Created diverse Direct Sales Training curriculum for Field Sales Reps, Customer Service Reps and Direct Sales Reps
- Stepped into multiple roles (BA/PM) to drive Digital Transformation initiatives (top 5) within the organization
- Brought up physical call center utilizing Cisco Finesse telephony services to triages calls based on automated prompts and call queues
- Built customized reporting and process automation from ground up to track KPI and critical metrics for Direct Sales
- Developed 50+ standard and best in class operating procedures for new and existing processes
- Maintained Continues Improvement Roadmap for each department to ensure on-time delivery of high-profile projects and management alignment
- Trained over 700 personnel in sales across all 14 branches in the PNW to use and adopt new technology to increase productivity and efficiency for sales and order execution
- Grew Direct Sales Volume from 2% to 3% even amidst COVID uncertainty for on-premise accounts
- Facilitated and drove EDI on-boarding and auto-replenishment initiatives for critical chains representing over 11% of the company's volume and revenue
- Created decision making framework with Impact Matrix for portfolio and product prioritization.
IT Manager
XPO Logistics
07.2018 - 02.2019
- Led a team of 20 Senior IT Professionals comprised of project managers, product owners, business analysts, senior software engineers, quality assurance engineers, technical leads and support analysts
- Responsible for: Building and supporting mainframe, Java, and Angular-based software applications for Pricing, Rating, Weights & Inspections and Corrections functions for LTL XPO Logistics
- Customized pricing rule sets and rating engines, which calculates customer pricing based on existing tariffs and pricing agreements to maximize revenue and profits
- Developed 26-million-dollar roadmap, maximizing year-over-year ROI, in partnership with Sales, Marketing, Pricing and Rating business stakeholders
- Managed execution of General Rating Increases, which is a process that brings in upwards of $1M of revenue per week
- Increased monthly product enhancement releases by 20% within first two months of joining the team
- Promoted key resources and provided training development tools to guide employees along their True North Career Path
- Mapped out and implemented best-in-class solutions with Sales executives to customize RFP web application platforms
- Developed SOX control and compliance process framework on all financial applications maintained by the team
- Accelerated development of offshore support structure to improve Customer Service Requests SLA for the Sales Team
- Facilitated IT enhancements and implementations via Agile development approach utilizing Confluence and JIRA
IT Project Manager
XPO Logistics
08.2015 - 07.2018
- ·Operated as Program Manager for high profile projects that oversaw multiple work streams of 60+ individuals for complex multi-platform IT solutions
- Developed and initiated projects, managed cost, monitored performance and created risk mitigation rollback plans
- Managed and executed command center and war rooms for multiple cross-functional groups for freight applications that processed 500million+ in revenue daily
- Corrected the trajectory of struggling projects that involved managing an underperforming vendor
- Built real time metrics and clearly communicated key KPIs to executive management on project progress and business impact of project deliverables
- Worked directly with off-shore and on-shore software vendors: NetSuite and EXL to increase productivity, ensure timely and accurate execution of contracted work for the Order to Cash system
- Stepped up to manually process millions of dollars' worth of payments via NetSuite for book close to address business-critical functionality gaps within software application
- Successfully created and managed multiple high performing teams under pressures of priority changes, tight timelines and a war room work environment
- Removed roadblocks quickly by escalating risks and issues in a timely manner to executives in addition to providing viable alternatives
- Built and sustained a positive work relationship with business stakeholders and fostered trust on both sides through collaborative User Acceptance Testing model
- Lead and managed dozens of Web Team projects utilizing impact effort matrix and value stream mapping to deliver voice of the customer
- Successfully completed the LTL rebranding project during the acquisition and acted as a liaison between legacy and new software development, Web, UX and Marking teams
- Steered and managed large projects using Software Development Life Cycle methodologies with cross functional teams to implement strategic Agile and Waterfall project.
Lean Project Manager
Menlo Logistics
06.2013 - 08.2015
- Managed and lead strategic and tactical project initiatives from Start-ups to infrastructure effectiveness by using a foundation of Lean Warehouse and Operational principles
- Led operations team to maximize revenue and decrease cost bringing in annual hard savings 20+ million and soft savings of 100+ million
- Analyzed pick path, slotting, and product velocity to create hot spots for fast and efficient daily warehouse operations
- Responsible for North Asia region lean assessments and certifications to ensure adaptation of standard warehouse and supply chain best practices
- Successfully facilitated Bilingual Conferences and Training sessions with North Asia offices, hub and spoke locations on regular basis to facilitate adoption of Lean
- Facilitated continuous improvement initiatives with cross-functional groups and external customers that generated millions of dollars in annual savings using A3s, Continuous Improvement Roadmaps (CIRs) and Value Stream Mapping (VSM) sessions
- Created Lean advanced lean leader program materials and interactive web interface for over 400 leadership participants to track program progress, status and KPIs
- Mentored and developed lean coordinators and managers on leadership and lean skillsets across the enterprise
- Led Lean warehouse and supply chain start-up initiatives by implementing strategic operational tool sets like 5S, Pick Boards, Status-At-A-Glance, Idea Boards, Inbound/Outbound packing stations for new accounts
- Created Global Process Navigators for all warehouse set-ups to ensure Standard Operating Procedures and Standard Work Instructions are implemented and followed for each start-up.
Systems Engineer/Application Analyst
Con-way Inc
09.2008 - 06.2013
- Defined Business Requirement Documents (including Functional and Technical Specs), Costing Documents, SWAG Estimate Break-down for high profile/visibility projects
- Created and deployed toolsets for Sales to Start-up (solution design processes necessary to deliver best in class, standardized, yet customized 3PL services for fortune 100 clients)
- Developed training modules for consuming processes and templates through SharePoint in a global setting
- Integrated and developed InfoPath forms with automated SharePoint workflows to support cross-functional process improvement to ensure Sarbanes-Oxley compliance
- Developed SQL Reporting Services (SSRS) Reports, Excel and SharePoint Dashboards to organize, compile, calculate and analyze metrics
- Trained and consulted hundreds of business users on SharePoint best practices and functionality
- Created companywide Knowledge Vault, a shared interactive web interface within SharePoint to allow knowledge workers to quickly access company standard templates, tools and documentation related to Sales, Lean, Operations, Safety, Finance, HR, IT and other departments
- Created tools and applications for Crisis Management, Safety Incident Reporting, Sales & Operations Planning, Quality Assurance, Revenue Recognition, and Waste Management.
Education
Bachelor of Arts - Business: Supply & Logistics Management and Chinese
Portland State University
Portland, OR03.2009
Bachelor of Arts - Chinese
Peking University
Beijing, China06.2006
Management And Communication Certifications
George Washington University School of Business
Washington, DC01.2010
Skills
- 5S Organization
- Lean Six Sigma
- Lean Manufacturing Principles
- Value Stream Mapping
- Agile Product LifeCycle Management
- Business Process Reengineering
- Workflow Planning
- Project Management
- Portfolio Management
- Digital Product Management
- Budget Management
- Contract and Vendor Management
- Crisis Management
- People Management
- Change and Growth Management
- ERP Systems
- SharePoint Power Automate
- Training and Development
- Salesforce proficiency
Timeline
Director of Direct Sales
Columbia Distributing
02.2019 - Current
IT Manager
XPO Logistics
07.2018 - 02.2019
IT Project Manager
XPO Logistics
08.2015 - 07.2018
Lean Project Manager
Menlo Logistics
06.2013 - 08.2015
Systems Engineer/Application Analyst
Con-way Inc
09.2008 - 06.2013
Bachelor of Arts - Business: Supply & Logistics Management and Chinese
Portland State University
Bachelor of Arts - Chinese
Peking University
Management And Communication Certifications
George Washington University School of Business
Awards and Community Involvement
· Bronze, Silver and Gold Advanced Lean Leaders Certification Recipient (2013-2015)
· Winner and multi-nominee of the Quarterly Leadership Award (2015-2018)
· Friends of Trees Organizer (2012-2013)
· Hood to Coast Cancer Fundraising Lead raised over $20,000+ (2014-2016)
· Solve Oregon Coordinator (2020-2021)
Similar Profiles
Jared ParkerJared Parker
Business Development Representative at Columbia DistributingBusiness Development Representative at Columbia Distributing
Samuel StillingsSamuel Stillings
Sales Representative at Columbia DistributingSales Representative at Columbia Distributing
Alex SavichAlex Savich
Inventory Control at Columbia DistributingInventory Control at Columbia Distributing
HILLARY BIIHILLARY BII
Inventory Controller/Slotting at Columbia DistributingInventory Controller/Slotting at Columbia Distributing
Michael ClarkMichael Clark
Penetrant Line Operator Trainer at PCC StructuralsPenetrant Line Operator Trainer at PCC Structurals