Laura Luo

Key Achievements

• S&OE & Process Leadership: Lead end-to-end supply chain execution across procurement, 3PL, and distribution for multiple global dairy brands, ensuring alignment between daily operations and the Master Production Schedule (MPS).
• Strategic Interface Management: Act as the primary commercial and supply chain lead for key global accounts (e.g., A2, GNC, EasiYo), managing inventory allocations, shipment planning, and complex export requirements.
• Logistics Network Optimization: Oversee high-volume domestic and international logistics, ensuring full compliance with VGM, MPI, and OMAR regulations while managing FCL/LCL container planning and documentation.
• Digital Transformation: Spearheaded the migration of legacy manual processes into integrated ERP workflows, decentralizing data entry to the warehouse floor to achieve a 70% increase in process efficiency.
• Financial & Vendor Governance: Manage an annual operational budget of NZD 530k, directing 3PL partners and logistics providers through rigorous KPI monitoring, contract renegotiation, and cost-saving initiatives.
• Change Management & Talent Development: Lead and mentor a cross-functional team, fostering a culture of data ownership and "Good Warehousing Practices" through the development of comprehensive SOP libraries and technical training.
• Continuous Improvement: Partner with Lean and Quality teams to drive manufacturing excellence, utilizing data-driven insights to improve inventory accuracy and production pick-up precision.
• S&OE Transformation (3PL): Engineered the digital transformation of the 3PL business unit, replacing manual Excel tracking with a custom ERP data architecture. This automated month-end invoicing, eliminated billing leakage, and achieved 100% inventory accuracy.
• Commercial Growth: Restructured the service quotation model for logistics and 3PL services, delivering a ~63% increase in service turnover through transaction-based charging and new service streams (e.g., push-pull loading).
• Operational Excellence (DIFOT): Lifted DIFOT performance to 99–100% for major global customers by optimizing the link between production scheduling and logistics execution.
• Strategic Cost Reduction: Delivered NZD 30k in annual consumable savings and secured a free two-year equipment lease through strategic vendor restructuring and MOQ optimization.

• Procurement & Inbound Governance: Managed the full procurement lifecycle for raw materials and consumables, optimizing purchase order workflows and supplier catalogue maintenance to ensure zero production downtime due to material shortages.
• Logistics & Export Compliance: Directed the preparation of critical export documentation, including COA, packing lists, and MPI/OMAR/AP e-Certs; collaborated with freight forwarders to navigate complex regulatory frameworks for dairy exports.
• Network & Throughput Optimization: Enhanced warehouse space utilization through strategic stock consolidation and pallet allocation, creating a more agile environment to support higher volume throughput.
• Inventory Integrity: Led cross-functional lot traceability initiatives within the ERP system, ensuring 100% accuracy in ingredient picking and expiry management to support food safety and quality standards.
• Process Standardization: Spearheaded the development of integrated SOPs for inwards, outwards, and order fulfillment, bridging the gap between manual operations and system-driven consistency.

I was later promoted to Assistant Manager as part of a strategic project to centralise supplier management for in-store communication materials.

Previously, each retail store managed its own suppliers independently, resulting in fragmented pricing structures, inconsistent quality control and limited purchasing leverage.

We built a centralised procurement platform that consolidated demand across stores, enabling:

• improved supplier negotiations and pricing
• more accurate demand forecasting and shorter lead times
• centralised quality tracking and root-cause analysis

By placing suppliers within a unified panel and consolidating procurement data, we created a more structured supplier management framework and enabled longer-term sourcing strategies.

• Reduced lead time 28% year-on-year and transport cost 11% while increasing DOT 63% through better supplier planning.
• Held monthly meetings with suppliers and warehouses, updated forecasts and negotiated contracts to improve performance and cost.
• Used data to guide purchasing decisions and balance stock, service and cost.

To gain deeper exposure to supply chain operations, I joined the Direct Purchase team responsible for in-store plastic and metal equipment across Asia.

My role focused on 18-month demand forecasting across multiple markets to ensure stable supply for retail operations. I worked closely with suppliers and factories through monthly operational meetings and annual supplier performance reviews to monitor delivery, quality and capacity.

In addition, I supported FOB quoting and logistics coordination for European customers, occasionally arranging local cartage solutions to strengthen collaboration between Asian suppliers and European distribution networks.

• Planned demand and orders for France and multiple Asian countries; aligned with factories on capacity and lead time.
• Improved service rate +41% year-on-year and reduced DVS by 21% by optimising safety stock and transport stock.
• Cut lead time by 50% in the first 10 MTO pilot stores and achieved 100% service rate at launch for 203 stores.
• Used advanced Excel for data analysis and reporting; presented monthly forecast updates and risks to senior management.
• Reduced inventory costs by optimising safety stock and managing obsolete items.

In the commercial planning team, I focused on digital communication strategy, marketing campaigns and training programmes for retail teams.

Leveraging my experience from both social media and retail operations, I designed and launched a new campaign linking in-store product displays with digital content. Customers could scan QR codes placed beside product price tags, directing them to social media videos that showcased the sport environment, product usage and local cycling communities.

This integrated online-to-offline campaign significantly strengthened customer engagement, driving a 109% growth in new community members compared to previous product launches.

However, the campaign also created unexpected demand spikes, resulting in supply shortages within three months. This experience made me realise the critical importance of supply chain planning in supporting commercial success, which led me to transition into supply chain roles.

As a department lead in the retail store, I was responsible for daily sales performance, merchandising, stock replenishment, community engagement and direct customer service.

Working closely with customers and sales data gave me my first commercial perspective on how retail performance is driven by demand forecasting, product positioning and customer experience.

This experience sparked my interest in the commercial side of category management and led me to move into the brand’s commercial planning team.

• Managed a bike department through pandemic with 93.7% community sales conversion, 87.6% 15-week forecast accuracy and 25% lower average inventory level.
• Led a small team, set priorities, followed up performance and improved customer satisfaction.
• Oversaw inventory, reduced waste and shrinkage, and improved daily operations.

I began my career managing the cycling category’s social media platforms, supporting digital communication for product launches and community engagement.

This role gave me my first exposure to the operating model of a global retail company, where retail sits at the centre of the organisation and all functions support the in-store customer experience.

Motivated to understand the retail side of the business more deeply, I moved into a retail store role the following year.