Operations Manager Resume
CATHERINE M. RAUSCH
Owen Street
Lafayette, Indiana
Strong combination of operations and business management skills.
Results-oriented, highly motivated professional with a strong track record of leadership in the highly competitive promotional products and advertising specialty industry. Dedicated, persuasive and convincing in personal approach and communication style. Effective communicator, proactive listener with polished presentation and interpersonal skills. Organized, detailed and prepared self-starter; demonstrates depth of knowledge to achieve and exceed company goals.
PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE
Temp Administrative Assistant/ Accounting Clerk
SSCI an Aptuit Company
West Lafayette, IN
June – August
Process corporate credit cards confirming that the each charge is legitimate and what the appropriate GL account the charge should be applied.
Taking care of the daily deposit including ACHs & wire transfers.
Working on special accounting projects (i.e. assisting with audit).
Confirming that we are compliant with FDA cGMP regarding the scientist’s lab books and the report sent to the client. This includes record copying, validation, audit trails, record retention,
Make sure that anyone entering the building has been signed in and is wearing the appropriate badge.
Re-writing the “white paper” for both the accounting position and the administrative assistant position.
Operations Manager
Agweb.com/ division of Farm Journal, Inc.
Lafayette, IN
Oct - May
Took on the temporary role of Agweb operations manager during the transitional period of their moving the day to day operations to Chicago. Brought on board after the site manager and operations managers had left to find permanent positions with other companies.
Support the VP of Sales and the National Sales Manager addressing client issues in a timely professional matter. Manage the day-to-day operations of the trafficking of site and email campaigns, troubleshooting and quality assurance.
The company was experiencing a bit of chaos due to the staff changes so I immediately started a process of implementing a project management system for monitoring and optimizing site and email campaign delivery to ensure that contracted revenue goals were meet.
I set up various systems including using Outlook reminders to confirm that we had all of the appropriate campaign images in place for their start date on Agweb.com. We set a similar follow up system for client emails that needed to be sent on a certain date to make sure that all proofs had been approved and the email was ready to go.
We had several large clients who were not happy with the way their internet campaigns had been handled in the past. I took on the responsibility to check into under delivery of prior campaigns and worked with the Agweb VP of sales to determine what the best course of action was to make the client happy.
Senior Operations Manager
Axis Promotions, Inc.
New York, New York
Oct - Feb
Integral operations team member responsible for building Axis from $M to $M “Top ” Ad Specialty (ASI) organization, headquartered in NYC with branch offices in White Plains, NY and West Newton, Massachusetts.
Trained and developed an autonomous team by implementing effective processes and procedures. One part of this was developing a series of forms that sales staff was expected to fill out so that back office the back office was aware that the sales staff was doing in their interactions with vendors. Another procedure that was implemented was to print out a series of reports so management was aware of the overall daily operations of the company.
Researched options for upgrading industry-specific software, presenting results to senior management. Continue to monitor selected software’s performance to Axis’ requirements.
Led Operations Team in the successful merger of Corporate Visions, a $M company, with Axis Promotions in . Coordinated all logistics associated with Axis’ integration of Corporate Visions’ back-office operations, including physical move to new office space at Axis.
Managed all administrative functions including client invoicing, cash receipts, payables and other basic office functions and inter-company financial transactions for Corporate Visions, which continued as a separate company.
Instituted new systems to streamline processing of order files for invoicing. Result: % of invoices were processed within four weeks, rather than two - six months, dramatically improving cash flow.
Assigned to recruit and hire key managerial positions within the company, researched the most efficient methods to accomplish this task. Result: Found the two best-qualified candidates through executive recruiters, rather than online sources.
Identified and resolved numerous accounts payable issues, including two-year old outstanding payables. Result: Improved Dunn and Bradstreet rating from to , eliminating the need for vendor prepayment based on poor payment history.
Director of Operations
Graphic Vinyl Products, Inc.
Newark, New Jersey
Aug - May
Responsible for overall business operations and management of staff for this manufacturer of promotional products for resale to corporate end users. Managed office staff of , four production managers with plant employees, as well as art department and outside sales representatives.
Joined Graphic Vinyl Products, Inc. at its inception, collaborating in building the business from $M to $M over years by ensuring excellent product quality and superior customer service.
Partnered with the President on numerous special projects including developing industry-specific custom databases integrating company order-tracking and inventory systems. Provided software consultant with detailed company overview and interpreted staff requirements, based on familiarity with customer-driven manufacturing business practices.
Promoted from entry-level, one-person office staff position, handling all client communications, order processing, samples, catalogs, invoicing, and collections up to operations management, reviewing all aspects of order through on-time delivery to client.
Reviewed procedures for improving quality control for products and imprinting; determined cost effective shippers for in-bound and out-bound shipments.
Assisted newly-hired multi-line sales representatives with client requests, reviewing assigned accounts with the National Sales Manager. Partnered with President and sales staff to coordinate special pricing for top accounts.
Assumed responsibility for preparing customer quotes for stock and custom products, based on strong knowledge of labor and material costs. Result: Provided % of customer quotes within two days of requests, improving customer satisfaction.
Authored comprehensive customer service manual providing accurate information on product, printing techniques, and shipping information. Result: Improved customer service by answering % of typical client questions. Assumed responsibility for production of -page annual merchandise catalog, capably managing all elements of the project to achieve deadlines. Result: Catalog was in customers’ hands and available for primary trade shows in January, improving customer satisfaction as well as earning additional profit based on increased catalog prices.
Order Expediter, Hit Sales, New York, New York
Sept - July
Liaison between customer service and production departments for fast-tracking orders through production to ensure on-time delivery to client.
EDUCATION/PROFESSIONAL TRAINING
Pursued (but did not complete) a Bachelor of Arts in Journalism from Long Island University, Brooklyn, New York.
Computer skills include Microsoft Word and Excel, PowerPoint, Microsoft Solomon, Great Plains, QuickBooks, Flexware, Filemaker, Adobe Illustrator and PhotoShop, and Quark.
