Darla Sydnor

• Remotely Supervises five team members under the WBSCM Operations Division. Efficiently distributes work/projects across team members to achieve maximum time management to ensure the success of the mission. Ensures that priorities, goals, objectives, work assignments and deadlines are clearly communicated to team members along with guiding team activities and performance through regular touch point meetings.
• Serves as the USDA AMS business Point of Contact for assigned WBSCM projects including support and service delivery operation activities, and ensures that WBSCM Management Division Director is aware of any risks or issues (cost, schedule, etc) that may arise.
• Provided end-to-end support for the procurement process, assisting both internal and external users. Responsibilities included receiving orders from FNS, creating solicitations, uploading and setting up newly approved vendors, submitting bids, opening bids, and analyzing bids through the Bid Evaluation Optimization System (BEOS). Also managed the creation of Purchase Orders (POs), FPDS entries, supported vendors in creating Advanced Shipment Notifications (ASNs) and electronic invoices (e-INV), and generated detailed procurement reports.
• Maintains communication and alignment with the MRP IT investment Manager, CACI, O&M manager, and Technical and Functional leads ensuring that project status and presentations provide a unified and comprehensive view
• Prepare and manage Project Plans that include scope management plans, integrated change control plans, risk management plans, quality management and communication plans and ensure that WBSCM management is aware of activities
• Manage formal change control process for projects (for example, reviewing configuration change requests) for all changes made to an assigned project
• Developed and implemented Standard Operating Procedures (SOP) for the ServiceNow Helpdesk, streamlining workflows and creating a more organized, efficient process. This initiative resulted in faster issue resolution, increased productivity, and enhanced user experience.
• Supported team activities in ServiceNow help desk by guiding prioritization of incidents to identifying requests that require additional attention to advance mission critical needs. Provided technical support, training, and helpdesk incidents using knowledge of agricultural marketing functions, practices, and contracting methods in accordance with the FAR.
• Provides approval for WBSCM related work and projects to move forward. Ensures the Team delivers excellent customer service through our dedicated Service Now WBSCM Help Desk along with monitoring continued maintenance needs of WBSCM.
• Led test planning and execution for defects that underwent Agile methodology testing maintenance and enhancement releases that further developed and improved contracting functions and supply chain applications in WBSCM.
• Actively participated in a weekly Change Control Board to collaborate and provide input in prioritizing system defects and enhancements that support release management on business needs.
• Plans, creates, executes test scripts for team Testing. All defects are evaluated and prioritized in Application Lifecyle Management.
• Participated in Electronic Data Interchange (EDI) Pilot initiatives with vendors, streamlining procurement and ASN/invoicing processes to enhance system efficiency and support business goals. Contacted Vendors who may be interested in the pilot and explained how the Pilot would work to their benefit.
• Ensures that user management and role-based access controls activities for AMS, FAS, and USAID are documented and implemented according to procedure and regulations. Wrote SOP on internal/external WBSCM Security Access. Security access is a high priority for audits. Set up database for tracking purposes so that no part of the process gets missed; ie external users, upload Vendor registration form, create user accounts, send all related documents to vendor, convert vendor to supplier, make them ERS enabled if needed. For Internal users, create user accounts, add users to the procurement org structure for purchasing groups, may need to add CO role. Internal users will need FPDS and BEOS accounts set up as well.
• Provides continued sustainment and business process improvements to WBSCM,
• ·Collaborated as a key member of the 3PL Team to design and develop a comprehensive Request for Information (RFI) aimed at gathering insights and recommendations from stakeholders to optimize third-party logistics (3PL) strategies. Contributed to identifying key areas to enhance supply chain resilience, reduce bottlenecks, and elevate customer service standards. The feedback gathered through the RFI played a crucial role in refining the procurement process for new 3PL contracts currently under review by FNS, ensuring improved logistics partnerships and more efficient service delivery.
• Works on all Year-End Activities, creating reporting for internal users, assisting users with closing, deleting or processing solicitations or Pos.
• Partner with finance and accounting teams to streamline procure-to-pay processes for the client. Utilize SAP SRM's integration with financial systems to maintain data consistency and facilitate accurate reporting, focusing on gathering requirements and providing technical support for seamless financial integration.
• Analyze procurement performance metrics using SAP SRM's operational reporting capabilities to support the client's decision-making processes. Develop reports on key performance indicators, cost savings, supplier performance, and compliance with federal procurement regulations, aiding the team in delivering valuable insights to the client.
• Stay abreast of emerging trends in procurement technology and federal acquisition regulations to support continuous improvement. Provide insights on opportunities to enhance procurement processes and system upgrades, ensuring the client's procurement practices remain compliant, efficient, and aligned with industry best practices.
• Lead all system related audits and provided data research and analysis to ensure proper key business processes are being followed. Provides analysis of business records, financial reports, and analysis that incorporate quantitative and qualitative information to provide effective assurance that objectives are achieved. Established internal controls and responsible for continuously monitoring, assessing, and improving the effectiveness of internal controls. Identifies deficiencies and reports to senior management. Develops written corrective action plans associated with control deficiencies. Provides guidance/training on corrective internal control deficiencies and audit follow up resolution initiatives. Developed SOPS for Audit Process (A-123)Increased branch revenue by identifying cross-selling opportunities and promoting additional products and services.
• Analyzed, interpreted and shared regulatory policy expertise.
• Optimized resource allocation by analyzing staffing needs, scheduling accordingly, and managing workload distribution among employees.
• Conducted regular audits to maintain strict compliance with internal controls, proactively addressing any discrepancies or concerns that arose during the process.
• Led the team to achieve exceptional customer satisfaction ratings through personalized service and attention to detail.
• Led or managed team of employees and monitored progress towards achieving project goals and objectives.
• Exercised supervisory authorities and responsibilities involving work assignment and review.
• Facilitated smooth transitions during times of organizational change by providing clear direction to staff members about expectations during restructuring periods.
• Improved branch performance by streamlining operations and implementing efficient processes.
• Improved communication between departments by instituting regular meetings focused on shared goals and collaboration efforts.

• Serves as Acting Branch during absence of current Branch Chiefs for Web Based Supply Chain Management (WBSCM) Improvement Branch and WBSCM Operations Branch. As Acting Branch Chief approves Fire Fighter ID’s, attends Manager meetings, and provides approval for WBSCM related work and projects to move forward. Ensures the Team delivers excellent customer service through our dedicated WBSCM Help Desk along with monitoring continued maintenance needs of WBSCM.
• Serves as WBSCM Improvement Branch Team lead and assists in directing five WBSCM team members under the WBSCM Division. Efficiently distributes work/projects across team members to achieve maximum time management to ensure the success of the mission. Ensures that priorities, goals, objectives, work assignments and deadlines are clearly communicated to team members along with guiding team activities and performance through regular touchpoint meetings. Encourages self-development.
• Provides daily direction and communication to team members so that Service Now incidents are answered in a timely and knowledgeable manner.
• Ensures the team has appropriate training and other resources to perform their jobs efficiently.
• Responsible for keeping track of the various tasks/goals of each team member by providing verbal/written direction to complete tasks.
• Establishes guidelines, policies, and procedures as needed to find ways to improve quality, timeliness, and efficiency of work.
• Established metrics and analyses systems to ensure services provided are correct, timely and reviewed at critical points.
• Reviews organization mission and workload, and assigns work based on priorities and consideration of difficulty.
• Lead for all system related audits and provides data research and analysis to ensure proper key business processes are being followed. Provides analysis of business records, financial reports, and analysis that incorporate quantitative and qualitative information to provide effective assurance that objectives are achieved. Established internal controls and responsible for continuously monitoring, assessing, and improving the effectiveness of internal controls. Identifies deficiencies and reports to senior management. Develops written corrective action plans associated with control deficiencies. Provides guidance/training on corrective internal control deficiencies and audit follow up resolution initiatives.
• Leads responsibilities on WBSCM testing, technical support, training, and helpdesk incidents using knowledge of agricultural marketing functions, practices, and contracting methods in accordance with the FAR.
• Leads meetings with Agency project managers and other program stakeholders such as FNS, FSA, FAS, USAID, and high-ranking officials from outside of the Agency regarding WBSCM processes, enhancements, and issues to collaborate and implement solutions relating to the management and oversight of WBSCM.
• Works with system Contractors to complete WBSCM testing, incidents, and enhancements to improve system functionality and provide daily management of WBSCM. Provides approval for projects to move forward.
• Clearly communicates in writing and verbally with Branch Chiefs and Directors of AMS and FNS on system issues/enhancements, establishing new policies, or requesting approvals to move forward with new projects.
• Works with PMO in analyzing, planning and delivery of Technical Management (e.g. Governance) functions/processes including Change Management, Release Management, Test Management, as well as Continuous Improvement activities and utilization of applicable tools.
• Established and leads meetings on office hours with internal users to help support system issues, ideas for enhancements, processes, or policy.
• Cross-trained newer members of the team to develop their professional skills in training and enhance their understanding of the system application.
• Demonstrated best practices of defect testing to ensure technical aspects of WBSCM are properly tested to sufficiently support procurement and supply chain needs.
• Implemented and led weekly meetings on the Claims and Receivable Team in effort to collect over $5mil of unresolved invoice issues. Analyzed the business data to explain the key business processes that resulted invoicing issues and interpretation of business data to describe and explain business processes and/or practices to senior management. Created multiple documents/PowerPoint detailing the issues and how to resolve them. Held multiple training sessions with each Purchasing Group in order to reconcile payments. Met with senior management (Branch Chiefs and Directors) on recommended business process and proposed policy changes to assist with resolutions.
• Led daily ServiceNow Help Desk meetings to encourage collaboration among members to identify problems encountered with assigned tasks and work as a group to find accurate solutions; daily meetings served as an opportunity to demonstrate and recognize excellent customer service skills, address areas for improvement, and establish protocols and procedures for ongoing customer feedback.
• Served on the Payment Notification Pilots 1 and 2 Team for WBSCM Financial Management Modernization Initiative (FMMI) payment notification. Held meeting with customers to discuss details of the Pilot goals. Met with customers after Pilot 1 to collect information and gain feedback to improve processes.
• Member of the Business Management Improvement (BMI) team that developed business requirements to improve business processes for supply chain solutions, order fulfillments and procurements
• Served on the Shared Drive Consolidation Team. Initiated team meetings to review all WBSCM related files and collaborate on deletion or moving files under new shared drive categories.
• Provides data collection and analysis to create written reports for senior management
• Provided research and analysis to senior management for the Farmers to Families Food Box (FFFB) Program in regards to; product delivery, line items invoiced, area of delivery, ASN/GR’s entered.
• Held multiple training sessions on submitting offers, creating ASNs/einvoices, and running reports. Created educational materials such as PowerPoints, work instruction, and job aids to enhance vendor efficiency. Conducted qualitative research by creating customer satisfaction surveys to collect information and feedback to improve training presentations, program services, and products.
• Developed educational materials aimed at enhancing the efficiency or profitability of current agricultural commodity marketing, distribution, or transportation practices.
• Coached team members in meeting a team goal of developing and conducting training on Electronic Invoicing (eINV), training session to be held for the new contract holders that were part of the Farmers to Families Food Box (FFFB) Program.
• Supported team activities in our ServiceNow help desk by guiding prioritization of incidents to identifying key requests that require additional attention to advance mission critical and enterprise level business application needs.
• Utilized knowledge of agricultural marketing functions to establish communication between system application representatives and contracting to streamline the deployment of FFFB rounds 1-5.
• Oversaw successful implementation and completion of FFFB Rounds 1-5 contracting processes, goods receipt and invoice functions.
• Responsible for keeping track of the various tasks/goals of each team member by providing verbal/written direction to complete tasks for FFFB.
• Provided WBSCM access (30 new users) and Led the training to several OIG personnel in support of ongoing audits with Commodity Procurement Program for the FFFB and for Trade Mitigation
• Worked with procurement team to de-obligate funds, close old purchase orders, commodity, and freight Purchase Orders for Year End.
• Trained 6 domestic procurement specialists on detail to assist in reviewing/approving food box invoices.
• Worked with CACI to release a video on the new streamlined Eauth NextGen Registration Process. The “WBSCM New User Registration Video”. Attended all meetings and participated in video/job aid reviews. Assigned members of the WBSCM Team to test the Project and ensure testing was completed on time
• Proactively working with domestic procurement and CACI to define the system steps needed to seamlessly support the anticipated awards for the Farmers to Families Food Box program.
• Initiated the WBSCM Team assisting Procurement with Goods Receipt entry. Ran data analysis on GRs that needed to be entered and approached management about our team assisting with GR entry. Created work instructions for our team on how to review documentation and Enter the GR/also had demo in WBSCM on process. The team has completed over 900 GR entries.
• Documented business processes, wrote business requirements, and performed application testing and user acceptance testing for each release. Trained team members on all testing requirements and developed test documentation such as test scripts for user acceptance testing/planning to ensure business requirements have been met. Ensured all incidents identified during testing were logged and resolved.
• Analyzed new business requirements that were recorded as a Change Request (CR) forms for each maintenance and enhancement release.
• Served on team for an enhanced electronic invoicing project that resulted in sustaining operations and improving business operations by streamlining suppliers request for payment
• Led test planning and execution for defects that underwent Agile methodology for the eInvoicing
(ERS) Phase 1 rollout along with testing maintenance and enhancement releases that further developed and improved contracting functions and supply chain applications in WBSCM.
• Actively participated in a weekly Change Control Board to collaborate and provide input in prioritizing system defects and enhancements that support release management on contract functions and business needs.
• Collaborated with procurement division in formulating business requirements to successfully register 57 new vendors awarded a Basic Ordering Agreement contract for the FFFB.
• Prepared Power Point presentations to deliver training on WBSCM agricultural marketing bidding processes for over 490 external users participating in the FFFB initiative that supported individuals impacted by COVID-19.
• Provided technical support to internal and external stakeholders by resolving over 500 incidents in the new ServiceNow Help Desk
• Led defect testing, assisted in creating testing plans, assigned WBSCM team members defects, and provided guidance on testing efforts for quarterly enhancement releases by serving as the subject matter expert on contracting functions.
• Continually monitored and tested WBSCM capabilities to determine WBSCM internal user issues and provided monthly guidance on implementing corrective action plans.
• Created all document libraries in AMS/CPP SharePoint site and managed agency access to all internal users. Continually updated Excel, Word and PDF web documents related to contract and system relevant resources.
• Provided WBSCM system access and conducted training for external agencies performing agency audit checks to determine integrity of processes, management, and data.
• Served as an AMS representative and participated in a bi-weekly Data Governance Council to aid in data management and quality along with remediate errors to preserve data integrity.
• Communicated daily through Microsoft Teams, skype, email, and phone calls with WBSCM Division to align work schedule and plan weekly activities to meet agency strategic mission of providing premier procurement and technical solutions for external and internal stakeholders.
• Conducted both quantitative and qualitative analysis to research supply chain and procurement related issues in WBSCM which resulted in the closure of help desk tickets in a timely manner.
• Reviewed and researched incoming help desk incidents to provide recommendations ensuring accurate and efficient processes are being promoted to help vendors and external stakeholders become better established WBSCM business partners.
• Coordinated and facilitated knowledge transfer sessions with WBSCM and other program members by providing guidance on WBSCM Domestic and International support teams services and activities.
• Cross-trained newer members of the team to develop their professional skills in training and enhance their understanding of the system application.
• Demonstrated best practices of defect testing to ensure technical aspects of WBSCM are properly tested in order to sufficiently support procurement and supply chain needs.
• Served on the Deployment Team for the Evaluated Receipt Settlement (ERS)/Electronic Invoicing (eINV) Project that resulted in sustaining operations and improving business operations by streamlining suppliers request for payment.
• Participated in weekly Deployment meetings to formulate business requirements and monitor eINV project progress in collaboration with partnering agencies, which resulted in identifying gaps in scope for eINV and forming corrective actions to keep project within the required timeline.
• Served as the Subject Matter Expert for the eINV project by creating and preparing data to facilitate trainings to internal and external stakeholders through virtual and in-person sessions.
• Conducted Lessons Learned session with participating eINV pilot vendors to gather feedback on potential system improvements; developed and distributed lessons learned surveys to pilot vendors to synthesize responses and created supporting data to further enhance eINV processes more easily.
• Assisted in the deployment of the eINV project, collaborating across multiple Agencies to ensure successful completion
• Works with non-technical personnel such as specialists from the procurement team to translate the business requirements of end users into a plan that makes sense to both the business side and the technical side. Meets with specialists/management/customers to discuss specific pain point to enhance system improvements or system performance. Writes business requirements and performs application and user acceptance testing.
• Provides written communications to all impacted industries detailing new WBSCM system enhancements, or system/release updates.
• Advanced USDA and USAID assistance programs by elevating bid related incidents which allowed domestic and international vendors to correctly submit bids, which met the agencies’ food aid program goals.
• Served as member of the Business Management Improvement (BMI) team that developed business requirements to improve business processes for supply chain solutions, order fulfillments and procurements ensuring WBSCM service delivery.
• Utilized knowledge on contracting and marketing functions to plan and develop training material for new WBSCM employees to support all contracting functions.
• Managed the AMS Commodity Procurement Website. Responsible for all updates, solicitations, PCA’s, and announcements. Uploaded all documents to the AMS website which was a very lengthy and technical process.
• Served on the WBSCM Technical Refresh Team and provided end to end testing of all business processes and functions.
• Lead for all WBCM related audits and provides data research and analysis to ensure proper key business processes are being followed. Provides analysis of business records, financial reports, and analysis that incorporate quantitative and qualitative information to provide effective assurance that objectives are achieved. Established internal controls and responsible for continuously monitoring, assessing, and improving the effectiveness of internal controls. Identifies deficiencies and reports to senior management. Develops written corrective action plans associated with control deficiencies. Provides guidance/training on corrective internal control deficiencies and audit follow up resolution initiatives.
• Solves organization and service delivery problems such as assisting or modifying Purchase Orders with destination changes or modifying Purchase Orders when vendor inadvertently submitted offer to final destination delivery instead of port delivery.
• Initiated project with FNS to improve program and enhance organization performance of ASN/GR process.
• Responsible for gathering and analyzing data for AMS CP FOIA Requests.
• Served on the AMS BMI/FOB Origin Transportation Implementation Pilot Team. Conducted surveys with multiple stakeholder groups on transportation management. Conducted various “As-Is and To-Be” sessions, in person and via Skype. Created PowerPoint to enhance the efficiency and profitability for best transportation practices.
• Served on the hiring panel and interviewed and recommended hiring three WBSCM/Operation Team members.

• Trained new team members by relaying information on company procedures and safety requirements.
• Promoted a positive work environment by fostering teamwork, open communication, and employee recognition initiatives.
• Served as a role model for the team by demonstrating commitment to excellence, professionalism, and adherence to company values at all times.
• Evaluated employee skills and knowledge regularly, training, and mentoring individuals with lagging skills.
• Worked different stations to provide optimal coverage and meet production goals.
• Increased customer satisfaction by ensuring timely completion of projects and adherence to high-quality standards.
• Influenced positive change within the organization through strategic thinking, innovation, problem-solving abilities, and consistent leadership style.
• Evaluated customer needs and feedback to drive product and service improvements.
• Assisted in recruitment to build team of top performers.
• Developed effective improvement plans in alignment with goals and specifications.
• Maintained database systems to track and analyze operational data.
• Helped meet changing demands by recommending improvements to business systems or procedures.
• Provided reporting for forecast analysis and ad-hoc reporting in support of decision-making.
• Supported creation of detailed, technical financial models to value potential acquisition targets.
• Observed packing operations to verify conformance to specifications.