Our Managing Director Jay Kent has more than 25 years of experience in growth and turn-around companies with deep expertise in the supply chain, global/domestic transportation, operations, omnichannel, retail, B2B, 3rd party logistics, vendor management, manufacturing, contract sales, industrial engineering, inventory planning/allocation, technology deployment, wholesale and C-Suite executive leadership for medium to Fortune 150 companies.
Before SLB Performance, Jay was the Chief Supply Chain Officer for General Nutrition Centers (GNC) responsible for the end-to-end supply chain from seed to shelf for over 9,100 stores worldwide in over 50 countries, omnichannel fulfillment, manufacturing, ocean invoice auditing, wholesale, and contract sales business. Jay was responsible for the strategy/design and supply chain transformation for several companies in his career. Jay held senior executive leadership positions for Kohl’s Department Stores, Pet Valu and Pet Supermarket, Linens N Things, Macy’s, Toys R Us, and Tiger Direct.
Relevant Experience
- Designed and led holistic Supply Chain transformation for a global specialty retailer with over 9100 stores, wholesale, manufacturing, and omnichannel divisions
- Developed and led a strategy to reduce logistics costs as a percent of sales by 32% for a $16 billion nationwide retailer
- Developed and led a holistic expense reduction strategy that resulted in a $27 million reduction per year savings while reducing cycle time to customers by 40%
- Led supply chain transformation to reduce inventory levels by 20% in a 12-month timeframe
- Led a cross-functional team that reduced the cycle time by 25% for a large growing retailer with sales over $16 billion
- Designed the strategy and implemented the technology/systems to improve the network productivity by over 120% in 11 nationwide distribution centers
- Re-engineered processes and accountability to improve manufacturing on-time performance by 70% for 30 pharmaceutical and nutraceutical customers
- Led cross-functional groups in the design and implementation of a formalized Open to Buy (OTB) process to improve accountability and profitability for multiple retailers
Jay’s Expertise Covers
- C-Suite leadership, supply chain, omnichannel, retail, transportation, operations, vendor management, manufacturing, inventory management, industrial engineering, labor management, cost reductions, and customer service improvements.
Conferences Spoke At
- Home Delivery World 2024, Chaired the Parcel Track
- National Parcel Forum 2023
- Home Delivery World 2023, Chaired the Parcel Track
- Self 23
- National Parcel Forum, 2022
- National Parcel Forum, 2021
- University of Pittsburgh Supply Chain Symposium 2019, 2017
- Council of Supply Chain Management Professionals (CSCMP), 2018
- National Parcel Forum, 2018
- University of Pittsburgh Supply Chain International MBA students, 2018
- Retail Value Chain Federation, September 2017
- Internet Retail Conference Exhibition, June 2017
- Ecommerce Operations Summit, March 2017
- Retail Industries Leaders Association, Various occasions