Christopher Elwell

Core Responsibilities:

• Manage inventory, deliveries and issue/track new orders to maintain and support warehouse and assembly line.
• Primary areas of focus, Procurement, Forecasting, Inventory Planning, Total Cost Analysis, and shipment tracking.
• Implemented 40% drop in inventory holding costs through negotiation and forecasting with suppliers to create leaner processes. Savings reflects $4 Million in inventory.
• Conducted comprehensive risk assessments of suppliers to ensure business continuity plans were in place.
• Worked in tandem with Logistics team to track timing of deliveries to meet critical deadlines.
• Lead multiple programs in cross-department Circle/Kaizen projects regarding: Inventory reconciliation, accounting improvements, and implementation of new procedures to track critical KPI's
• Achieved 20% labor time improvement for inventory reconciliation process and adjustment.
• Improved inventory by 30% through lean process improvement, vendor negotiations and process improvements.
• Developed comprehensive forecasting models to accurately predict future inventory needs, enabling more informed purchasing decisions and optimized resource allocation.
• Initiated and lead on-shoring programs to improve total lead time and control inventory.
• Engage across all departments including Sales, Customer Service, Accounting, Logistics, Engineering, Quality, Design, and C-suite.
• Collaborated with key stakeholders to establish clear performance metrics for suppliers, leading to improved service levels.

• Primary responsibility was managing and reporting financial status of plant and forecast future revenue and expenditure.
• Managed monthly meetings with all departments to track and adjust financial budgets.
• Lead quoting on all production parts including total cost analysis.
• Initiated Cost Reduction plans valued at 3% year-over-year for quoted parts over 3-5 years
• Worked in cross department meetings daily to understand status of plant process and assess any potential risks to supply or production.
• Analyzed and investigated all expenses of plant and developed plans for capital investments.

• Corporate buyer with specialty in plastic injection molding and die cut fabrics and adhesives.
• Analyzed component CAD data to investigate process and cost opportunities.
• Developed strong relationships with key suppliers, ensuring timely delivery of products and competitive costs.
• Suppliers primarily located in either North America or Europe.
• Managed company's critical internal injection molding company with $50 million portfolio.
• Achieved $150,000+ in annual Cost Reductions based on yearly negotiations.
• Created detailed strategy plans to assess supply chain risks and capacity to maintain suppliers at or below 30% of total components.
• Initiated gemba activities with suppliers to build stronger product category knowledge and understanding of material and production processes.
• Lead circle/kaizen team to improve internal process achieving 12% improvement in labor productivity and accounting for 5% decrease in labor cost on department side.
• Presented strategy and process improvement projects to executive level management.
• Worked in cross-functional teams to develop quality process improvements reducing approval time by 10%.