KENNETH PERRY
Rogersville,TN
Summary
An experienced, problem-solving, Operations and Supply Chain professional, who delivers strong leadership, disciplined planning and execution, and innovative thinking to develop and/or re-engineer systems and processes. Ability to identify and grow strong supplier partnerships with direct suppliers. Highly skilled at identifying core weaknesses and developing and articulating a vision to drive improvements. Outstanding leadership and managerial skills directing teams of engineers, supply chain, and operations personnel to implement world class Kanban and Heijunka systems.
Work recognized by awards and articles in Purchasing Magazine & Logistics Management Magazine.
Overview
20
20
years of professional experience
1
1
Certification
Work History
Director of Materials and Purchasing
Becker Global – America
Bristol, VA
04.2024 - Current
- Over the supply chain operations of the plants in Virginia, Ohio, and Pennsylvania.
- Implemented new corporate wide sales vs forecast tracking.
- Implemented new inventory turns tracking and aged inventory tracking.
- Reduced raw material inventory from $7.4 to $5.7M in less than 2 years.
- Reduced past due sales from $174K to $4K through proper utilization of ERP system (SAP)
Materials Manager
Tsubaki Nakashima Tennessee
Erwin, TN
09.2021 - 04.2023
- Managed the raw materials purchasing, customer service, and IT functions of the Erwin Roller and Ball plants, the Mountain City, TN plant and Johnson City Warehouse.
- Managed the production planning, shipping/receiving, MRO, and cycle counting functions of the Erwin Ball and Roller plants and Johnson City Warehouse.
- Increased finished goods inventory accuracy to 98% by implementing a new cycle counting program.
- Led the division optimization of the QAD ERP system to improve production scheduling and inventory accuracy.
- Identified key capacity constraints by reconfiguring Roller plant QAD system into new product families.
- Took over the global raw materials supply chain for 3 of the 5 TN facilities and Off-Site Warehouse
- Management Lead of EDI implementation team, improving order processing.
Materials Manager
Meritor
Morristown, TN
09.2020 - 09.2021
- Reporting to the Plant Manager of a Tier 1 & 2 heavy truck supplier, managed the raw materials purchasing, production scheduling, shipping/receiving, and customer service functions.
- Improved inventory accuracy through implementation of new Oracle ERP based cycle counting program.
- Improved On time delivery from 81% to 90% through improved order forecasting and planning.
- Managed scheduling through the ramp up from 20K pieces/day to 30K/day
Materials Manager
Kennametal
Johnson City, TN
04.2019 - 09.2020
- Restructured product families in SAP to enable better shop floor scheduling.
- Identified key bottleneck work centers and put new tools in place to optimize throughput.
- Cut WIP 30%, yet increased throughput 15% through optimized us of SAP system and use of TOC tools.
- Increased on time delivery from 65% to 81% by implementing new scheduling tools.
- Reduced backorders from $629K to $94K in less than 1 year.
Materials and Logistics Manager
ZF
Rogersville, TN
01.2011 - 04.2019
- Reporting to the Plant Manager, Director of Materials Commercial and Sr. Materials Manager PASSCAR Divisions, manage the materials and logistics operations of a 250,000 sq ft Tier 1 &2 automotive supplier with over $175 million in sales.
- Implemented new intelligent electronic Kanban system improving throughput and on time delivery.
- Increased inventory accuracy to 98% in 4 months while sales increased 72% by creation of new SAP cycle counting program.
- Improved inventory turns from 15 to 21 through completely revised commodity management and control of raw materials.
- Improving throughput 25% by implementing new constraint management tools in key bottleneck work centers.
- Conducted Supply Chain Management training for materials teams at all 6 US Steering plants.
Site Manager
MarginPoint
Elizabethton, TN and Elkmont, AL
05.2008 - 01.2011
- Reporting to the VP of Operations, manage the IT systems, suppliers, and MRO inventories of the TN and AL Snap-On plants.
- Drove MRO costs down through commodity cost management and use of leading-edge technology.
- Reduced MRO inventory 25% in 12 months (over $1million reduction) through use of lean procurement practices.
- Reduced MRO cost per part produced by 35%.
- Utilizing strong organizational skills became the Corporate BETA site for all new software testing
- Recognized as top company performer after only 12 months.
Materials Manager
TEMPUR-PEDIC
Duffield, VA
04.2006 - 04.2008
- Reporting to the VP of Global Mfg Operations, managed materials operations of a 630,000 sq ft manufacturing facility and off-site supplier warehouse with over $350 million in sales
- Set up key domestic suppliers on daily delivery schedules, international suppliers to weekly deliveries.
- Improved on-time delivery from average of 87% with 8-week lead times to 98.9% with only 2-week lead times.
- Increasing inventory accuracy from 74% to 93% through improved cycle count program.
Education
MBA - Operations Management and Supervision
Carson Newman University
Jefferson City, TN2025
Bachelor of Science - Aviation Management
Auburn University
Auburn, ALSkills
- Purchasing strategy
- Procurement processes
- Warehouse operations
- Operational efficiency
- Supply chain optimization
- ERP systems expertise
- Product lifecycle management
- Global sourcing
- Coaching and mentoring
- Production scheduling
- Logistics management
Affiliations
- ETSU Supply Chain Management Executive Advisory Board - 2026
- ASCM East Tennessee Chapter – Board of Directors 2022 to 2026
- ASCM Appalachian Chapter (APPA) – Board of Directors 2007 to 2022
Certification
- Member of East Tennessee State University (ETSU) Supply Chain Management Advisory Board
- Certified Fellow in Production and Inventory Management (CFPIM) ASCM
- Certified ASCM Lead Instructor, CPIM ASCM
- Certified ASCM Associate Instructor – Lean, Global Sourcing, Instructor Training ASCM
- Certified Purchasing Manager (CPM) ISM
- Certified in Production and Inventory Management (CPIM) ASCM
Timeline
Director of Materials and Purchasing
Becker Global – America
04.2024 - Current
Materials Manager
Tsubaki Nakashima Tennessee
09.2021 - 04.2023
Materials Manager
Meritor
09.2020 - 09.2021
Materials Manager
Kennametal
04.2019 - 09.2020
Materials and Logistics Manager
ZF
01.2011 - 04.2019
Site Manager
MarginPoint
05.2008 - 01.2011
Materials Manager
TEMPUR-PEDIC
04.2006 - 04.2008
MBA - Operations Management and Supervision
Carson Newman University
Bachelor of Science - Aviation Management
Auburn University