Jim Chynoweth

Contract consultant for Mainstream Engineering, parent company of Rivian Automotive. Mainstream Engineering is a manufacturer of military and commercial electronic thermal management systems and performs R&D research for most agencies of the U.S. government and many government prime contractors.

Directed all startup supply chain processes and operations for the launch of the Rivian R1 Coupe including sourcing and contract management. Reported directly to the CEO of Rivian and liaised all purchasing initiatives between purchasing, finance, engineering, and our manufacturing teams. Responsible for sourcing three vehicle variants including composite body panels, closures, aluminum structure, interior cockpit, powertrain and HVAC, etc. Responsible for reporting out to our executive team on sourcing and budget status on a weekly basis. Generated and implemented all startup purchasing processes and procedures for our company. Responsible to source and manage 100% of the R1 Coupe components to meet our SOP date of January 2015. Authored various federal funding DOE grant and loan applications for alternative vehicles. Responsible for the interface on 60+ suppliers including setting up the master supply agreements and supporting the change management process. Facilitated on-site manufacturing, quality, and logistics audits of our global supply base utilizing the APQP process and Six-Sigma methodologies.

Responsible for global procurement of direct production, prototype components and tooling. (i.e. stampings and assemblies, castings, machining, BIW structures, closures, plastic trim components, form tooling, VEC technology, fully integrated assembly tooling, check fixtures/gages, & engineering services. Advanced purchasing/program management initiatives for multi-plant BIW production launch expediting tool buy-off and reduced start up costs. Lead corporate multi-plant machining auction, $4M annual machining allocation resulting in $500K annual cost savings and 25% supplier reduction. Developed supply chain metrics for contract administration negotiating supply agreements that require improvements in suppliers’ cost, delivery, quality, order lead time, payment cycles, technology, and/ or risk mitigation. Managed supplier VAVE program promoting continuous improvement through enhanced efficiencies/processes, PPM, value add driving cost reductions.

Responsible for managing assigned commodities and effective interface to Sr. Commodity Buyer and other client departments. Responsible for the procurement of steel and stamped parts according to engineering specifications and established purchasing guidelines. Develop strategies and lead project plans focused on reducing material cost, reducing freight cost, improving supplier quality, and reduced lead-times. Reconcile supplier pricing invoicing, freight and service parts discrepancies.

As a direct report to the CEO, led global procurement responsibilities for direct and indirect commodities for Vehicle Systems North America, $300M annual spend. MVSNA consisted of multiple stamping, e-coat and BIW assembly facilities for class 8 trucks and niche vehicle. Responsible for staff training, coaching, and adherence to all corporate purchasing policies, ethics and procedures. Championed the first escalation point for multi-plant commodity based procurement teams resulting in targeted cost savings and 30% supplier consolidation. Facilitated MVS Steel Procurement Team. ($100M annual spend, $3.5M annual cost savings). Create and delegate cost reduction targets across commodity based teams for raw material, processed steel, tooling, freight, facilities, material handling, and MRO. Approved all corporate contracts/lease agreements > $50K. Led all procurement initiatives for the Ford GT Super Car Launch Team for BIW from concept design, prototype through production. Managed Ford GT spare parts inventory and service requirements for Ford Parts and Service Division.

Responsibilities include RFQ, vendor selection, contract administration and evaluating supplier quotes for procurement of all prototype/production parts and tooling. Assure all production launch and production standards are maintained to exceed our customer’s expectations. Responsible for training, coaching, discipline & performance management activities. Provide cross-functional support to Engineering, Sales, Cost Estimating and Production, while providing customer support and coordination of incoming goods and services.