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, ARBBA - Logistics & Supply Chain
University of Arkansas
Fayetteville, ARSkills
- 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