1. EKTA MAHAJAN
1029 N Glenview Ct, Palatine, IL-60067
Tel No. +1.609-865-1771 ektamahajan@hotmail.com
Supply Chain Manager
SUMMARY OF QUALIFICATIONS
• Highly accomplished and accredited professional in the field of Demand
and Supply Chain Planning and Management.
• A process oriented, results driven professional with a demonstrated ability to
build and lead a successful supply chain organization in a global manufacturing
and distribution environment.
• Superior communication skills and relationship competencies.
• A successful team leader by fostering an open communication environment.
• Extensive experience in continuous improvement best practices measured by
performance, finding root cause, and developing corrective action.
Demonstrated Supply Chain Performance Capabilities
• Improved demand planning/forecast accuracy resulting in highly reliable forward
projections.
• Implementation of a Customer Collaborative Relationship process that enhances the
exchange of information between trading partners, positively
impacting supply chain performance.
• Effective coordination of the global supply chain through the implementation of a
robust S&OP process, providing visibility over an 18 - 24 month time horizon.
• Implementation of a Business Process Improvement discipline driven by the
development of a corporate dashboard comprised of functional KPI's.
• Successful training and professional development of the supply chain staff members.
• Experienced in building an organization by selecting, training, and motivating staff.
PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE
Demand and Supply Planning Manager, Walgreens Mar 2014 – Present
• Manage the development of and integration of brand specific forecasts for internal
operations which include replenishment data, customer data, sales promotion
information, marketing plans and new distribution/product deletions. Assist in the
improvement of demand system forecasting accuracy for customers. Maintain and
manage product history, forecasts and promotional demand. Analyze internal
demand stream information, and categorized according to demand patterns. Input
sales/marketing intelligence for each operating unit for use in forecast systems.
• Responsible for managing the long-term (3-year) demand planning process to
assure proper inventory levels of products to support the business and satisfy
customer demand. Ensure the critical analysis of inventory levels to support
2. Company goals, and manage the development of creative solutions to inventory
issues.
• Responsible for hiring, managing, training, developing and evaluating a team of
Demand and Supply Planners. Oversee team to ensure they are appropriately
utilizing systems, following standard work processes, completing required tasks
accurately and within established deadlines. Monitor progress to goals and
supports resolution of issues.
• Support the weekly and monthly Sales and Operations (S&OP) planning process
by working across functional areas and with suppliers to address demand and
supply imbalances. Coordinating the S&OP process with the merchandising
organization, suppliers and finance. Provide 12 month rolling forecast for
inventory and receipt. Define, coordinate and execute initiatives in support of the
S&OP process. Coordinate weekly category meetings between IM and
merchants.
• Manage replenishment, promotional and seasonal forecasting to achieve sales,
inventory productivity and in stock targets. Develop forecast programs to sales,
profit and inventory targets.
• Manage Self Service inventory in the Distribution Centers (DCs) and Stores for
one or more divisions, ensuring appropriate inventory levels are being kept to
support stores sales and in stock goals. Collaborate with suppliers and other
outside entities to resolve issues, develop programs and improve efficiencies.
Collaborate on new initiatives and forecasts, improve cash flow and reduce costs.
• Establish and monitor goals for key inventory KPIs. (i.e. Store In Stock, Ad and
Promo In Stock, DC Service Levels, Inventory Productivity and Forecast Sell
Through.) Manage process to determine root cause when KPIs are out of expected
normal ranges. Develop and implement corrective measures
• Maintain working knowledge of end to end supply chain components including
forecasting, inventory management, promotional planning, basic department
management, master data management, item lifecycle and disposition, seasonal
planning, DC operations, store ordering and operations, supplier planning and
order fulfillment. Utilize knowledge to plan and manage based on business needs
within categories supported.
• Collaborate with Merchandising leadership on sales and inventory goals, issues
and strategies. Include holding status meetings with cross functional teams to
ensure key milestones are reached on time to support sales and inventory goals.
Collaborates with Merchandising and Suppliers on plans for new item launches,
promotions, item disposition and exit strategies.
• Collaborate with suppliers and Category Managers to optimize display
configurations in support of sales, profit and inventory goals.
Forecast and Inventory Manager, V Tech Electronics Feb 2007 – Aug 2013
• Responsible for the forecast and inventory management of $350 million business.
• Handled entire supply chain for more than 200 SKUs
3. • Responsible for Master Order Planning with collaborated effort with Chinese
factory
• Participate in the creation and execution of short and long term supply chain and
capacity goals, objectives and strategies.
• Collaborate efforts of the Supply Chain Group, the Customer Service department
and the Sales Administration department,
• Align company’s supply chain goals and objectives with those of the Sales,
Manufacturing, Warehousing and Distribution departments.
• Recognize and react to changes in sales demand, production capacity constraints
and market factors affecting material availability.
• Manage various team resources in a multitude of above Supply Chain functions
• Liaison with executive management showing impeccable communication skills
• Monitor department/line performance & make appropriate mid-course corrections
to forecasts
• Participate in season business management meetings, presenting analysis, calling
out issues & action items
• Facilitate & complete the post mortem review process with data & analysis.
• Develop & monitor business financial plans & forecasts that adhere to strategic &
financial objectives.
• Utilize & maintain forecasting/planning tools to drive results
• Ensure the department/line estimates, forecasts & working plans reflect current
conditions
• Identify trends, opportunities, & risks to current forecasts & the next period’s plan
• Develop markdown management & liability inventory strategies that minimize
markdowns & maximize inventory management in all levels of the supply chain
• Determine regular markdown dollar plan & merchandise depreciation dollar plan
• Drive liquidation of liability inventory through use of appropriate tools
• Monitor inventory performance & direct appropriate mid-course corrections to
achieve targets
• Determine allocation strategy
Procurement & Inventory Planner, Federated Group Nov 2005-Jan 2007
• Responsible for managing and coordinating the replenishment of consigned and
owned inventory
• Develop target inventory levels by SKU and monitoring and reporting
performance
• Develop and manage vendor and 3rd
party warehouse relationships to facilitate
order fulfillment processes to establish vendor contacts, production cycles and
sequences, and replenishment lead-times
• Procure goods domestically and internationally from China, Peru, Chile and
Mexico.
4. • Make recommendations on major purchases of goods on basis of anticipated
changes in prices or on unusual availability situations
• Identify opportunities for demand communication and management and supply
chain process improvements
• Work on IT system TECSYS – a procurement and inventory management system
Retail Link Analyst, Charles Komar, New York Dec 2004-Nov 2005
• Analyze and make recommendations to ensure that all Wal-Mart goals are met
with respect to in-stocks, gross margins, turns, GMROI, and weeks on hand.
• Review and report fill rates and out-of-stocks from all companies
• Perform category analysis, utilizing retail link to look for trends, growth and/or
declining categories
• Responsible for Replenishment and Inventory management
• Run reports and assist in analyzing the data for business line reviews
• Work with sales team to create forecasts for new items
• Interact with Wal-Mart buyers, buyer assistants, replenishment, and customer
service
Executive Team Leader, Target Stores, Chicago July2004-Nov2004
• Manage 40 Team Members
• Execute Plan-o-grams, Adjancies and Sales Plans
• Handled Volumes worth $10million
Merchandiser, Ebony Retail Holdings Ltd, Delhi, India May 2000-Apr 2004
• Increased the contribution of a Kids Section from 12% to 18% of total sales
• Increased the net margin of the section by 5%
• Reduced losses occurring due to Mark Downs and Stock Outs
• Balanced the stock through Intra Store Transfers and Mark Downs
TRAINING
• Kaizen events at Walgreens for continuous process improvement
• Vendor Negotiations Training at WAG U
• Leadership Training at V Tech
EDUCATION
MS in Retail Merchandising,
National Institute of Fashion Technology, Hyderabad, India 1998 - 2000
BA Honors degree in Mathematics, Delhi University, India 1995 - 1998
COMPUTER SKILLS
5. Proficiency in Excel, Access, Word, PowerPoint, Outlook, Lotus Notes
Oracle Enterprize, AS400
6. Proficiency in Excel, Access, Word, PowerPoint, Outlook, Lotus Notes
Oracle Enterprize, AS400