PRODUCT PLANNER/PRODUCT MANAGER
Building brand value and sustainable revenue opportunity through innovative and focused product planning & development, results-driven team leadership, and sales support.
• Strategic product planner/product manager with proven talents in leading new-product planning and development throughout cross-functional groups, managing multiple priorities to ensure on-time and on-budget adherence to product plans and production lifecycle benchmarks.
• Communicating and coordinating efforts throughout engineering, quality assurance, marketing, sales tracking, and customer service to ensure products satisfy customer needs, expand brand value, and drive profitable growth.
• Leveraging key insight gained from extensive and ongoing analysis to identify customer demand and market trends, guide vision, quantify costs and feasibility, guide pricing strategies, and forecast company profitability.
• Optimizing return on sales efforts and marketing initiatives by providing detailed product and sales training, guiding product launch strategies, creating text for print and web-based marketing materials, tracking consumer response, and delivering top-level sales presentations as a product and market expert.
• Establishing rapport and managing relationships throughout all levels of clients and colleagues, motivated by company success and client satisfaction.
KEY AREAS OF EXPERTISE
- Strategic Business & Product Planning
-New Product Development & Launch
-Product Design & Engineering
-Product & Project Management
-Accessory Planning & Development
-Quality Assurance & Competitive Testing
-Standard Operating Procedures (SOP)
-System Development & Process Improvement
-Market Research & Analysis
-Market Response Tracking & Evaluation
- Customer Data Management & Reporting
- Customer Needs Analysis
-Customized Client Services & Solutions
- Relationship Management
- Cross-Departmental Coordination & Communication
-Hands-on Team Leadership
PROFESSIONAL HISTORY
YAMAHA GOLF-CAR COMPANY, NEWNAN, GA 2007-PRESENT
PRODUCT PLANNING MANAGER
Led product planning initiatives for the Golf Car division including management of the Specialty Vehicles design and fabrication teams and an annual operating budget of $250k. Analyzed market data, reports, and potential to predict future trends and create big-picture strategy for new-product planning. Consulted with the engineering team on standard vehicle design and fabrication, cost analysis, feasibility, and customer requests and collaborated with the purchasing department to assess and control costs. Leveraged information from multiple market analyses, statistics, and reports to clearly communicate potential product value, forecast sales, define objectives, and garner executive approval for new-product plans.
Supported sales and marketing efforts by delivering product knowledge and key selling points as identified by competitive testing and market feedback. Provided technical information and selling features to guide website content including web-based surveys to capture consumer insight and drive focused product development.
-Increased the golf car model line up from 12 to 24 models by constructing and administering the 5-year product roadmap generating an additional $3M annual gross profit.
-Increased personal transportation vehicle (PTV) sales 60% and gas PTV market share 15% as a result of creating and managing the product plan for the industry’s first fuel-injection capabilities on golf cars.
-Facilitated $6M in new annual revenue, increased specialty vehicle sales, and strengthened competitive positioning by leading the product design, development, and launch of four new specialty vehicles.
-Defended market share and secured approximately $8M in first-year sales after the creation of a battery configuration that held six 8-volt batteries and extended vehicle run-time and battery lifecycle. Further developed battery configuration to house eight 6-volt batteries and created a plan for a multi-battery floor that can accept multiple configurations of a variety of batteries.
-Constructed and managed 4 international pricing books to serve global sales channels and guided future model pricing based upon biannual profitability analysis, brand strategy, and competitor trends.
-Served on a team of 4 that created and launched the quality management system for specialty vehicle production. The system includes the development and implementation of standard operating procedures and is internally audited by Yamaha’s headquarters in Japan under a process similar to ISO 9001.
KOMATSU FORKLIFT, U.S.A., INC., COVINGTON, GA 2005-2007
SALES/MARKETING ENGINEER
Led the development of customized product features as guided by customer business requirements and ongoing market research. Analyzed competitive pricing, industry trends, and consumer response to ensure up-to-date knowledge and leadership in product development. Identified client needs and collaborated with the engineering team to assess costs vs. benefits, determine effective solutions, calculate pricing, forecast profitability, and generate proposals and quotes. Established direction for standard upgrade options based upon current market insight. Coordinated and attended trade shows as a product expert. Support sales and marketing teams by providing product training, developing marketing strategies, and authoring literature to drive product launch initiatives.
-Enhanced the quality and effectiveness of sales presentations by providing sales and competitive analysis to identify and communicate product advantages ...
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