343-558-7701 ryan@ryanthomashiggins.com
Profile
I have an extended background in product management, operations and purchasing and working towards a career in the areas of purchasing and procurement. I’m a strong team player with a natural enthusiasm for hard work (projects requiring 12+ hour workdays are no problem), decision-making and value creation. I have experience in both the public and private sectors along large manufacturing and service supply chains, and I’m in a constant state of self-improvement.
Professional Experience
ARLO (parent company of EXEL Contracting in the west end), Canada (Ottawa)
June 2024 – Present
Procurement Manager
- Leadership: working towards opening the company’s first Procurement Department
- Accounts: develop warm and value-producing relationships with vendors
- Purchasing ($1,000,000+ in annual spend): sourcing, RFP/RFQ writing; negotiating with vendors and arranging purchase orders for fertilizers, chemicals, machinery and other production needs
- Industry understanding: pavers and other stone; construction machinery; perishables (plants and sod); subcontracted construction services (asphalt, hydroseeding, snow removal, road painting, signage, etc); all approached with responsiveness to ‘muda’ (7 supply chain waste types)
- Strategic value creation: building tools that allow Estimators to do their job better; purchase requisitions tracking through Excel; legacy SOP writing
- Ongoing improvement: eternally committed to learning something new every single day and tracking this improvement
Green Unlimited, Canada (Ottawa)
March 2023 – May 2024
Operations and Procurement Manager
- Leadership: creating a tight and cohesive team; handling recruitment, onboarding, training and mentoring; hosting meetings (morning SCRUM huddles and weekly L10s); communicating key data to the leadership team
- Accounts: relationship development and upkeep; property assessment and writing/distributing quotations
- Purchasing ($200,000 in annual spend): sourcing, RFP/RFQ writing; negotiating with vendors and arranging purchase orders for fertilizers, chemicals, machinery and other production needs
- Dispatch: routing all company trucks across Ottawa to fulfill our production (ERP/CRM: Service Assistant 5); sensitivity and responsiveness to ‘muda’ (7 supply chain waste types)
- Strategic value creation: data mapping through Excel (pivot tables, forecasting graphs); creating value through Entrepreneurial Operating Systems (EOS), Kaizen and Lean approaches; legacy SOP writing
- Ongoing improvement: learning something new every single day; commitment to PDCA workplace cycles and maintaining healthy communication channels; staying aligned with short, medium and long-term goals
Environment: ERP: Real Green SA5 (and Mobile Live); Microsoft Dynamics, Excel
Accomplishments: Exceeded a production target of $1,000,000 between Apr-Sept 2023; kept up team morale despite extremely long and demanding seasonal workdays (12+ hours)
Ministry of Education, UAE
Aug 2016 – Aug 2022
Operations Manager – Education
- Managed a team of 16 Can/US,UK, Irish teachers to performance targets (i.e. forecasting and delivering on ministry-set goals; collecting, analyzing and presenting data to stakeholders at monthly performance meetings)
- Built collaborative relationships with stakeholders (i.e. administration, teachers, parents and students) and bridged their expectations to sector-wide education strategy for the Emirate of Dubai
- Hosted the meetings, training and feedback sessions that supported continuous improvement initiatives (lesson observations; quarterly individual and team appraisals)
- Built, maintained and analyzed databases to support decision-making (ERP: Learning Management Systems; Excel X-lookups and pivot table skills; ongoing, legacy reporting of supply chain health incl. teacher/student performance mapping; visualizing data and presenting findings using Excel, Teams and PowerPoint)
Environment: ERP: Learning Management Systems; Microsoft Excel, Word, Teams, SharePoint, PowerPoint
Accomplishments: Awarded twice for outstanding performance in an education management role
Ministry of Interior, Qatar
Oct 2012 – July 2016
Operations Manager – Government
- Managed a team of 9 Can/US, India, Egypt, Ukraine teachers (headed all operations and forecasting to ensure inventory control and timely/location-specific arrival of materials and students)
- Monitored for best academic practices and fostered important inter-departmental relationships; regular data visualization and performance report presentation to department heads
- Implemented an ERP install (greatly accelerated the service portion of our supply chain)
- Operated with creativity ambidextrousness (handled large and complex inter-departmental projects under strict time constraints; kept team composed and focused during periods of uncertainty)
Environment: Microsoft Excel, Word, PowerPoint, Project Management, Data analysis, Decision making
Accomplishments: Implemented the department’s ERP (phpbb – similar to SAP communication and file sharing modules)
YiHe Language Academy, China
Jan 2010 – July 2012
Operations Manager – Education
- Contributed problem solving and leadership skills to a team that built a startup test-prep academy from the ground up
- Analyzed and visualized data and built strategy for all academic, marketing and logistical operations
- Managed three departments: teaching (4 teachers from US/China), content development (2 people), and operations (1 person)
- Oversaw a budget of $50,000 USD/year; forecasted talent demand and aligned this with growth
- Onboarded customers through print and digital advertising, lesson demoing, and customer relationship cultivation
Environment: Microsoft Excel, Word, PowerPoint, QuickBooks, Project Management, Reporting, Data analysis and visualization, Customer onboarding and sales presentation skills
Accomplishments: A startup project – grew the business from the ground up
Shanghai Songhai Industrial Trading, China
Aug 2008 – Dec 2009
Procurement Lead – Manufacturing and distribution
- Forecasted, directed, visualized, and evaluated the purchasing activities of an establishment (ongoing and regular communication with downstream sales teams to control for demand amplification)
- Developed China-based supply chains for retailers in Singapore and Taiwan (sourced through Alibaba, made-in-china.com)
- Matched suppliers to clients and managed inventory (ERP: SAP Business Suite; daily Excel use; PO generation/analyzing; in-person visits; RFPs and RFQs)
- Made important decisions, analyzed data and forecasted demand (mostly communication dependent, but also through Excel EOQ calculations and linear regression models)
- Negotiated terms and produced Incoterm-specific quotations, samples and purchase orders
- Developed purchasing policies and procedures and controlled purchasing department budget ($40,000USD/year; mostly as TT cash transfers)
- Scouting of vendors of materials, equipment and supplies; initial and ongoing purchase contract negotiation; forecasting long term viability of suppliers
- Evaluated cost and quality of goods or services (regular factory visits)
- Participated in the development of specifications for equipment, products or substitute materials (OEM)
- Reviewed and processed claims against suppliers; contract review
Environment: SAP Business Suite, advanced Microsoft Excel usage (querying/visualizing data through Pivot Tables), Word, PowerPoint, Client relationships, Sales and outreach, Website development (HTML)
Accomplishments: Entrusted with inventory forecasting and management for legacy accounts; successfully procured new value chains
Educational Background
| Master of Science –Operations and Supply Chain Management | University of Liverpool, UK (2021)Key Courses: Business Management, Lean Thinking, Strategic Operations Management, Strategic Purchasing, Strategic Inventory Management, Supply Chain Operations Management, Enterprise Management Systems |
| Bachelor of Arts Degree – History | Carleton University, Ottawa, Canada (2004) |
| CPIM Certificate (In progress) | ASCM (Association for Supply Chain Management) |
| Professional Sequence in International Business | University of California, Berkeley (2009)Key courses: International Business Management, International Finance, Global Marketing, Communicating Across Cultures |
| Canadian Securities Course | Canadian Securities Institute (2004) |
| Professional Development | CELTA Certified Trainer (2017)AWS Machine Learning Online Experience (2019)SAP Ariba Start Sourcing (2020)Excel Supply Chain Analysis: Solving Inventory Problems (2022) |
Skills and Attributes
| Project Management | SAP products, LMS (Learning Management System), SCRUM Fundamentals Certified, Six Sigma Yellow Belt Certified, zero defects, Microsoft Teams |
| Procurement Tools and Expertise | EDI, SAP and Oracle ERP platforms, Microsoft Dynamics, Tableau visualization and data presentation using PowerPoint, Incoterm and international import/export logistics using 3PLs, receiving goods and storage, procurement life cycle |
| Forecasting, Data Visualization and Communications Competencies | Analyzing and presenting key data trends (advanced Excel and PowerPoint expertise), Identifying KPIs and metric development, Managing key stakeholder relationships (i.e. ongoing communication upkeep in support of forecasting), Mathematical forecasting abilities (EOQ and ROP calculations and linear regression models), CRM literacy (Microsoft Dynamics and QuickBooks), Video scripting, production and publishing (250,000+ YouTube subscribers: IELTS Ryan), Website optimization, Writing for the web and electronic media, Google Webmaster, Social media, Web analytics (Google Analytics, SimilarWeb, Ahrefs, Keyword planner, KissMetrics, Open Site Explorer – using these metrics to support forecasting), WordPress (WooCommerce), MailChimp and newsletter generation, Community management (phpbb and other communication platforms), User experience design (UXD) principles, Search Engine Optimization (SEO) principles |
| ERP/MRP Expertise | SAP Business Suite, SAP Ariba, LMS (Learning Management System – service supply chain ERP), ZOHO, Microsoft Excel (X-Lookups, pivot tables), SalesForce |
| Marketing, Digital Media and Sales Knowledge | Marketing analytics, Marketing project management, Keyword analysis, research, organization and SEO (Search Engine Optimization), Product launches, Messaging and value propositions, Mobile Marketing, New Customer Acquisition, Outbound Marketing, Customer Retention, Content Marketing, Digital Marketing (Google Adwords, Facebook Ads – 250,000+ ‘likes’: IELTS Ryan), Email marketing and lead generation and nurturing (11,000+ email subscribers: ieltsielts.com) |
| Language Skills | English, French (basic proficiency), Mandarin (conversational proficiency) |
| Office Tools | Microsoft Office Suite; Microsoft Office 365: Microsoft Excel (Advanced level proficiency), Microsoft Dynamics, Microsoft Teams, Microsoft SharePoint, Microsoft Word, Microsoft PowerPoint, Microsoft Outlook, Microsoft Internet Explorer |
| Memberships and Associations | CSCMP Member, Council for Six Sigma Certification (Lean Six Sigma Yellow Belt), The Ottawa Network member |
| Awards and Recognition | Education management excellence, 2017Outstanding performance in an education management role, 2018 |