Fred Kirsch

Background

About Fred Kirsch

An innovative supply chain and manufacturing, leader with extensive global experience driving process and profit improvement. Blend engineering expertise with international operational leadership to drive continuous improvements throughout the product development lifecycle and supply chain. Known for building high performance teams, project management, establishing cultures of excellence and collaboration, and cultivating strong supplier relationships and long-lasting partnerships. I'm currently semi-retired, but open to working on projects that best utilize my skills. I enjoy operations, but really enjoy supply-chain; finding, developing and maintaining a long-term supplier partnerships. High Impact Results • Developed extensive supply chain relationships in the US, China, Vietnam, Malaysia, Hong Kong, France and South Korea. • Setup fully functional production team in Shenzhen China to handle production & test activities. • Developed partnerships with Contract Manufacturers. • Increased new product development from 5 - 6 projects to 11 - 12 projects annually. • Improved margins 5% annually, 7 straight years; developed same-day-delivery on 95% of product line. • Built engineering development team in US, improving quality, lowering defect rate from 4-5% to 0.2%. • Worked with engineering teams in France, China and Vietnam • Incorporated Kanban, JIT and lean concepts, reducing on-hand inventory from 33% to 11.7% of sales. • Achieved ISO9001, ISO17025 and ISO14001 • Key member of the core development team that implemented NetSuite, a cloud-based ERP system Core Competencies • International Operations • Multi-Plant Operations • Change Management • Supplier Partnerships • Operational Excellence • Supply Chain • Continuous Improvement • Quality & Safety • Product Development • P&L Accountability • Strategic Planning • Training & Leadership