Warren James
Lambton
Summary
Ambitious and hardworking professional with a strong logistical background and proven ability to deliver results under pressure. Demonstrates hands-on management style, leading by example to foster team success. Possesses strong analytical skills and business acumen, enabling decisive and flexible decision-making for long-term growth strategies. Experienced in production planning and customer-centric approaches, collaborating across departments to achieve organizational goals.
Overview
2
2
Languages
29
29
years of professional experience
Work History
Head of Operational Sales
Chet Chemicals (Pty)Ltd & MOS CP&S
04.2020 - Current
- Oversaw national key accounts across FMCG retailers and brands, ensuring alignment with sales objectives.
- Supervised sales agent performance, aligning cycles, briefs, and strategic plans to enhance account execution.
- Built customer plans and strategies to grow account performance each cycle.
- Managed trade spend with pay-for-performance controls, optimising budget allocation and reporting cycles.
- Negotiated trading terms and pricing to keep agreements commercially viable.
- Coordinated third-party manufacturing account delivery for Tiger Brands, SCJ, Adcock, Unilever.
- Tracked category market share using numeric and weighted distribution insights.
- Planned product launches, listings, activations, and forecasted category demand.
- Designed, implemented, and executed promotional strategies across trading periods.
- Managed customer service levels across availability and receipt processing daily.
National Key Accounts Manager
Mars Consumer Products
05.2016 - 03.2020
- Cultivated strong relationships with national key accounts including Spar, Woolworths, and Clicks to enhance collaboration.
- Negotiated trading terms and pricing to maintain portfolio profitability.
- Developed comprehensive product launch plans that included detailed listings, activations, and demand forecasts.
- Managed customer service levels to optimise internal availability and ensure accurate receipt management.
- Oversaw governance and performance outcomes of third-party merchandising and sales service providers.
National Key Accounts Management
Incolabs (Pty)Ltd
01.2016 - 04.2016
- Managed national portfolio of key accounts, ensuring alignment with business objectives.
- Key Account Management
- FMCG Accounts – PnP National
- Trading terms and pricing negotiations
- Customer Service Level Management
- Designed, implemented, and executed market share and promotional strategies to enhance market presence.
- 3rd Party Merchandising and sales service provider management
- Preparation and management of Sales budgets and targets
- Conducted sales forecasting to optimise planning and align resources effectively.
- New Business development
- Product Launches, Listings, Activations, Forecasts
- Developed co-op grids for collaborative marketing efforts.
- Market research and new product development
- Managed distribution channels.
- Preparation of cost and advertising spend budgets.
- Quarterly Product review
- Business unit management
- Performance Review
Head of Sales
Kees Beyers Chocolates cc
01.2011 - 12.2015
- Designed and executed strategies for market share growth and promotional rollouts to enhance brand presence and customer engagement.
- Negotiated trading terms and set pricing through structured customer discussions.
- Delivered product launch listings and activations while forecasting demand volumes to align supply with market needs.
- Developed new business opportunities and pursued distribution gains to expand market reach and increase sales potential.
- Managed key account activities across top end retail FMCG stores.
- Prepared sales budgets, target setting, and monitoring across trading periods.
- Managed customer service levels using agreed SLAs and weekly follow-ups.
- Led business unit management across shared functions and customer segments.
- Owned national portfolio planning and execution across defined store groups.
- Coordinated distributor account servicing for forecourts and independent retail customers.
- Managed distribution channels to improve coverage and service continuity.
- Oversaw 3rd party merchandising and sales service provider performance reviews.
- Reviewed quarterly product performance and updated plans to match demand.
- Conducted market research and supported new product development initiatives.
- Presented trade exhibition plans for domestic and international market attendance.
- Built forecasting routines to support weekly ordering and replenishment decisions.
- Prepared cost and advertising spend budgets for category campaigns.
- Generated performance reports to assess business metrics and outcomes. review reporting on bi-annual cycles.
Despatch Manager
Kees Beyers Chocolates cc
05.2007 - 12.2010
- Logistics Management
- Fleet Management – Tracking, Service, and licensing
- Warehouse Management
- Warehouse procedures
- Stock Control
- FIFO principles
- CHEP Pallet Pooling
- Conducted demand forecasting for inventory management
- Primary and secondary transport management
- Order fill rates
- Order processing
- Budget and cost management
- Performance reporting
- Food Safety procedures management and implementation
- Production Management
- Production Planning and scheduling
- Material resource planning
- New product development
- Documented significant professional achievements to highlight impact on operations
- Developed distribution network for top-end retailers to enhance market presence
- Transformed underperforming production department into a productive and profitable unit, introducing new sales areas with VFFS (pillow pack machine)
Logistics Manager
Edward Searle (Pty)Ltd
04.1997 - 04.2007
- Managed logistics operations to enhance supply chain effectiveness
- Primary and secondary transport management
- Fleet Management – Tracking, Service, and licensing
- Import management.
- Procurement – national and international
- Grew to manage all local and international procurement.
- Administered budget and cost management to optimise operational resources
- Managed order processing to ensure timely deliveries
- Evaluated order fill rates to improve service delivery
- Initiated and implemented national stock control system to streamline inventory processes
- Warehouse Management
- Warehouse procedures
- Stock Control
- Applied FIFO principles to optimise stock rotation
- Performed forecasting to anticipate stock levels
- Performance reporting
- Assessed costings of international consignments for financial planning
- Facilitated sales management and support for increased revenue
- Internal Sales management
- Technical support to external and internal sales
- Quote and pricing support.
- Documented key achievements in sales and management
- Started as an internal Salesclerk and grew within the company to Senior management level.
- Managed and ran annual stock audits.
- 10 years’ service in first full-time job
Education
Diploma - Strategic Logistics Management
University of Johannesburg
Johannesburg, GP12-2007
Certificate - Strategic Logistics Management
Damelin
Johannesburg, GP12-2002
Matric - English, Afrikaans, Mathematics, Science, Geography, Technical Drawings
Ladysmith High School
Ladysmith, KZN12-1993
Skills
- Account management
- Negotiation expertise
- Forecasting demand
- Promotion strategies
- Market analysis
- Performance tracking
- Logistics management
- Operations management
- Project management
- Budget management
- Financial reporting
- Revenue growth
- Strategic planning
- Data-driven decisions
- MS Office proficiency
- Cross-functional collaboration
- Team leadership
- Customer engagement
- Relationship building
- Effective communication
- Decision making
- Risk management
- Solution mindset
- Quality assurance
- Business development
Languages
English
Afrikaans
Custom
- Family Time
- Hockey
- Cycling
Personal Information
- Health Status: Excellent – Non-Smoker
- Criminal Record: No Criminal Record
Interests
- Golf
- Field Hockey
- Mental and Physical Welness
Timeline
Head of Operational Sales
Chet Chemicals (Pty)Ltd & MOS CP&S
04.2020 - Current
National Key Accounts Manager
Mars Consumer Products
05.2016 - 03.2020
National Key Accounts Management
Incolabs (Pty)Ltd
01.2016 - 04.2016
Head of Sales
Kees Beyers Chocolates cc
01.2011 - 12.2015
Despatch Manager
Kees Beyers Chocolates cc
05.2007 - 12.2010
Logistics Manager
Edward Searle (Pty)Ltd
04.1997 - 04.2007
Diploma - Strategic Logistics Management
University of Johannesburg
Certificate - Strategic Logistics Management
Damelin
Matric - English, Afrikaans, Mathematics, Science, Geography, Technical Drawings
Ladysmith High School