James Saunders BSc, CMILT

• A dynamic and extremely versatile Managing Director / Operations Director with a proven track record of business / profitability improvements.
  

• A business transformation / turnaround specialist focused on delivering rapid improvements in challenging environments.

• Capable of adapting to new situations and environments quickly whilst articulating a clear and compelling future vision.

• Effective communicator at all levels within an organisation whilst focused and extremely adept at delivering change even in the presence of cultural / organisational resistance.

• A tough negotiator who maximises all opportunities by focusing on delivering both collaborative and lowest cost end to end solutions.

• Experienced in delivering complex sourcing projects in domestic and emerging markets.

Oct 2017 to Date  – Director – Equilibrium Supply Chain Ltd

• Arthouse Ltd. Arthouse are a £20m T/O NorthEdge Capital owned business specializing in Wallcoverings and Home Decorative products. Following a perfect storm in 2016/17, I was engaged to stabilize the team and deliver a swift and significant improvement in Supply Chain performance. Key projects included, stabilising a new 3PL Logistics provider (DHL), whilst reducing cost to serve. Establishing planning processes supported by design and delivery of Supply Chain education to an inexperienced team whilst implementating new Demand Planning & Inventory Management software. Procurment Staretgy was fully reviewed with year on year procurement savings delivered in a highly inflationary marketplace.

• LHD Group Deutschland GmbH. LHD Group are a global player in the Protective clothing and workwear market. Engaged in the capacity of Managing Director, UK as representative of the German Group Management and Indonesian owners to oversee investment in a re-entry into the UK market. Responsibilities were wide ranging, including financial and legal matters, commercial strategy development and market research. Following approval from the shareholders of a new business strategy the focus of the business has been realigned and following an intensive period of Sales development activity, two high profile new contracts have been secured with multinational manufacturing businesses and a number of large tender decisions are imminent. The UK business is now well on the way to profitable and sustainable growth.

• Non Executive Director – Supporting two small businesses with general business / strategy advice, whilst coaching and mentoring the owners / directors.

• Consultant – Dishang Group. Supporting the UK branch of this multinational Chinese headquartered manufacturing business with Operational and Commercial Strategy development.

Jan 2014 to Oct 2017  – Managing Director – Simon Jersey Ltd

Following the acquisition of the UK Operations of Kwintet by David Ross, I took responsibility for leading the business through a challenging period of significant change. Fundamentally restructuring the business to ensure stand-alone business processes exist, driving top line growth and establishing strong underlying profitability.

• Completed the extraction of the UK business from the former Kwintet Group including building a stand-alone IT infrastructure

• Delivered a significant business wide transformation project to create a business ready for rapid growth

• Successfully negotiated significant new business wins with Team GB, ISS and Park Plaza Hotels.

• Delivered 19% top line growth and 15% Margin growth 2014-2016

• Drove 160% increase in profitability net of marketing investment

• Proud to be a part of the team that delivered Team GB’s Rio 2016 Formal wear and closing parade wear including those iconic “flashing shoes!”

• Achieved BS OHSAS18001 and ISO14001:2015 accreditations

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Jan 2012 to Jan 2014  – Operations Director UK & International – Kwintet

 At this time, Kwintet was the European market leader in the top-to-toe work wear with a range of strong brands and a reputation for quality amongst its customers throughout Europe. As a key member of the regional Senior Management Team with responsibility for end to end Supply Chain Operations in the UK and International markets outside Continental Europe. Leadership of Sourcing & Procurement, Demand & Supply Planning, Inventory Management, Warehouse & Distribution, Health & Safety, Quality, Manufacturing, Product Development & Construction

• Fundamental restructure of Supply Chain Operations in just over 12 months, implementing new structures, processes and ways of working whilst centralising UK operations on a single site

• Reduction in Warehousing footprint from 5 sites to 1

• 3 Supply Chain / Planning teams consolidated into 1 high performance function

• Delivered significant Inventory reductions and serviceability improvements through forecast accuracy improvements and implementation of an S&OP culture

• Implemented 7 day working with a next day delivery commitment

Feb 2005 to Dec 2011 - Hallmark Cards Plc

Jun 2010 to Dec 2011 – General Manager / Business Unit Director; Private Label

 Hallmark’s Private Label Business is a £30m T/O traditionally seasonal business dealing with major Grocery and high street retail stores. The General Manager role has full P&L accountability for essentially a separate business within the wider Hallmark organization with responsibility for business strategy and day to day operations. Responsibilities range from Sales, Product Development, Supply Chain, Finance, through to Sourcing and Operations. Following a successful apprenticeship in General Management in my previous role, I secured the opportunity to lead this challenging business unit which was a key contributor to Hallmark UK profitability.

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• Overseeing a shift from the traditional “unprofitable” seasonal bias to a more even split between Everyday and Christmas through major account wins in New Look, Primark and Debenhams.

• Lead a team who successfully challenged the market status quo by adding real value to our customer proposition leading to new business wins in Sainsbury and Coop

• Reengineering business processes adding structure and discipline to ensure the business was capable of sustaining the demands of a year round business.

• Delivered significant savings in cost of product through revised vendor strategies, cost negotiation and specification optimization.

• Delivered 2011 sales and profit in line with budget in challenging economic circumstances whilst Hallmark undertook a massive corporate restructure.

• Lead the integration of the business unit into the new Hallmark organization structure without impacting customer relationships, including multiple redundancies and key personnel changes etc.

• Significant personal development in the areas of commerciality, leadership and people development.

Jun 2009 to Dec 2011 – General Manager / Business Unit Director; Gift Presentation

Hallmark Branded Gift Presentation is a £12m T/O previously unprofitable business. As a first step into General Management I was appointed to deliver a step change in profitability and shape the future strategy for Hallmark in the Gift Presentation market. Initially a dual role with Director of Business Planning as below.

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• Turned around the business unit from an annual £2.5m loss in 2009 to a break even position in 2010 by re-engineering the full business model and product offer.

• Delivered a £1.1m reduction in cost of product through value engineering, range rationalization and cost negotiation.

• Built a bespoke supply chain / logistics model tailored to the product as opposed to following the greeting card model.

• Developed a 3 year business plan providing the basis on which to grow both top line sales and bottom line profitability  

• Delivered a high performing team and a business unit which was no longer viewed as the poor relation to the Hallmark core Greeting Cards business.

Sept 2006 to June 2010 – Director of Business Planning

• Leadership of a large department spanning most areas of a traditional Supply Chain from Forecasting, Inventory Management, Project Management, Capacity Planning Technical and Procurement.

• Management of circa £40m Spend on Finished Goods, Pre-production and departmental overheads

• Leading best practice within all areas of operation, through efficient change management and a commitment to Continuous Improvement / Lean manufacturing principles.

• Accountable for the commercial relationships with all external (and internal) manufacturers / outworkers of Finished Goods in order to deliver the lowest possible cost of product.

• Responsible for Strategic Direction of Supply Chain operations through to Distribution ensuring they are aligned to Hallmark’s overall vision of having “the most flexible and efficient Supply Chain”

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• Delivered a 12% decrease in International spend on single card manufacture through leveraging International volume in a £50m per annum global tender.

• Instrumental in the successful delivery of a leading edge warehousing and distribution solution to future proof a rapidly expanding business.

• Re-engineered outsourced supply base to exceptionally high (98%+) levels of On time in full delivery performance through collaborative / partnering approach

• Delivered 3.5% Cost decrease on external spend in an inflationary market through “Cost Avoidance Teams”

• Turned Supply Chain from a cost to be managed into a Strategic tool to be exploited to maximum business advantage

• “Constantly adapting to a dynamic and challenging environment, my time at Hallmark has presented ample opportunity to deliver significant business change and improvement opportunities through strong leadership and setting a clear and compelling vision.”

Feb 2005 to Sept 2006 - Demand Planning & Inventory Manager

• Demand Forecasting of 30,000 SKU’s across 35 chains (400,000+ forecasts)

• Management of organisational wide Sales & Operations Planning process

• Inventory Management circa £25m annual spend

• Optimising total business cost resulting from the inventory policy set (inc. Cost of product) supporting Strategic plan cost of product reduction targets

• Driving SKU rationalisation through data analysis and making recommendations to the Marketing group

• Ownership of Finished Goods Stock Obsolescence budget 

• Effectively manage interfaces between sales, marketing,  customer services and the Operations groups

• Career planning & development of direct reports and the wider Business Planning team

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• Delivered a 30% reduction in working stock over a 12 month period

• Creating an organisational wide culture embracing S&OP

• Restructured department to encompass technical experts with detailed progression and succession plans

• Delivered Step Change in Forecasting Accuracy

• Gaining recognition internally and externally of a first class implementation of a business change program which outperformed ROI expectations

Jul 1995 to Feb 2005 – Robert McBride plc

Jun 2000 to Feb 2005 - Central Planning / Logistics Support Manager (Manchester)

Feb 1999 to Jun 2000  - Central Logistics Team Leader (Manchester)

Feb 1998 to Feb 1999 - Customer Service Manager (Manchester)

Nov 1996 to Feb 1998 - Planning Manager (Barrow)

Jul 1995 to Nov 1996 - Scheduling Team Leader (Manchester)