Christian Rech

In my current role, I drive procurement of IT services, hardware, and software for Volkswagen Region Americas, which includes US, Argentina, Brazil, Canada, Mexico, and South Africa. I supervise an Assistant Manager and team of 9 Purchasing Agents. I also oversee purchasing negotiations for logistic services, general and technical services, travel, all automotive fluids and lubricants, and digitalization. Key Contributions: • Reduced inbound transportation costs 20% by developing new 4-supplier strategy to replace outdated sole-supplier contract for land transportation from Canada, US, and Mexico to Chattanooga plant. • Implemented more lean purchasing process for sourcing of new digital technologies for future vehicles; streamlined and simplified approval process to enable better working relationships with Silicon Valley start-up enterprises. • Shaved 15% off air travel expenses by negotiating new 2-partner strategy for all travel from US to domestic and international destinations; new strategy replaced legacy single-source contract and enabled better opportunity for optimal negotiations. • Played vital role in sourcing services to administer diesel recall campaign involving 500,000+ recalled vehicles; saved 30% off contract, and successfully delivered project within tight 6-week constraint.

During this timeframe, I was assigned to head-up purchasing function for Volkswagen do Brazil in São Paulo, Brazil. I led a team of 12 Purchasing Agents in procuring requisite supplies for IT, travel, industrial maintenance, automotive fluids, and lubricants. Key Contributions: • Supported R&D team in creating business case for development of more robust engine oil for use in countries where gasoline quality was unregulated, causing engine damage; developed, tested, and successfully implemented new engine oil in < 1 year. • Served as liaison between Purchasing business unit in Brazil and Purchasing business unit at VW Headquarters in Germany for marketing and logistics related matters.

In this position, I led a 7-member team of Purchasing Agents, charged with overseeing all VW of America IT and general services needs. I managed factory logistics services, and oversaw procurement across US, Argentina, Brazil, Canada, Mexico, and South Africa. Key Contributions: • Relocated to Chattanooga in 2008 to play vital role in establishing new US plant in Tennessee; charged with hiring and building new buying team, sourcing all initial IT and services for new plant, and negotiating logistics contracts. • Played key role in creating and establishing IT Region Americas Purchasing function after gedas was sold to Deutsche Telekom Group; collaborated with regional office to build bid packages for Region Americas with AMS, OPS, HD & CS, Mobil phone services, and IT security, which saved 40% in overhead expenses.

At this time, I performed as Senior Buyer across multiple areas of general purchasing: IT, Marketing, and Services. I evaluated commercial bids, selected vendors, and negotiated terms and pricing. Key Contributions: • Served as primary Buyer for all move-related services and equipment when Volkswagen US Headquarters relocated from Michigan to Virginia in 2006. • Analyzed supply base and their competition regarding pricing, capacity, and quality to drive purchasing optimization. • Established sound supplier base through diligent monitoring of supplier performance.

During my early career, I served in a series of roles with gedas USA, which was a former subsidiary of Volkswagen: • Buyer IT, gedas USA, Inc., Rochester Hills, MI, 2005-2006 - Provided purchasing oversight for all IT needs. • Project Management Support, gedas USA, Inc., Berlin, Germany, January-June 2005 - Oversaw project software BBP creation while on assignment in Berlin, Germany. • Project Controller, gedas USA, Inc., Rochester Hills, MI, August-December 2004 - Managed IT project budgets for external clients.