Barbara Marra

Background

About Barbara Marra

Significant experience in product development and program management: from initial concept design to rollout. Adept at leading cross-functional teams, drafting/implementing rollout plans and leading successful product launches. Major Accomplishments: Strategy ­ - Developed a special order online program within Emser to grow sales in a profitable manner and avoid capital risks that would come inventory investment on fashion-forward and trend products with short life cycles. It would allow for expansion of color, material and add diversity into the product offerings- Managed product within Nexicore's electronics components division. Turned a margin-loss product category into a margin leader (30% improvement) by creating new sourcing approaches- Held lead role in strategic merchandising groups at Target. Developed new approaches to limiting underperforming inventory while supporting best selling apparel. Process Improvement - Analyzed cross-functional workflow with MoneyGram International’s department heads and suppliers to identify cost reduction opportunities and provide subject matter expertise. Two specific projects yielded $1.2 million in cost savings through procurement efficiencies and contract renegotiation- Led implementation of inventory plan for all Target locations (1550 locations). Vendor Management ­ Main point of contact for major MoneyGram International security platform RFP. Led pricing negotiations with RFP respondents which resulted in cost avoidances of $2.0 million and significant contract flexibilities- Negotiated in real-time with major Target vendors by adjusting sales forecasts and redeploy overseas purchase commitments. Led to a $6 million aversion of purchasing losses- Served as single point of contact for RFPs across multiple spend categories at MoneyGram International. Oversaw 16 specific RFPs for internal business groups and domestic and international vendors in 12 month period. Specialties- Project Leadership - Process Development - Procurement/Sourcing Experience - Strategic Vendor Partnership and Negotiation - Cross-Functional Efficiency Investigation - International & Domestic Vendor Management - Management of Large and Complex Projects - Results-Driven - Management of High-Visibility Request for Proposals Technical Skills- Major ERP Platforms: SAP/Oracle - Cognos BI Tools - Concur - Advanced Excel Analysis: Pivot tables/Vlookup - Access Database Queries