Benjamin Karr
Huntington Beach,CA
Summary
Dynamic leader with over 10 years of management experience, particularly at Hertz/Dollar Rent A Car. Led procurement strategies that improved vendor cost efficiency by 18%. Excel at negotiation and team management, driving operational excellence and fostering strong supplier relationships. Proficient in SAP and experienced in delivering profitability and operational improvements. Extensive travel across rental locations in California, Oregon, Washington, Nevada, and Hawaii as part of role at Hertz.
Overview
18
18
years of professional experience
1
1
Certification
Work History
Parts and Technical service manager
Waev inc
2024.01 - Current
- Overseeing parts and technical service departments
- Developing technical service bulletins ensure customer relations within dealer network
Procurement / Fleet Director
Hertz/Dollar Rent A Car
2017.09 - 2023.05
- I was hired on as a parts/maintenance manager, was promoted to procurement category manager after a year then procurement director a year after that
- Negotiate and set rates for all fleet contracts for west coat operations
- Settings budgets and insuring all local laws line up with work performed
- Working with legal to establish contracts with suppliers
- Research local markets and monitor pricing for maintenance items (tire's car parts oil and body repair)
- Working with accounts payable to insure invoices are submitted correctly and vendors are paid on time
- Setting monthly and yearly budgets for locations
- Monitoring p&l from a zone to location to ensure profitability
- Reporting to cfo on monthly totals using data analytics
- Establishing maintenance practices at all repair locations
- Through vendor audits in all zones I was able to improve vendor cost by 18% year over year
- 30 weekly direct reports
Parts Manager
Newport Beach Ducati triumph
2017.02 - 2017.09
- Negotiate with vendors for better pricing
- Scheduling of employees, handle all service parts inventory
- Ensure reorder points are in line with product turns
Parts Manager
Lincoln south coast
2016.10 - 2017.02
- Maintaining proper inventory levels, securing new suppliers and increasing commercial sales accounts
- Reporting monthly and yearly inventory counts
- Setting yearly budgets using data analytics to set attainable goals reflecting positive net growth
Parts Manager/Service Manager
Huntington Beach Harley Davidson
2008.04 - 2016.09
- Monitor parts and service, forecast sales and adjust ordering to meet demand
- Set and meet monthly sales goals working with a team of 20 plus employees
- Overseeing 12 technicians and 7 service writers, handling day to day operations such as daily safety meetings to auditing repair work and orders
Mechanic
Anaheim Fullerton Harley Davidson
2006.07 - 2008.04
- Perform basic maintenance including but not limited to oil / filter changes wheel alignment performance installs such as exhaust cams and intakes
Education
Technical Certificate - Motorcycle Mechanics Institute Division
Universal Technical Institute
Phoenix, AZ07.2005
Associate's degree -
Saddleback College
Mission Viejo, CA09.2001
Skills
- Negotiation
- Oracle
- Payroll
- Inventory Control
- Accounts Receivable
- Sales Management
- Microsoft Excel
- Procurement
- Pricing
- Forecasting
- Auto Service Management
- Mechanic Experience
- Management Experience
- Purchasing
- Financial Report Writing
- Leadership Experience (10 years)
- Leadership
- Supervising experience
- Financial acumen
- Conflict management
- Transportation management systems
- Materials management
- Supply chain
- Budgeting
- ERP systems
- Analysis skills
- Mentoring
- SAP
- Project management
- Data analytics
- Operations management
- SAP Supply Chain Management
- Asset management
- Interviewing
- E-commerce
- Financial planning
- Relationship management
- Systems analysis
- Continuous improvement
- Team management
- Compliance management
- ServiceNow
Certification
ASE Certification, 04/01/21, 04/30/26
Timeline
Parts and Technical service manager
Waev inc
2024.01 - Current
Procurement / Fleet Director
Hertz/Dollar Rent A Car
2017.09 - 2023.05
Parts Manager
Newport Beach Ducati triumph
2017.02 - 2017.09
Parts Manager
Lincoln south coast
2016.10 - 2017.02
Parts Manager/Service Manager
Huntington Beach Harley Davidson
2008.04 - 2016.09
Mechanic
Anaheim Fullerton Harley Davidson
2006.07 - 2008.04
Technical Certificate - Motorcycle Mechanics Institute Division
Universal Technical Institute
Associate's degree -
Saddleback College