Summary
Overview
Work History
Education
Skills
Websites
Certification
Strategic Sourcing And Procurement Highlights
Tools And Platforms
Timeline
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John Thrower

Bentonville

Summary

Dynamic supply chain leader with a proven track record at Walmart, driving $1.3B procurement automation and achieving 20% cost reductions. Expert in global procurement strategy and stakeholder engagement, delivering significant savings and operational excellence through competitive bidding and cross-functional collaboration. Recognized for enhancing supplier performance and optimizing logistics operations.

Overview

27
27
years of professional experience
1
1
Certification

Work History

CONSULTANT

Thrower Supplier Consulting Services
Bentonville
01.2021 - Current
  • Led sourcing and procurement initiatives across professional services, operations logistics, and materials, supporting small and mid-sized organizations
  • Partnered with business stakeholders to define requirements, align sourcing strategies, and deliver cost-effective solutions.
  • Executed competitive bidding, supplier negotiations, and contract reviews resulting in 10-15% cost reductions and 500K+ in annual savings.
  • Streamlined supplier onboarding, delivery schedules, and service execution, improving timelines by 11 weeks and reducing carrying costs by 28%

SENIOR PRINCIPAL, Supply Chain (Government Cutbacks)

R2S
Bentonville
05.2024 - 04.2025
  • Led sourcing and procurement activities across multiple indirect spending categories supporting operations, services, and technology.
  • Executed competitive sourcing events and contract negotiations, delivering $150M in annual cost savings
  • Partnered closely with Legal and Finance to review negotiate, and manage commercial contracts
  • Established supplier governance, performance metrics, and reporting cadence to track savings compliance, and service levels
  • Managed multiple sourcing initiatives simultaneously while maintaining operational discipline and stakeholder alignment

SR MANAGER, Supply Chain Procurement (Corporate Layoffs)

Walmart
Bentonville
04.2023 - 05.2024
  • Procurement Automation: Oversaw $1.3B procurement portfolio and $748M automation strategy, reducing costs by 20% annually and increasing operational efficiency.
  • Logistics Transition: Directed 1P logistics transition, centralizing grocery import operations, eliminating drainage fees, and saving $75M in port logistics while strengthening control.
  • Cross-Functional Alignment: Partnered with Finance, Marketing, and Supply Chain leaders, improving supplier quality by 10% annually and increasing stakeholder satisfaction by 96%.
  • Led supplier operational escalations, coordinating engineering, quality, and program teams to resolve root-cause issues impacting production readiness and on-time delivery.
  • Negotiated pricing, service levels, and commercial terms with suppliers to achieve favorable outcomes
  • Tracked and reported sourcing impact, supplier performance, and cost savings metrics
  • Partnered with engineering and quality teams to support process changes, supplier audits, and technical issue resolution at manufacturing sites.

SENIOR CATEGORY MANAGER(SKILLBRIDGE DOD)

Tyson Foods
Fayetteville
02.2022 - 04.2023
  • Category Portfolio & Diversity: Managed a $490M supplier portfolio and launched supplier diversity initiatives, increasing participation by 20% and enhancing vendor partnerships.
  • Liquidity & Supplier Terms: Negotiated supplier terms that improved corporate liquidity by $25M while providing suppliers with early-payment options at minimal fees.
  • Community Engagement: Advanced inclusive procurement practices that improved brand reputation and secured favorable contract terms valued at $4M in immediate savings.

SUPPLY CHAIN & PROCUREMENT LEADER

U.S. Army
Various Locations
01.1999 - 04.2023
  • Global Team Leadership: Directed 210+ personnel across international procurement and logistics operations, increasing mission readiness by 20%.
  • Military Infrastructure Contracts: Negotiated multimillion-dollar infrastructure contracts, avoiding $9M in recurring costs while ensuring mission-critical alignment.
  • Operational Readiness: Authored 12 SOPs to standardize procurement, improving compliance audit pass rates to 100% and enhancing operational readiness by 35%.
  • System Optimization Savings: Delivered $26M+ in savings through procurement system enhancements and automation.
  • Recognition & Awards: Honored with Presidential Coin (2021) and Logistics Manager of the Year (2018) for exemplary leadership and procurement excellence.
  • Led operational oversight of external and internal production/logistics units, ensuring readiness, compliance, and execution under high-risk conditions.
  • Conducted operational audits and enforced corrective actions across distributed production environments.

Education

MBA - Project Management

University of Arkansas
Fayetteville, AR

BBA - Logistics & Supply Chain

University of Arkansas
Fayetteville, AR

Skills

  • Global procurement strategy
  • Operational excellence
  • Stakeholder engagement
  • Supplier performance management
  • Cost savings tracking
  • Cross-functional collaboration
  • Lean Six Sigma methodology
  • Change management
  • Technology services
  • Competitive bidding processes
  • Logistics and final mile services
  • Workday financials expertise
  • SAP proficiency
  • Oracle knowledge
  • Ariba experience
  • Jira project management
  • Slack communication tools
  • Outlook email management
  • Zoom video conferencing
  • Microsoft Teams collaboration

Certification

  • Project Management Professional (PMP)
  • Six Sigma Master Black Belt
  • Continuous Improvement Manager/Management Professional (CIMP)
  • Certified Supply Chain Management Certification (CSCM)
  • Certified Purchasing Professional (CPP)
  • Master Logistician Certification (SOLE)

Strategic Sourcing And Procurement Highlights

  • Competitive bidding & supplier selection
  • Contract negotiations & commercial terms
  • Supplier performance management
  • Cost savings tracking & reporting

Tools And Platforms

  • Workday Financials
  • SAP
  • Oracle
  • Ariba
  • Jira
  • Slack
  • Outlook
  • Zoom
  • Microsoft Teams

Timeline

SENIOR PRINCIPAL, Supply Chain (Government Cutbacks)

R2S
05.2024 - 04.2025

SR MANAGER, Supply Chain Procurement (Corporate Layoffs)

Walmart
04.2023 - 05.2024

SENIOR CATEGORY MANAGER(SKILLBRIDGE DOD)

Tyson Foods
02.2022 - 04.2023

CONSULTANT

Thrower Supplier Consulting Services
01.2021 - Current

SUPPLY CHAIN & PROCUREMENT LEADER

U.S. Army
01.1999 - 04.2023

MBA - Project Management

University of Arkansas

BBA - Logistics & Supply Chain

University of Arkansas
John Thrower