Derek K.

Conrad
135 Tupelo Drive
Greer, SC 29651
(864) 420-1357
dcf1dddc@westpost.net
OBJECTIVE
A Sales Management, Senior Buying or Procurement Management opportunity with a g
rowing and respected company which will challenge my unique experience and exper
tise in sales, procurement and contract negotiations, market trend analysis, dev
eloping and implementing cost saving inventory control strategies and building k
ey customer and vendor relationships.
PROFESSIONAL HISTORY
Universal Forest Products, April 2010 to present
Union City, Georgia
Senior Import Buyer (Europe, Asia)
Buyer of Import Commodity and Non-Commodity panels and steel products for a mult
i-billion dollar company. Responsible for sourcing and inventory management of
import panel and steel commodities for over 80 component plants in the U.S. Res
ponsibilities include contract negotiations with foreign vendors, inventory cont
rol, market forecasting, and market positions.
ProBuild East (formerly known as the Contractor Yard), August 2004 to February 2
010
Charlotte, North Carolina
Senior Buyer
Manager of Commodity Panels, Treated Lumber and SYP Lumber for a multibillion do
llar company. Responsible for Commodity Inventory Management for over 100 lumber
yards on the east coast. Contract negotiations with vendors. Responsible for m
arket calls and taking market positions. Control over $300MM in inventory annual
ly. Increased profitability on commodity panels from $5MM to $19.2 MM in one ye
ar. In 2009, outperformed the market standard on open market buys by 8% over a
six (6) month period, increasing profitability by more than $300,000 over the sa
me term. Supervisory experience includes managing Assistant Buyers, and trainin
g Commodity Buyers.
Wayne Dalton Corporation, August 2002 to August 2004
Mt. Hope, Ohio
Regional Sales Manager
Responsible for Strategic Sales Management of current and potential customers in
North Carolina, South Carolina and Eastern Georgia. Identify new market penetr
ation and solution selling to new and prospective dealers on Wayne Daltonas beha
lf.
Mason Forest Products, August 2000 to July 2001
Spartanburg, South Carolina
Industrial Sales Manager
Bought and traded industrial panels for this forest products company. Responsib
ilities included national new account development, product and pricing presentat
ions and contract negotiations. Supervised assistant, and one buyer. Also respo
nsible for customer service, logistics coordination and trade show presence. Ra
nked #1 in total gross profit and #2 in company-wide gross margin out of 10.
Builder Marts of America, February 1997 to August 2000
Greenville, South Carolina
Sales Manager Southeast (Forest Products)
Developed new accounts in the southeast. Bought and traded commodity lumber and
panels. Also responsible for market forecasts, developing sales goals for new
customers, procuring commodity items for new customers, maintaining customer and
vendor relations and establishing pricing for group. Exceeded annual sales quo
ta by over 80%; $10MM to over $18MM. Ranked 6th out of 25 trades in total sales
volume. Exceeded annual sales quota by over 60% from $4MM to $10 MM in a single
year.
Georgia Pacific, June 1994 to February 1997
Charlotte, NC
Inside Industrial Manager, Structured Panels Manager
Responsible for market strategy development and implementation for this Fortune
500 Building Materials Company. Solicited new customers for building materials
sales and maintained served and upgraded existing clients. Other positions incl
uded Product Manager for Procurement and trading structural panel commodities an
d Product Manager for Metal and Industrial Products. Grew metal product sales ov
er 65% from $1MM to $1.7MM in a single year.
EDUCATION
B.A. University of South Carolina, Columbia, South Carolina, 1993
BACKGROUND
A results focused buyer/manager with extensive expertise acquired within the bui
lding materials/forest products industry. An accomplished, energetic individual
adept in all aspects of procurement, market analysis, sales, marketing, quality
assurance, inventory control, logistics and problem resolution. A full range o
f skills in sales/marketing including negotiations, product introduction and pro
motions.
CORE COMPETENCIES
Solution Selling, Outside Sales Expertise, Customer Relations, Strategic Marketi
ng, Account Development, Materials Expertise, Commodity Purchasing, Forest Produ
cts Expertise, Procurement, Inventory Control, Building Material Expertise, Cont
ract Negotiation, Cold Calling, Market Analysis, Coaching/Mentoring, Team Buildi
ng, Cost Containment, Authoring/Writing, Public Speaking, Needs Identification,
Market Positioning, Logistics, Knowledge of Treated Lumber Chemicals, Technical
Lumber Specifications and Quality Issues, Knowledge of Freight Rates and Freigh
t Rate Negotiation, Knowledge of Computer Procurement Management and Purchase Or
der Tracking.
PERFORMANCE/RESULTS
Current gross annual purchases of $300MM as Forest Products Commodity Buyer for
Eastern Division. Results: Grew OSB Profit from $5MM to $19.2MM in one year whil
e increasing inventory turns from 6 cycles to 13 cycles in a year.
Negotiated Treated Programs for ProBuild East over the past five (5) years. Res
ults: Netted the company over $600,000 in rebates annually, and the prices negot
iated were much lower than open market pricing.
Educated a key customer on the benefits of using a more cost effective alternati
ve lumber product, thereby substantially reducing the customeras cost of finishe
d product. Sold the customer over 50% of their total raw material needs on a fl
at fee basis with an incentive clause that they be awarded a rebate of 1% on mat
erial purchases in excess of 50%. Results: Produced sales in excess of $3.8MM y
ielding a profit of $125K and captured 80% of the customer raw materials usage.

Created and disseminated a weekly newsletter as a medium for advising over 1000
existing and prospective customers of new developments in the forest products in
dustry. Results: This marketing technique helped apprise customers of product a
vailability and curtailment thereby helping them to cost effectively control and
manage their inventories.
Purchased $3,000,000 worth of lumber products in one week in anticipation of a m
arket turn and projected anticipated needs of the yards and truss plants under m
y management. Results: Increased Company profits 35% on a market call in a two
month period.
Collaborated with purchasing and sales managers as an appointed member of a vend
ing advisory board established to strategize on key issues to improve market pen
etration on lumber products. Convinced vendors to develop a unique company logo
for competitive product differentiation, install a railhead to facilitate easie
r access to selected markets, and to remarket off-grade materials to other indus
tries. Results: Vendorsa markets grew 30% in one year yielding over $115MM in n
ew sales.
Negotiated a $30MM major contract with treated lumber vendors that increased ove
rall profit margins for the company by 15%. Results: Increased annual rebates b
y 5% on $30MM and lowered annual costs by 10%.
Planned, developed and implemented a strategic distribution center within the So
utheastern United States. Orchestrated all details of the new program from nego
tiating storage and transportation rates to selling key customers. Results: The
new distribution center achieved a ajust in timea record of deliveries within 24
hours of order and produced over $150,000 gross profit within the first nine mo
nths of implementation.
Identified and cultivated new market segment as Metal Products Manager within th
e building materials industry. Results: $350K in new medal product sales for di
stribution in one year.