James Pritchard
Quarry Bank,West Midlands
Summary
A highly accomplished professional, I hold a First-Class BSc (Hons) in Business Finance from the University of Wales, and CIPS Level 5 Advanced Diploma in Procurement & Supply. With over a decade of experience across automotive, manufacturing, engineering, and mobility sectors, I have progressed through roles spanning Procurement, Supply Chain and Planning. Currently serving as an External Test Facility Planner at JLR, I manage ~£50 million of external testing expenditure across battery, electric drive unit (EDU), and internal combustion engine (ICE) programmes, delivering significant cost savings through strategic sourcing, supplier selection, and contract management. Previous achievements include negotiating a 5-year, £28 million engineering services contract with £4 million savings at JLR, building and leading procurement teams, implementing KPI and MRP systems, improving stock fulfilment rates from 42% to 83%, and delivering substantial logistics and manufacturing cost reductions. My expertise encompasses supplier management, contract negotiation, budget control, strategic sourcing, inventory management, MRP systems (SAP, QAD, and Sage), and cross-functional stakeholder engagement, supported by strong leadership experience managing multi-site procurement, logistics, and warehouse operations.
Overview
10
10
years of post-secondary education
14
14
years of professional experience
Work history
External Test Facility Planner
JLR (Jaguar Land Rover)
2024.08 - Current
- Responsible for all external testing across Powertrain, key categories being battery, EDU (electric drive unit) and ICE (internal combustion engine)
- Supporting with sourcing decisions based on understanding of cost breakdown and technical capabilities of supplier
- Consideration of overall budget position for category (~£50 million total) and the impact that each testing requirement has on that
- Monitoring of supplier budget position across each test and control of scope changes
- Negotiation of larger framework contracts, where applicable
- Key project was consolidation of a wide range of EDU test requirements within an annual forecast into a block booking supplier agreement to leverage negotiating power and improve efficiency, resulting in a saving of ~£500k against ~£3mil spend
Strategic Buyer
Handicare Stairlifts UK
2024.04 - 2024.08
- Responsibility for direct Procurement, with key areas including raw materials, fabricated assemblies and electrical components
- Responsibility for indirect Procurement, with key areas including vehicle fleet, IT services and utilities
Category Buyer – Engineering Services, 12-month FTC
JLR (Jaguar Land Rover)
2023.05 - 2024.04
- Responsible for two categories within Indirect Procurement; Powertrain and GTFP (Global Testing & Facilities Planning), totalling an annual spend of ~£80million
- Engaging with stakeholders and suppliers to understand and execute RFQ’s through to contract
- Negotiation of various contract terms including price, deliverables and terms of service
- Sourcing of potential new suppliers to support existing and new demand requirements
- Supporting on cost-saving exercises, achieved savings of 8% across FY
- Key project; negotiation of a £28mil contract across 5-year period with a saving of £4mil across the contract
Powertrain Buyer
Norton Motorcycles
2022.05 - 2023.05
- Sourcing a range of key Powertrain components for Motorcycle manufacture such as radiators, oil coolers, castings & exhaust systems
- Supporting the integration of legacy suppliers into the newly formed TVS supplier base
- Sourcing & onboarding of new long-term suppliers to meet new Quality and Supply directives such as PPAP documentation
- Working with various departments such as Engineering & Quality to develop current parts and identify VAVE opportunities
- Supporting implementation of SAP system and working with other departments towards developing a fully integrated MRP system with Manufacturing sub-assemblies
Purchasing Manager
Ability Matters Group
2021.04 - 2022.05
- Responsible for spend across 2 UK locations & 2 European locations, plus providing support & experience to an additional 4 UK manufacturing locations
- Creation of a new Central Purchasing team structure, including transferring 1 existing employee from the Customer Services team and recruitment of 2 new Buyers
- Responsible for 4 direct reports plus 6 indirect reports
- Implementation of KPI’s – to measure and create action plans for internal team performance & external supplier performance
- Implementation of a new MRP process using a standardised safety stock calculation to ensure material availability in central warehouses (1 in UK & 1 in Holland) – sales order fulfilment rates from stock increased from 42% to 83% in less than 12 months
- Introduction of Approved Supplier List to provide visibility of supply base and enable review of key terms such as payment terms, Incoterms & lead-times
- Main cost saving identified – £35k p.a. saving from switching from air freight to sea freight for a supplier based in South Korea by adjusting safety stock calculation and adding consignment stock at the supplier-side
Buyer, Senior Buyer, Supply Chain & Logistics Manager
Sunrise Medical Ltd.
2017.02 - 2021.04
- Responsibility for various functions within the UK site – Purchasing, Logistics & Warehousing
- Responsible for managing 8 direct reports plus 24 indirect reports
- Control of inventory, including ITO, stock transfers between intercompany sites & off-site storage, and managing deliveries of container shipments from UK docks
- Implementation of New Product Introductions within UK Operations
- UK supplier audit schedule creation and implementation
- Assisting with implementation of Kaizen projects including production kitting, barcoding & build-to-stock
- Coordination with other Sunrise sites to ensure UK Ops alignment with EU Ops
- SIOP coordinator for UK site
Sales Administrator
Olympus Global
2012.10 - 2017.01
- Dealing with a range of customers across the Engineering industry, primary responsibility was to ensure that goods were procured on time to ensure customer order fulfilment
- Maintaining relationships with current suppliers, whilst investigating and developing potential new sources, both in the UK and internationally (mainly in China & Taiwan)
Education
BSc - Econ Business Finance
University of Wales, Aberystwyth
2008.01 - 2011.01
3 A-Levels - Business Studies, Maths & Psychology
Old Swinford Hospital Sixth Form
2006.01 - 2008.01
Qualified to Level 5 - Advanced Diploma - Procurement & Supply
Chamber Business Training, CIPS
2014.01 - 2019.01
Skills
- Competent use of IT including Microsoft Office (Word, Excel, PowerPoint) & Microsoft Outlook
- Knowledge and experience of various MRP systems including QAD, SAP & SAGE
Personal Information
Date of birth: 29-03-1990
References
Available upon request.
Interests
Outside of work, I have 2 young daughters who keep me busy., I enjoy a variety of sports, mainly watching rather than playing now, such as football, Rugby Union & Tennis., I also enjoy film & TV, and reading a range of books and articles.
Timeline
External Test Facility Planner
JLR (Jaguar Land Rover)
2024.08 - Current
Strategic Buyer
Handicare Stairlifts UK
2024.04 - 2024.08
Category Buyer – Engineering Services, 12-month FTC
JLR (Jaguar Land Rover)
2023.05 - 2024.04
Powertrain Buyer
Norton Motorcycles
2022.05 - 2023.05
Purchasing Manager
Ability Matters Group
2021.04 - 2022.05
Buyer, Senior Buyer, Supply Chain & Logistics Manager
Sunrise Medical Ltd.
2017.02 - 2021.04
Qualified to Level 5 - Advanced Diploma - Procurement & Supply
Chamber Business Training, CIPS
2014.01 - 2019.01
Sales Administrator
Olympus Global
2012.10 - 2017.01
BSc - Econ Business Finance
University of Wales, Aberystwyth
2008.01 - 2011.01
3 A-Levels - Business Studies, Maths & Psychology
Old Swinford Hospital Sixth Form
2006.01 - 2008.01