Vestis Corporation

Senior Director of Supply Chain

Oakmont Supply Solutions

We help small to mid-size manufacturers increase margin and maximize revenue by building a solid supply chain that fuels 2X/3X digit growth.

As the leader of a small to mid-sized manufacturing business, are you challenged by:

-Creating a Sales & Operations planning process that drives real results in your business
-Supply Chain knowledge gaps within your leadership team?
-Fractional Director/VP/COO needs until you find the perfect candidate?
-Forecasting rapidly expanding product lines to avoid stock outs?
-Optimizing contract manufacturing/packaging partnerships?
-Identifying and pulling cost out levers to improve profit margin?
-Developing a supply chain strategy that customers/investors can clearly understand AND your team can execute?

We would love to partner with you!

Founder 

Gartner

Gartner Ambassador - Supply Chain

Mentor within the SKU CPG accelerator program providing guidance with emphasis on supply chain optimization, manufacturing strategy, cost reduction tactics, and transportation strategy. 

SKU is a leading consumer goods accelerator that surrounds stellar startups with mentor teams of entrepreneurs, investors, and industry experts to accelerate smarter, faster growth.

Supply Chain & Operations Mentor/Investor

ASCM Atlanta

Board Member

Reliance Worldwide Corporation

Supported $700M in revenue with double digit growth figures by ensuring high retail fill rates through COVID-19 Pandemic.  Designed & implemented full executive S&OP routine.

Responsible for end-to-end supply chain operations including:
-Demand Planning
-Supply Planning (both manufacturing and procurement)
-International and Domestic Freight strategy
-Inventory planning
-Sales & Operations Planning
-Executive Strategy Development

Supported $700M in revenue with double digit growth figures by ensuring high retail fill rates through COVID-19 Pandemic. 

Worked endlessly to meet needs of internal and external stakeholders including vendors and clients, this role allowed me to work under pressure and implement creative problem-solving methods and professional expertise to support and grow the business. 

Key Skills: Sales & Operations Planning | Continuous Improvement | Business Process Design | Resource Management | Budget Administration | Strategic Decision-Making | Inventory Optimization | Revenue Growth | Cost-Saving | Demand Planning | Supply Planning | Transportation Strategy

Director Supply Chain Planning

Grew retail partnership from $0 to $150M account in 2 years, while maintaining consistent 98%+ fill rates.

Designed and implemented a comprehensive plan to launch 400+ products across Lowe’s stores nationwide to meet their enterprise goals. 

Awarded Lowe's Partner of the Year Award in 2018. 


Key Skills: Account Specialist | Strategic Planning | Project Coordination | Resource Administration | Process Optimization | Sales | Customer Service | Relationship Management | Product Development | Project Tracking

National Account Manager

HD Supply

Captured 10% savings ($4MM on a $40MM freight budget) by conducting a comprehensive international freight RFP.

Led HD Supply’s international logistics strategy and tactical management, budget administration, expenditure analysis, business process design, and feasibility analysis to meet and exceed profitability goals with given resources. 

Key Skills: Logistics Management | RFP Design | Budget Management | Strategic Decision-Making | Project Coordination | Resource Administration | Process Optimization | Stakeholder Management | Business Partnerships | Teamwork | Supplier Management

Senior Manager International Logistics

The Home Depot

Inventory Planning Manager

Manhattan Associates

I was responsible for supporting multiple internal and external teams on data analysis, warehouse management, and business growth projects. I also took charge of resource and inventory management and handled budget development, brand positioning, marketing, and client handling for the firm's largest client, Nike. 


Key Skills: Account Management | Budgeting | Strategic Planning | Project Coordination | Resource Administration | Business Process Optimization | Warehouse Management | Marketing | Documentation

Consultant - Warehouse Management (Open Systems)

Helping small to mid-sized manufacturers successfully grow into retail by building a solid supply chain fueling 2X/3X growth.

As the leader of a small to mid-sized manufacturing business, are you challenged by:

-Supply Chain knowledge gaps within your leadership team?
-Fractional or Interim Director/VP/COO needs until you find the perfect candidate?
-Creating a Sales & Operations planning process that drives real results in your business?
-Forecasting rapidly expanding product lines to avoid stock outs?
-Optimizing contract manufacturing/packaging partnerships?
-Identifying and pulling cost out levers to improve profit margin?
-Developing a supply chain strategy that customers/investors can clearly understand AND your team can execute?

If so, we would love to help. 

With 25+ years of combined experience, we have helped companies like Kraft-Heinz, Aramark, Tarkett, Electrolux, Nest, Tip Top Cocktails, Reliance Worldwide Corporation, Whirlpool and dozens of others build their supply chains and expand retail presence at Target, Wal-Mart, Home Depot, Lowe's, HEB, Kroger as well as national distributors.  

Our specialty is building supply chain processes that increase profitability.  We have done this by improving forecast accuracy by 20%, increasing inventory turnover by 37% and saving millions of dollars in transportation costs. All while maintaining consistent retail fill rates of 98%+ using our proven process.

Want to discuss your situation? Reach out to lindsey.walker@oakmontsupplysolutions.com.

Lindsey Walker

JNelson Consulting LLC

Specializing in expert consulting and advising services tailored for consumer brands with a focus on start-up product development, commercialization, go-to-market strategies, and channel/retail strategies. 
I also offer fractional Chief Commercial Officer and General Management services.

Renowned for expertise in guiding early-stage pet and other CPG brands towards sustainable growth and market success.

Founder & Principal Consultant

Arch Pet Food

Advisor to the next generation of alternative protein pet food and treats.

Advisory Board

I provide guidance and support to early-stage start-up brands. Leveraging my extensive experience and expertise in the consumer brand industry, I help emerging CPG brands navigate the complexities of business development, product commercialization, and channel strategy. 

SKU serves as a powerful catalyst for a thriving, impactful, and nationally recognized community that supports the community’s collective success.

Lead Mentor and Master Teacher

Elevate Pet Pros

Empowering black professionals and entrepreneurs in the pet industry.

Mentor

The Angel Group

The Angel Group is a growing community of industry pros and peers who invest in early stage CPG brands.

Member

TIG Collective

The TIG Collective was established to bring together entrepreneurs and advisors and provide support, education, and structure to address launching and growing their CPG brand. By recruiting a diverse set of industry experts, the TIG Collective connects entrepreneurs with the experience and wisdom they need to succeed. I volunteer my time and knowledge to support these founders.

Strategic Advisor

BeyondBrands

Beyond Brands exists to co-create, incubate and accelerate conscious brands safer, smarter and faster. Building brands from start-up to scale and everything beyond, Beyond Brands is a collective of entrepreneurs, C-level executives and industry experts dedicated to building and scaling consumer product goods companies.

Made by Nacho

I was recruited by the co-founders as the first employee with the objective of building the brand from concept to a leading premium cat food with national presence. As President, I built the strategy, team, commercialization and omni-channel distribution, leveraging my vast pet industry network to cultivate key relationships and partnerships.

As the President of a start-up, I gained invaluable experience wearing every functional hat including administration, product development, supply chain, logistics, human resources, finance and accounting, sales and customer experience.

Key achievements include: 
Orchestrated the successful launch of a full product portfolio of dry food, wet food, and treats into a national partnership at all PetSmart stores in 8 months, while simultaneously establishing a direct-to-consumer website with unprecedented reach and extensive media coverage.

Achieved hyper-growth omnichannel national distribution negotiating partnerships with PetSmart, Petco, Chewy and a national distributor for independent pet channel reach.

Grew product portfolio to 57 SKUs ensuring consumer needs are met across dry food, wet food, treats and toppers categories.

Built a robust financial model to ensure resources for start-up launch and rapid distribution and assortment growth.

Partnered with co-founders in closing Seed Round and Series A fundraises with high interest within the investor community.

Built and led a world-class team to support all functions while leveraging strategic external partnerships for key support.

President & Chief Commercial Officer, Founding Team

Petco

I developed strategies for expanding pet services into new markets and demographics, leveraging market insights and cross-functional collaboration. Also, I cultivated strategic partnerships to enhance competitive positioning and drive growth through new revenue streams.

I established the company as a leader in the pet services industry through innovative service concepts and customer-focused initiatives.

Head of Pet Services Business Development

I was selected to create Petco’s first-ever Wholesale division, leveraging Petco’s owned brand product portfolio to expand into international markets, establishing a strong global presence through targeted partnerships and distribution strategies. 

I developed Petco Global Brands team roles and recruited internally and externally to grow to 6 team members, inclusive of business development front-of-house team and operations back-of-house team.

Key achievements include:
Crafted tailored business strategies for global clients, creating turn-key programs focused on cultivating enduring relationships and mutual growth objectives.

Leveraged Petco's cross-functional teams and resources strategically to garner support for pioneering international business endeavors.

Established and executed account strategy, planning, and operational frameworks from inception to implementation within a rapid 4-month timeframe.

Successfully identified and converted 6 accounts into active clients spanning 4 countries within the initial 6 months of 2018.

Acknowledged as the preferred "pet category captain" by 4 accounts, entrusted to optimize and revamp their pet departments for enhanced performance.

Cultivated partnerships with retailers across 4 continents and in 7 countries, including an exclusive Petco-branded collaboration with Canadian Tire, encompassing entire chain distribution and innovative shop-in-shop concepts.

Spearheaded the growth of 2019 global sales volume to $35M, marking a remarkable 48% increase compared to 2018.

Head of Wholesale & International Division, Petco Global Brands

I was responsible for enhancing profitability through growth initiatives, rigorous cost negotiations, augmentation of vendor funding, optimization of assortment productivity, and generation of demand through strategic vendor marketing partnerships. Developed coaching on profit analysis and cost negotiations for merchants.

Key achievements include:
Secured an additional $9M in vendor promotional program funding and achieved an extra $5M in cost savings, surpassing objectives by 89%.

Negotiated a notable $2.1M increase in vendor funding to bolster the Best Nutrition Conversion strategy effectively.

Simultaneously oversaw multiple consulting groups, provided strategic guidance, and conducted vendor negotiation coaching to drive the Consumables vendor Growth & Profitability initiative.

Spearheaded a team of assortment analysts through comprehensive product category resets, ensuring seamless execution across various departments.

Head of Growth and Profitability

As Head of Category Marketing I developed holistic product, brand, and category marketing strategies to effectively achieve business objectives, as well as identified and capitalized on opportunities for marketing optimization. As Head of Vendor Integrated Partnership program I cultivated productive and trusting relationships with vendor partners and collaborated with all internal and external marketing teams to ensure flawless execution of marketing tactics. 

Key achievements include:
Secured $50M in funding through the implementation of a customized, data-driven strategy aimed at enhancing guest acquisition and retention.

Elevated ROI for vendor funding in digital and CRM marketing initiatives.

Spearheaded the 2017 Annual Planning Process and sponsored weekly cross-functional leadership meetings to ensure cohesive alignment and progress.

Formulated a comprehensive communication architecture and strategy for Petco's inaugural Grooming services 360 marketing campaign.

Revamped the Petco-paid coupon budget and streamlined the approval process for greater efficiency and effectiveness.

Pioneered a new team structure designed to optimize talent utilization and align with overarching company priorities.

Head of Category Marketing & Vendor Partnerships

As the Head Merchant/BUL, I directed the largest sales volume division, overseeing $1.2 billion in revenue across 1300 Petco stores encompassing all dog food categories, inclusive of Premium, Fresh/Frozen, Natural, Science and Value tiers. I formulated comprehensive merchandising strategies and identified emerging business trends.

Additionally, I led a cohesive cross-functional team spanning Merchandising, Inventory Management, Merchandise Planning & Analysis, Space Planning, Marketing and Pricing.

Key achievements include:
Acted as the lead merchant for the Consumables division, orchestrating activities to optimize profitability, inventory turnover, and GMROI (gross margin return on investment).

Spearheaded the creation and execution of Petco's comprehensive nutrition strategy.

Crafted a strategic plan for the "Value Natural" segment, encompassing product development, pricing, promotional activities, and marketing initiatives.

Surpassed the FY2014 margin rate plan by an impressive +22 basis points.

Negotiated $47M in vendor funding to support incremental marketing programs throughout 2015.

Collaborated with the innovation team to develop and introduce Petco’s first-ever pet food owned brand, WholeHearted, successfully launching them into the market.

Head Merchant/Business Unit Leader, Dog Food division

Managed sales volume of $337M in 1300 Petco stores across all cat consumables categories inclusive of cat food, cat treats and cat litter.

Key achievements include:
Achieved a remarkable 2.6% beat to the FY2013 margin budget, marking the highest margin beat among all merchandise departments.

Exceeded the FY2012 sales budget by 2% and the margin budget by 1%, notwithstanding the unanticipated negative impact of Petco’s initiative to lower retail prices.

Secured $34M in vendor funding for incremental marketing programs and an additional $8M for the Price Value initiative through negotiation efforts.

Attained impressive comp store sales of 10.2% and margin increase of 11.4% in Cat Treats during FY2012.
Orchestrated the successful launch of new brands including Canidae, Hill’s Ideal Balance, Blue Buffalo Litter and Treats, and Greenies SmartBites.

Head Merchant/Business Unit Leader, Cat Food/Treats/Litter division

I managed a volume of $400 million for the Advanced and Essential dog food category across 1060 stores. Leading a cross-functional team of merchants, planners, space analysts, inventory managers and pricing analysts, I developed promotional activities for the division and collaborated with vendors to establish competitive brand strategies and tactics.

Key achievements include:
Surpassed the FY2011 sales budget by 1.7% and exceeded the margin budget by an impressive 2.4%.

Successfully negotiated incremental marketing funding of $500K from P&G and an additional $200K from Nestle for the November 2011 marketing campaign.

Designed a groundbreaking new user trigger CRM program for food brands, launching it in Q4 2010.

Attained a historic milestone by orchestrating the first-ever $1.0M+ sales event in the Beneful brand, employing a comprehensive 360-degree tactical approach.

Merchandise Manager, Dog Food

I managed a volume of $140M across 960 nationwide stores, surpassing sales and margin targets while spearheading the development of innovative business strategies.

Initiated the launch of new programs to refresh assortments and increase Private Label penetration, while effectively coordinating the functions of supporting teams including Merchandise Planning, Product Development, Advertising, and Visual.

Associate Merchandise Manager, Cat Litter, Health & Wellness

Petco México

Petco Mexico is a joint venture between Petco USA and Grupo Gigante. With over 115 stores across Mexico, Petco Mexico is the only national pet specialty retailer.

Member Board Of Directors

With over 25 years of hands-on experience across retail, wholesale, and consumer brand start-ups, I am deeply committed to driving success for my clients through strategic guidance and actionable insights.

As the founder and principal consultant of JNelson Consulting, I bring a wealth of knowledge and a results-oriented approach to every project. My mission is clear: to help emerging and established consumer brands achieve their growth goals by leveraging my expertise in product strategy, commercialization strategy, channel/retail strategy and omnichannel distribution.

What sets me apart is my personalized approach and unwavering dedication to client success. From developing strategic business plans to optimizing products and channels I work closely with each client to understand their unique challenges and objectives, providing tailored solutions that deliver tangible results.

Throughout my career, I've had the privilege of working for a diverse range of companies, from start-ups looking to disrupt the market to established brands seeking to elevate their businesses to new heights. My ability to navigate complex challenges and drive growth has earned me a reputation as a trusted advisor and industry expert.

I’m proud to have:

Been recruited for the founding team and served as President & Chief Commercial Officer of premium pet food start-up brand Made by Nacho. I built the strategy, product and team into hypergrowth by securing national distribution with PetSmart, Petco, Chewy, Amazon, DTC and independent pet retailers and an assortment of 60 SKUs across wet & dry food, treats and toppers.

Pioneered the establishment of Petco's Wholesale & International division, spearheading the company's global wholesale expansion efforts and enhancing its presence in key markets, including a ground-breaking partnership with Canadian Tire.

Been appointed as a member of the Board of Directors for Petco Mexico, contributed strategic insights and guidance to drive the company's growth and market leadership in the market.

As Head Merchant/Business Unit Leader of the Dog Food at Petco, orchestrated the transformation of the division into a thriving $1.2 billion business, leveraging strategic merchandising and innovative partnership strategies.

I serve as a Mentor & Master Teacher to early-stage start-up brands through the industry-leading accelerator SKU. As a member of the TIG Collective I advise early-stage CPG founders. My commitment to fostering the next generation of industry leaders underscores my passion for driving innovation within consumer products.

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The Battle

Lindsey Walker

Julie Nelson

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