“I worked with Roy over the course of a year during a very complex Supply Chain unraveling and rebuilding project, including a very sensitive SKU rationalization exercise. His vast experience, technical wizardry and easy-going nature made even the most difficult of collaborations fun and productive. He is very timely and thorough with periodic reporting.
I highly recommend Roy as a teammate. His ability to break down highly complex concepts and make them palatable to team members of all kinds make him an invaluable asset.”
David Zarling – Program Manager at Niche Meat Processor Assistance Network
(Formerly Plant Director, Belcampo)
“Roy Zerner was contracted by Integrated Power Services to conduct a supply chain assessment for the procurement of medium voltage global VPI coils used to rewind electric motors and generators. IPS’s annual spend was distributed across six key suppliers.
IPS’s spend by supplier was based on proximity to each IPS location and long-term relationships with marginal volume based rebate programs in place. Roy’s objectives were to evaluate consolidation of spend, commodity purchases of raw materials, consignment inventory, futures and incremental rebate incentives tied to total spend.
Roy’s ability to take a complex procurement model across multiple suppliers and break it down using analytics was outstanding. Through consolidation of spend, management of the supply chain for materials and maximization of a rebate structure Roy identified 25% potential cost savings for IPS.
Roy developed an implementation strategy and execution timeline for deployment.
Roy initiated purchasing agreements to consolidate IPS’s spend to three key suppliers and assisted IPS in renegotiating contract pricing. In doing so IPS was able to leverage lower margin business creating an additional 7.5% of incremental sales revenue.
I would recommend Roy Zerner to any organization looking to optimize their supply chain spend and logistic costs. He is a talented professional that employs advanced analytics and an entrepreneurial spirit to achieve results that maximize both conversion and cost reduction. He is outstanding to work with and was sensitive to understand the relational supply chain components that might have presented service and lead time challenges for our company.
Please feel free to contact me to discuss Roy’s ability to contribute to the success of your business.”
Tom Reid, Senior Vice President – Engineering and Technical Services, Integrated Power Services
“Roy consulted with our organization and helped us immensely with strategic planning and project management. His intellect, organizational skills, insights, and demeanor resulted in a very productive engagement.”
Rob Welch – Physician Health Care Executive
(Formerly Vice President – Clinical Affairs, VHA Upper Midwest)
“I hired Roy to help our cross-functional product innovation team identify and implement best practices in our supplier strategic sourcing process. He did a nice job of leveraging his broad supply chain experience and candid approach to help the team to identify ways to improve our sourcing processes and tools and pilot the improvements. His contributions were valuable and much appreciated.”
Ron North, Senior Business Coach – DSP, Amazon
(Formerly Senior Director – Global Procurement, Avery Dennison)
“I engaged Roy to support a global supply chain opportunity study. Clearly Roy not only managed to highlight and quantify the opportunities within our specified areas of concern, but he brought additional observations and opportunities to the table. His straight forward approach helped us to expand rather than narrow our search for cost saving opportunities.
I have in this process enjoyed the positive and humorous spirit that Roy brings to the table, and his evident knowledge that enables him to quickly identify the best course of action to pursue.
Roy has despite his seniority in this field managed to balance strategy and operations in his span of competencies – this is a rarely found, but highly appreciated combination.”
Lars Ahlquist, North America Vice President – Procurement, Olam Food Ingredients (ofi)
(Formerly Global Head – Category Management, Sandoz AG)
“I had the pleasure to work with Roy on a diagnostic of Sandoz’ European transportation and warehouse (DC) operations. It was a challenging project both in terms of scope and compressed time frame, but Roy managed to identify a number of opportunities for us to drive down costs and improve our overall supply chain operations. I had a great time working with Roy and appreciated his efforts.”
Alexandre Leopoldes, Director – Global Logistics Management, JTI
(Formerly Manager – Global Warehousing and Distribution, Sandoz AG)
“Roy proved to be a very reliable and professional consultant. His strengths are his comprehensive supply chain expertise, highly developed analytical skills, and ability to follow up with all levels of management. If necessary, Roy will apply some gentle “pushing” to get the project done, which was greatly appreciated by me.”
Manuel Wildberger, Vice President – Engineering and Continuous Improvement, Givaudan
(Formerly Vice President – Operations, Ghirardelli Chocolate Company)
“I can recommend Roy to anybody needing logistics consulting services. Roy is very knowledgeable, reliable and analytical. At the same time, he knows how to manage a project and keep it moving forward.”
Jürgen Auerbach, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Shinsen AG
(Formerly Chief Financial Officer, Ghirardelli Chocolate Company)
“Roy combines a strategic perspective with outstanding analytical skills. His approach to Ghirardelli’s RFP was both comprehensive and thorough. He is very knowledgeable and I was impressed with his work.”
Vellay Kannappen, Vice President – Operations, Alete Active Nutrition
(Formerly Director – Supply Chain Planning, Ghirardelli Chocolate Company)
“I had the opportunity to work with Roy in close action where we were tasked with rolling out an international supply chain and ERP solution. Roy is an individual with a high degree of integrity who combines a high-level perspective with an ability to focus on the detail. This is a powerful combination to have when developing operational planning and execution solutions, and I recommend him heartily to anyone looking for supply chain assistance.”
Tom Chen, Founder, Vinegarden English
(Formerly Manager – China Operations, DayMen Photo Marketing)
“Roy is an exceptional Project Manager with an attention to detail that I have not found elsewhere. He has an excellent knowledge of ERP systems and business processes and can translate between the two effectively. I would recommend Roy to anyone looking for a Project Manager who can keep the project moving forward without compromising quality.”
Peter Fletcher, Vice President – Information Security Officer, San Jose Water Company
(Formerly Director – Information Technology, DayMen Photo Marketing)
“With Del Monte, Roy successfully managed a very challenging situation. He led his group through the implementation of a new supply chain planning solution (including transitioning the organization), while simultaneously improving day-to-day operations and managing aggressive executive management expectations.”
Matt Lippert, Head of Product Merchandising and Supply Chain, Quince
(Formerly Senior Manager – Supply Chain Strategy, Del Monte Foods)
“I worked with Roy at Del Monte Foods implementing the Supply Chain Planning Capability Improvement Project. Roy joined this project 6 months after the start date, and faced a challenging assignment managing a diverse group of individuals to deliver the promised business results. He did a great job managing the project, and I look forward to working with him again in the future.”
Venkatesh Alagirisamy, Chief Supply Chain Officer, Nike
(Formerly Program Manager, i2 Technologies)
“Roy managed several successful client engagements during our tenure working together. I would highly recommend him to any prospective organization.”
John Page, Founder, Traxion Partners
(Formerly Vice President – High-Tech / Manufacturing Practice, NerveWire)
“Roy is an excellent consultant who combines business vision with an ability to obtain the necessary buy-in and implement the most challenging project or program.”
Roman Regelman, CEO – Security Services and Digital, BNY Mellon
(Formerly Senior Director, NerveWire)
“I worked with Roy in Tokyo where he led a project in demand forecasting for a global consumer products company. He displayed deep knowledge of demand forecasting tools, best practices, and even complex forecasting models (e.g., exponential smoothing). Additionally, Roy managed well the client’s expectations despite the cultural and language barriers involved operating in a foreign environment.”
Ray Whitley, Independent Consultant
(Formerly Manager, Ernst & Young)
“Roy and I worked closely together on a number of client engagements and pursuits at three different firms. Roy is both a skilled professional and an individual with high integrity. I can recommend him to anyone seeking the services of an accomplished supply chain expert.”
Aaron Cox, Business Analyst and Product Owner
(Formerly Principal, Arthur Andersen)
“I worked with Roy in Andersen Consulting’s (now Accenture’s) Logistics Strategy Practice. Roy brings a fact-based, grounded approach to client engagements. He has deep quantitative skills, and uses those to paint a comprehensive picture of both the opportunities available and challenges to be faced. If you are looking for someone who will give you unbiased and sound guidance, Roy is your man!”
Aiden Hill, Principal, Helmsman Advisors
(Formerly Consultant, Andersen Consulting)
“Roy and I worked closely as peers in related Arthur Andersen practices on several pursuits, as well as on client engagements. Roy was one of the more senior and tenured professionals in his group. His level of confidence, organization, industry knowledge, and competency in analysis and delivery of results reflected this experience. He was great to work with, and was respected by both clients and his staff.”
Dan Kuzdzal, Advisor, DCI Solutions
(Formerly Principal, Arthur Andersen)
“While working together on a 3PL engagement at Arthur Andersen, I grew to understand the depth of Roy’s knowledge of the industry. He worked well with the client at all levels, and drove the Andersen team to a successful conclusion. I would highly recommend Roy on any demanding engagement.”
Ralph Jacobson, Principal – AI Business Automation Specialist, IBM
(Formerly Principal, Arthur Andersen)
“Roy Zerner was very effective in all of the Supply Chain Management engagements he participated in with Arthur Andersen. Roy has extremely deep capabilities in forecasting, materials management and other areas of supply chain analysis.”
Brian Murphy, Director, Deloitte
(Formerly Director – Business Development, Arthur Andersen)
“I worked with Roy at Andersen and would gladly work with him again. He has an excellent work ethic and understanding of the industry.”
Ron Walker, U.S. Leader – Finance Transformation Practice, KPMG
(Formerly Principal, Arthur Andersen)
“Roy does great work!”
Kate Vitasek, Faculty – Graduate and Executive Education, University of Tennessee
(Formerly Senior Consultant, Andersen Consulting)
“Highly recommended. In the Sales Forecasting Supervisor role with Mars, Roy displayed the intellect and interpersonal skills necessary to manage the forecasting process for a large, multi-site company managed by a demanding executive team.”
Tom Akeley, Founder and Chief Executive Officer, MOSA Enterprises
(Formerly Director, Mars Inc.)