Lori Appleton: Sr. National Manager in Carlsbad, CA

Sr. National Account Manager (Wholesale, & Alternative) Responsible for trade channel base worth an estimated $100 Million. Account team coverage includes 7-Eleven, Brokerage, Chevron, Kroger, BP & Core-Mark. Doubled volume in less than 5 years while increasing profitability. Wholesale volume +18.6% with service levels at +99.4%. Responsibilities include National Broker Strategy encompassing marketing, project digital design, data/custom KPI reporting & implementation resulting in 36% cost improvement versus PY results.

Developed key national initiative of direct sales force for Food Service and Convenience. Hired, trained and developed a group of 21 account managers to cover the Western Zone. In addition, played a lead role in the strategic plans for cultivating, negotiating and signing new customers with tools and in-depth analysis. Success led to exceeding KPIs by 174% and reduced spending by 53%. Staff doubled within 18 months and management position replicated in 4 other zones.

Responsible for integrated marketing plan for the national account Club Channel. Duties included Category Management, Package/Project Development, Shopper Insights, and Promotional Design. Managed marketing and packaging agencies based in NY and LA. Dedicated support to accounts such as Sams, Costco and BJs led to +4% growth in marginal contribution.

Responsible for the West Club Channel business worth $50.0 Million. Nearly doubled volume from 5.4 Million to 9.1 Million cases through negotiating distribution strategies. Focused on Costco account penetration to solidify relationships. Brand execution and operational expertise led to the signing of the first national contract with Costco. The position moved to Seattle.

Responsible for the Food Service/Travel Channel. Accounts included Major Hotels, Airlines/Cruise Lines, Disney, Etc. Increased revenue by 94% by creating long-term customer contracts. Responsibility included Food Service channel development in the Western Region worth an additional $14.0 Million.

Promoted to directly supervise the Western Food Service Sales Team in less than a year. Continued channel management and grew volume over 1.0 million cases in about 8 months.

Sales/Operations position responsible for cultivating an immature Food Service business. Hired brokers and 50+ distributors managed pricing, planning and key account management. Produced over $3.0 Million in the first three months.

Responsible for all channels in sales and operations. Territory exceeded $8.0 Million. Management included supermarket, food service, vending and convenience channels. Supervised a team consisting of account managers, merchandisers, staff and customer service. Personnel focus included new evaluation process and cross-training development.

Promoted from Management Trainee program to supervise entire food service operational teams with direct P&L responsibility. Increase sales territory to $7.0 Million through asset depreciation reduction and tripled profits in vending, indexing 128 vs plan.

College recruit hired to train and become cross-functional management expert.