Susan Cochell TOPLINKED.COM

Current

• Purchasing /Buyer Smallwares & Equipment at Lonestar Restaurant Supply

Past

• Senior Buyer (contract) at The Dallas Morning News
• Senior Buyer (contract) at Mentor Texas
• Senior Commodity Services Contract Manager at Accor North America

• Senior Buyer at Northrop Grumman Electro-Optical Systems (contract positon)
• Senior Supply Chain Analyst at McLane Foodservice
• Rebate Coordinator at CompUSA
• Buyer Furniture, Fixtures and Equipment at Brinker International
• Senior Buyer/Merchandinsing at Sysco Foods
• Senior Buyer/Merchandising Manager at Sysco Foodservice

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6 more...

Education

• The University of Texas at Austin
• WW Samuell High School

Recommended

8 people have recommended Susan

Connections

500+ connections

Industry

Restaurants

Websites

• My Website
• My Website

Susan Cochell TOPLINKED.COM’s Summary

OBJECTIVE: A leadership position in a premier organization utilizing 20 years of demonstrated management experience in business, logistics, supply chain, procurement, distribution, project and general management to drive revenue and profit growth. A business leader with proven negotiation skills, and the ability to foster positive and profitable relationships. Build employee motivation and morale through open communications and recognition of top performance.

I am a leader who has exceeded her employers’ purchasing expectations. I did just that in varied industries for notables Northrop Grumman,Sysco Foodservice, Accor North America,McLane Foodservice, Safeway Stores and Brinker International.
Whether leading a team, or as an individual contributor, I shrunk McLane Foodservice inventory transfer and spoilage costs 45%, and Sysco’s product and transportation costs 50%. I also significantly increased Sysco’s business in an underdeveloped market.
During Brinker International’s extensive new openings and remodeling, I sourced new vendors, negotiating better pricing and product quality. Managing Accor’s Motel 6 and Red Roof Inn services operations, I reduced their costs 25%.
I am well versed in a broad spectrum of management, purchasing and merchandising. My experience also includes logistics, inventory control, sourcing, and contract negotiations. Project management, problem resolution and training in multi-site and multi-product environments are second nature to me.
My approach to success centers on taking the action required to get results. I troubleshoot and solve problems, rapidly synthesizing information to provide high quality solutions to objectives. I then build self-sustaining teams to exceed those objectives.
I earned my BBA in Marketing and Management at the Abilene Christian University. I have extensive training in negotiations, time management, Contract Management, MS Office, AS400, SAP R3, APO, Quick Books, JD Edwards and Auto Quotes.

Susan Cochell TOPLINKED.COM’s Specialties:

Supply Chain Management
Inventory Control
Strategic Sourcing & Planning Management
Purchasing Management
Multi-Site Warehouse Management
Operations
Logistics
Contract Negotiation & Management
Vendor Relations
Excellent Communication Skills
Team Player & Leader
Project Management
Strong Analytical Skills
Distribution Management
Bid Analysis
Pricing Analysis & Management
Analysis & Budgeting
Cost Reduction
Training
Problem Resolution
Independent Headhunter
Auto Quotes

Susan Cochell TOPLINKED.COM’s Experience

• Purchasing /Buyer Smallwares & Equipment

  Lonestar Restaurant Supply

  (Privately Held; 11-50 employees; Restaurants industry)

  March 2008 — Present (7 months)

  Purchase small wares for resale to restaurants and the foodservice industry.

• Senior Buyer (contract)

  The Dallas Morning News

  (Public Company; 1001-5000 employees; Newspapers industry)

  October 2006 — March 2007 (6 months)

  Procurement of Print Advertising, RFQ, and Bid Analysis. Placed orders with Printers for inserts, postcards and magazines. Brochures, POP, forms, tabloids, sheet fed and web press materials. Work closely with Advertising department and printers to get quality product for our customers. People Soft Financials.

• Senior Buyer (contract)

  Mentor Texas

  (Public Company; 1001-5000 employees; Medical Devices industry)

  October 2006 — October 2006 (1 month)

  Purchased class 3 medical devices - Contract position

• Senior Commodity Services Contract Manager

  Accor North America

  (Privately Held; 5001-10,000 employees; Hospitality industry)

  May 2006 — October 2006 (6 months)

  Responsible for all of the landscaping, carpet and upholstry cleaning, pool supplies and equipment, pest control, laundry equipment and institutional chemicals for all the properties owned or managed under the Accor umbrella which includes Motel 6, Studio 6, Red Roof Inn, Sofitel, and Novitel. SELECTED ACCOMPLISHMENT: Cut Accor North America’s service vendor costs 25%.

• Senior Buyer

  Northrop Grumman Electro-Optical Systems (contract positon)

  (Public Company; 11-50 employees; Military industry)

  October 2005 — November 2005 (2 months)

  Procurement of materials, components, equipment and services for production of Night Vision goggles for the military. Checks requisitions, obtains quotations, examines bids and makes awards. Develop new supply sources where vendors and suppliers are inadequate.
  Coordinates purchasing activities with manufacturing and engineering departments to maintain inventory at planned levels.

• Senior Supply Chain Analyst

  McLane Foodservice

  (Public Company; 201-500 employees; Food & Beverages industry)

  April 2002 — December 2004 (2 years 9 months)

  Managed $50,000,000 inventory in two regional distribution centers (Orlando, Manassas) Worked efficiently in a high-pressure environment managing raw material inventory levels for two out of state distribution centers supplying six regional fast-food chains. KEY ACCOMPLISHMENTS: Analyzed and evaluated vendor performance to improve the order fill rate, then recommended program changes to different vendors. RESULT: Maintained 100% fill rate on all orders in two vastly different distribution centers for over 1 year and increased profits. Reduced product costs by successfully negotiating new contracts with local vendors.: Cut budget by 50% in 2 distribution centers over course of 1 year Shrunk McLane Foodservice inventory transfer and spoilage costs 45%. Assessed needs and opportunities. Developed and implemented new logistics and purchasing plan tuned to maintaining fill rates. Stabilized and maintained transfer budgets, reducing costs 45%.

• Rebate Coordinator

  CompUSA

  (Public Company; 1001-5000 employees; Consumer Goods industry)

  August 1997 — October 2001 (4 years 3 months)

  Initially awarded rebate position on a temporary basis that led to a more permanent and prominent level.
  Worked diligently in a deadline driven environment multi-tasking and processing monthly vendor rebates on 20 accounts, including AT&T, Frontier Global, Raytheon, and SAP America. Created and presented Excel spreadsheets to vendors requesting an estimated $12M in rebate payments per calendar month. Compiled detailed data and calculated commissions for eight sales executives and trained new rebate coordinators.Secured rebates from vendors (Compaq, IBM, and Hewlett Packard), and issued sales of equipment to be assigned to customer accounts.

• Buyer Furniture, Fixtures and Equipment

  Brinker International

  (Public Company; 201-500 employees; Food & Beverages industry)

  August 1996 — March 1997 (8 months)

  Sourced products for conceptual design team, submitted samples for approval, and placed large (fixture/furniture) orders for busy restaurant chain. Maintained $500,000 inventory at a distribution center for replenishment and remodels. Negotiated and secured bids on décor, specialty items, and contract agreements. Issued orders on the AS400 System, scheduled deliveries, and managed inventory. Reduced purchasing costs through proactive negotiation and quality assessment skills. Requested bid notes on purchase items and awarded bids to best quality, competitive supplier. SELECTED ACCOMPLISHMENTS: Saved Brinker International 30% on remodeling and new openings costs. Vendors were overcharging for certain restaurant remodels and new openings. Sourced new vendors. Negotiated better pricing and product quality.

• Senior Buyer/Merchandinsing

  Sysco Foods

  (Food & Beverages industry)

  1985 — 1995 (10 years)

• Senior Buyer/Merchandising Manager

  Sysco Foodservice

  (Public Company; 5001-10,000 employees; Food & Beverages industry)

  April 1986 — March 1995 (9 years)

  Conducted physical inspections and maintained warehouse inventory levels valued at $350,000 (1600 items).Provided expertise in negotiating and purchasing small wares, equipment and supplies for distribution to regional hospitals, schools and restaurants. Increased productivity by expertly monitoring, training and managing several new buyers
  Key Accomplishments: Developed and Implemented a new training program that taught Junior Buyers how to effectively negotiate new contracts. RESULT: Reduced overall department product and transportation costs 30-40%. Took responsibility of the school bidding process. Suggested that the purchasing team be allowed to calculate school bids for upcoming year. RESULT: Increased school business by $50,000 the first year and $150,000 in the second year.

Susan Cochell TOPLINKED.COM’s Education

• The University of Texas at Austin

  BBA, Marketing and Management, 1977 — 1981

  Activities and Societies:

  School Spirit Group for Longhorns Football team

• WW Samuell High School

  HS Diploma, general, 1973 — 1976

Additional Information

Susan Cochell TOPLINKED.COM’s Websites:

• My Website
• My Website

Susan Cochell TOPLINKED.COM’s Interests:

Business interests include Dallas area not limited to foodservice/hospitality expertise, other areas of interest purchasing technologies, etc/ Movies, Dining out,Longhorn Football and Stars Hockey,

Susan Cochell TOPLINKED.COM’s Groups:

TopLinked.com
LinkedinLions.com
Dallas Executive Blue

•    Blue: The DallasBlue Business Network (23,000+ members)
•    eOffice
•    CareerLink Network
•    DFW Entrepreneur Network
•    Executive Suite
•    Friends of the Chartered Institute of Purchasing & Supply
•    KIVA
•    Women for Women International
•    MyPowerFoodGroup - MPFG
•    MyLink500.com (Open Networkers)
•    Foodies
•    CareerConnection
•    Craigslist Group
•    TopLinked.com (Open Networkers)
•    Dallas Cowboys' Fans
•    Responsible Marketing
•    Linking Dallas
•    FastTrack 100 (3,500+ members!)
•    DallasBlue DFW
•    MyCredentials - Career Presentation
•    Green
•    The Talent Buzz
•    RecruitingBlogs.com Group
•    Grafton Executive Search Recruiting Network
•    Global Healthcare

Susan Cochell TOPLINKED.COM’s Honors:

Recognized as top performer for most of my employment at McLane Foodservice Distribution
Member of Metropolitan Who's Who among Purchasing Professionals
Member of ISM

Susan Cochell TOPLINKED.COM’s Contact Settings

Interested In:

• career opportunities
• consulting offers
• new ventures
• job inquiries
• expertise requests
• business deals
• reference requests
• getting back in touch