Thomas Kervin
Cost Reduction Initiative Consultant
Experience
Jun 2023 - Jul 2023
2 months Rehau, Germany
Cost Reduction Initiative Consultant
Rehau Automotive SE & Co. KG
- Designed a standardized approach for planning and conducting cost reduction workshops with suppliers of plastic components and demonstrated it at a supplier’s production site.
- Planned cost optimization workshops:
- Defined project goals, selected and prioritized suppliers and their key parts.
- Set the method for cost analysis and created a custom cost calculation for the focus parts.
- Agreed on agenda and team composition.
- Engaged and prepared suppliers.
- Conducted cost optimization workshops at the supplier:
- Aligned on goals, process, timeline, and follow-up.
- Inspected in-plant material flow and production of focus parts.
- Critically analyzed supplier product costings against own calculations and agreed on actions.
- Identified further savings potentials through process inefficiencies and technical improvements.
- Documented all cost-saving opportunities (8–15%) and actions with timelines and responsibilities in an action list for implementation.
Jan 2022 - Mar 2023
3 months Herzogenrath, Germany
Team Leader Category Management Mechanical Components
Aixtron SE
- Led the team, managed escalations, initiated process optimizations, and developed suggestions for reorganizing and defining roles in Purchasing, Project Procurement, and Strategic Procurement (Category Management).
- Team leadership and escalation management:
- Introduced weekly one-on-one meetings with each team member to track tasks and set priorities.
- Provided targeted support in critical situations through internal and external escalation measures.
- Held regular team meetings to identify process inefficiencies and agree on actions.
- Process optimizations:
- Initiated and implemented measures to improve internal and cross-functional procurement processes.
- Presented a structured, interdisciplinary escalation process.
- Reorganization and role definitions:
- Developed an organizational split between Procurement and Category Management for a specific product group.
- Advised on the use of temporary and permanent staff.
- Supported definition of responsibilities for Project Procurement and Strategic Procurement.
- Proposed a detailed RASIC chart for Operational Purchasing and Strategic Purchasing roles.
Jul 2022 - Oct 2022
4 months Ahlen, Germany
Procurement Advisor to Head of Procurement
Winkelmann Automotive GmbH
- Coached the head of procurement and led the project to organize the newly created global strategic procurement function after decentralization for the Automotive division.
- Coaching the head of procurement:
- Taught leadership principles through real-world problem situations.
- Initiated proactive integration and collaboration of employees at sites in Germany, Poland, and Mexico.
- Introduced a meeting structure with documented follow-up tracked via standardized action lists.
- Short-term workload relief measures:
- Captured process inefficiencies via targeted employee surveys and prioritized and implemented optimization measures.
- Identified and initiated short-term use of temporary staff based on workload analysis.
- Reorganized the cross-site strategic procurement:
- Defined department-specific responsibilities versus central purchasing using a RACI matrix.
- Identified needed functions and updated or created job descriptions.
- Determined number and location of strategic buyers by allocating material groups to sites and analyzing workload.
- Managed recruiting actions at all locations.
Jul 2021 - Mar 2022
9 months Tornesch, Germany
Advisor to Head of Corporate Strategic Procurement
Medac-Gruppe
- Coached the procurement head and led the project to reorganize and realign the newly created strategic procurement after a restructuring for cross-site sourcing of direct and indirect materials and services.
- Distinction from operational purchasing:
- Clarified responsibilities and documented them in a RASIC model.
- Established escalation rules.
- Designed and implemented an interdisciplinary escalation process.
- Reorganization and realignment via workshop series:
- Defined goals and main tasks of strategic procurement: contract, supplier and cost management, and strategy development.
- Identified additional tasks, related activities, required functions, and job descriptions.
- Built a three-level org chart and calculated FTE per role.
- Implemented Corporate Strategic Procurement:
- Agreed and executed an implementation plan and multi-stage communication concept with management.
- Tracked actions via weekly documented implementation meetings.
- Advanced procurement methods: proactive cost optimization, strategic supplier evaluation, category strategies, KPIs, early stakeholder involvement, etc.
Mar 2020 - Oct 2020
8 months Braubach, Germany
Interim Head of Indirect Procurement Europe / Project Manager
Berzelius Metall GmbH/ECOBAT Technologies
- Led the design and creation of a new central procurement organization for strategic procurement of indirect materials and services across 14 European sites.
- Captured and categorized European spend:
- Coordinated largely manual data collection of expenses from all EU sites.
- Developed a goods and services categorization.
- Consolidated and structured all expenses into a European spend cube (pivot table).
- Organizational development:
- Highlighted benefits of shifting from decentralized to strategically aligned central procurement.
- Defined the cross-site Category Manager role and redefined the Local Buyer role.
- Developed and applied criteria to group categories and determine needed Category Managers.
- Project work:
- Initiated and set up a project team with representatives from all European sites.
- Created a project plan to design and implement a new central procurement organization for all European sites.
- Successfully completed the concept phase in 10 weeks.
- Planned and coordinated the implementation phase.
Feb 2019 - Dec 2020
11 months Risch-Rotkreuz, Switzerland
Interim Vice President Global Supply Chain
Bibliotheca Switzerland
- Reorganized and established structured, documented team communication to improve global collaboration and implemented strategic procurement management and a professional inventory organization.
- Team development:
- Established cross-site collaboration of an international team through monthly meetings.
- Introduced documented weekly one-on-ones with team leads.
- Clarified and redefined roles and responsibilities and reorganized globally.
- Implemented strategic procurement:
- Defined operational and strategic tasks.
- Developed commodity-responsible procurement managers.
- Initiated creation of commodity strategies.
- Introduced supplier development:
- Defined tasks distinct from quality management.
- Developed a responsible supplier developer role.
- Worldwide inventory reduction:
- Captured and installed regular global inventory reporting.
- Analyzed inventory and movements and redefined stocked items.
- Launched initiative for ongoing inventory reduction opportunities.
Sep 2018 - Dec 2019
4 months Igersheim, Germany
Interim Head of Procurement
Wittenstein SE
- Realigned the procurement organization to increase supplier capacity by 80% within 18 months.
- Supplier capacity analysis and action planning:
- Documented current supplier capacity by product group.
- Highlighted capacity gaps and risks.
- Defined measures to expand capacity with existing suppliers and qualify new ones.
- Conceptual procurement realignment:
- Clarified roles and responsibilities.
- Defined collaboration between project purchasing and strategic purchasing.
- Aligned interface between strategic purchasing and external scheduling.
- Focused strategic purchasing on short- and mid-term category strategies and proactive supplier management.
- Defined processes to relieve strategic purchasing.
- Set rules for channeling and prioritizing requests from other functions.
- Agreed escalation rules between strategic purchasing and scheduling.
- Redesigned sourcing committee workflows.
- Simplified signature rules.
- Reduced and streamlined meetings.
- Implemented a procurement controller.
Feb 2018 - Sep 2018
8 months Bergneustadt, Germany
Strategic Purchasing Advisor
Metalsa Deutschland GmbH
- Conducted a situation analysis in strategic purchasing regarding buyer and leadership skills and communication, and developed actionable recommendations with hands-on support.
- Coaching strategic buyers:
- Guided buyers in preparing internal and external negotiations.
- Supported and accompanied difficult negotiations and supplier crisis situations.
- Guided and supported creating a concrete category strategy and taught goal setting, structure, and implementation.
- Coaching the team leader:
- Structured and introduced regular one-on-one meetings between team leader and strategic buyers.
- Designed and implemented regular team meetings.
- Analyzed the team leader’s leadership style and provided recommendations.
- Assessed qualification, commitment, and motivation of each team member.
- Examined collaboration between procurement head and team leaders and proposed improvements to organization and leadership.
Mar 2017 - Dec 2017
10 months Göttingen, Germany
Interim Team Leader Strategic Purchasing
Coherent GmbH
- Implemented process optimizations to significantly relieve strategic purchasing for better focus on core competencies in category and supplier management.
- Eliminated system-based and paper-based checks and approvals of framework agreements and orders by transferring these tasks to operational purchasing.
- Significantly reduced escalation meetings by defining and implementing escalation rules and documentation and moderating the meetings.
- Set up regular interdisciplinary alignment with Operational Purchasing and Manufacturing Engineering.
- Designed and documented the process for new supplier approvals and presented it cross-functionally to boost collaboration.
- Built and documented a production capacity risk analysis for A- and monopoly suppliers and defined corresponding supplier strategies.
- Calculated potential savings per supplier by identifying and planning individual measures to meet company targets.
Aug 2016 - Dec 2016
5 months Aurich, Germany
Interim Head of Global Sourcing
Enercon GmbH
- Developed a company-wide Global Sourcing strategy and introduced systematic methods to internationalize the supplier base, with project-based implementation.
- Defined all requirements for global sourcing and process from strategy development to implementing international suppliers.
- Created and implemented processes for systematically finding qualified suppliers worldwide.
- Prepared country-specific procurement market analyses.
- Established collaboration with an external service provider for targeted supplier acquisition in Eastern Europe and Asia.
- Coordinated procurement processes for plant projects in Uruguay and Brazil and managed local content.
Sep 2015 - Apr 2016
8 months Essen, Germany
Interim Senior Global Procurement Manager
Thyssenkrupp AG
- Strategically managed cross-divisional procurement spend (€12 billion) and advanced cost optimization methods through interdisciplinary collaboration.
- Strategic management of global category purchasing:
- Organized and co-moderated regular alignments with global category management leads (direct and indirect goods and services) to continuously improve strategy development and execution and achieve KPI targets.
- Led a successful project to optimize and standardize the global category strategy process.
- Advanced “technical levers” for cost optimization:
- Redesigned a comprehensive methods and measures catalog for category buyers to capture technical saving potentials through systematic interdisciplinary collaboration.
- Assessed deployed product cost calculation systems to guide targeted selection and reduce system diversity.
- Co-designed, organized, and piloted a new training concept for product cost and value analysis (VA/VE) with external consultants.
- Documented best practices for cross-functional cost reduction workshops aiming for global process standardization.
Dec 2011 - Dec 2015
3 years 1 month Wipperfürth, Germany
Head of Purchasing Division
VOSS Automotive GmbH
- Set strategic, international direction for central purchasing and managed procurement for worldwide production sites.
- Reshaped and repositioned the purchasing organization:
- Introduced and established strategic purchasing and procurement controlling by building up the team.
- Adjusted and optimized internal purchasing processes and cross-functional interfaces.
- Shifted procurement to a proactive company role.
- Introduced global material group strategies:
- Engaged procurement early in product development and CAPEX planning.
- Identified cost and quality improvement potentials by technical and commercial reviews and supply market analyses of main material groups.
- Planned proactively to build a competitive, international supplier base aligned with company strategy.
- Built a global supplier management:
- Led cross-site alignment to redefine supplier evaluation and approval processes.
- Rolled out a unified, comprehensive supplier preselection and audit process globally, successfully used for new suppliers in Mexico and China.
- Gradually increased supplier quality and controlled growth or reduction of supplier numbers.
- Achieved savings up to 4.5% of spend:
- Proactive benchmarking and renegotiations via cross-site volume bundling, targeted new supplier acquisition, critical analysis of cost structures, value analysis/engineering, and special measures (logistics, payment terms).
Nov 2009 - Nov 2011
2 years 1 month Bonn, Germany
Purchasing Director Global Commodities
Kautex Textron GmbH & Co. KG, Automotive Division
- Led a Europe-wide, cross-site team and managed global strategic purchasing.
- Team development:
- Managed a new international team of project buyers, strategic buyers, and a cost calculator.
- Clarified roles for coordinated teamwork and between project and strategic purchasing.
- Established a standardized way of working for project buyers to take proactive roles in projects.
- Strategic commodity responsibility:
- Developed and implemented global strategies for fuel delivery modules, activated carbon filters, and steel products.
- Secured strategic development partners for quality sensors used in SCR systems.
- Negotiated and signed cross-project framework agreements with global players (Bosch, Continental).
- Special project: customer-specified suppliers:
- Helped shape supplier set agreements with customers in coordination with Quality and Sales.
- Led global rollout of set agreements to secure risk coverage, especially warranty cases.
Oct 2008 - Oct 2009
1 year 1 month Burscheid, Germany
Program Manager
Johnson Controls GmbH, Automotive Division
- Professionally led an interdisciplinary, Europe-wide project team.
- Overall project manager for developing and successfully launching series production of an active headrest.
Aug 2004 - Sep 2008
4 years 2 months Burscheid, Germany
Commodity Buyer
Johnson Controls GmbH, Automotive Division
- Designed, advanced, and consistently implemented Europe-wide commodity strategies for technical textiles:
- Developed and applied standard cost structures.
- Reduced product variety by introducing standard materials.
- Proactively built a competitive supplier base by cutting existing suppliers by 60% and onboarding qualified Eastern European suppliers.
- Ensured consistent contract management:
- Enforced Europe-wide framework and quality agreements with 100% of established suppliers and all new suppliers before awarding orders.
- Introduced regular use of Letters of Nomination to secure series deliveries.
- Led a product-related cost reduction program achieving up to 15% savings through technical specification changes, process improvements, and volume effects.
Dec 2002 - Aug 2004
1 year 9 months Burscheid, Germany
Program Buyer
Johnson Controls GmbH, Automotive Division
- Managed and coordinated procurement processes for a seating project from prototype to series production.
- Negotiated and concluded contracts related to technical product changes.
Jul 2000 - Nov 2002
2 years 5 months Berlin, Germany
Advanced Procurement Engineer Mobile Communications
Siemens AG, Mobile Communications and Semiconductors Division
- Managed material and supplier selection during the concept phase of a UMTS mobile communications system development.
- Negotiated and concluded development contracts.
Sep 1999 - Jul 2000
11 months Berlin, Germany
Strategic Buyer Semiconductors
Siemens AG, Mobile Communications and Semiconductors Division
Jan 1997 - Jul 1999
2 years 7 months Hennigsdorf, Germany
Project Buyer
DaimlerChrysler Rail Systems GmbH, Rail Vehicles Division
- Coordinated consortium procurement.
- Purchased large electrical and mechanical components.
Apr 1996 - Jan 1997
10 monthsSAP Consultant R/2 and R/3
- Training.
Oct 1993 - Feb 1996
2 years 5 monthsWaste Management Consultant
- Developed waste management concepts.
- Conducted profitability analyses for disposal companies.
Sep 1992 - Sep 1993
1 year 1 monthSales Engineer Export
- Temporary employment.
Summary
25 years of experience in global strategic procurement and project purchasing in large corporations and mid-sized companies across various technology sectors, including 13 years in the automotive supplier industry and over 12 years of leadership responsibility for up to 30 international employees
Languages
German
Native
English
Advanced
French
Elementary
Education
Oct 1984 - May 1992
Technische Hochschule Darmstadt
Diplom-Wirtschaftsingenieur · Industrial Engineering, Mechanical Engineering specialization · Darmstadt, Germany
Aug 1969 - May 1982
Schools in Bad Vilbel
Abitur (General University Entrance Qualification) · Bad Vilbel, Germany
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