Director - Raw Materials and Supply Chain

Logistics, Shipping & Operations

A results-driven, team-oriented textile and apparel professional with 15+ years of
Industry experience. 
Experienced in research and development, leading people and projects,
developing and implementing strategic plans, innovation, and supply chain management across a global source base.
Energetic team player with proven active learning and leadership skills as well as excellent communication and time management skills.


Responsible for end to end development (fabrics, yarns and trims) that meet brand requirements (such as Nike, L-Brands, Lululemon etc.) with preferred supply chain partners and ensure sustainable growth for the company.

•   Provided strategic leadership to materials development, sourcing and supply chain team of a manufacturing operations of over $100M (cut & sew, seamless, hosiery and outsourced) in the Western
Hemisphere.
•   Developed a supplier strategy formulation and vendor management system to support KPIs through
supplier evaluation, on-boarding, risk analysis, capacity management, on-time performance and quality.
•   Created and implemented cost saving initiatives through strategic materials development and manufacturing process optimization, resulting in savings of $1.2M

Global Materials Development Manager

Materials Manager (Americas Region)

Led execution of the global materials commercialization process by providing leadership and guidance to the Materials Research Team and worked closely with internal and external partners to effectively
commercialize raw materials within calendar timelines and in alignment with overall manufacturing strategy while meeting quality, performance and compliance requirements.

•   Built short, medium and long term strategies for a $350M+ business unit and collaborated with cross
functional partners to obtain optimum value from the global source base of over 150 material vendors
to meet company objectives.
•   Improved the efficiency by 20% of end-to-end materials development process, from concept through
to seasonal production and developed strategic materials source plan (over 400 carryover and 150 new materials per season) to ensure alignment between materials and finished goods source plans as
well as maximized trade benefits.
•   Drove the transition of innovative technology platforms of cooling, drying, warm and protection from the innovation team, coordinated with liaison office partners for product buy ready.
•   Human Resource administration for the Materials Research / Commercialization team, including
succession planning, organizational development, conduct performance appraisals, establishing
training programs, salary and budget administration, and hiring. Managed with courage when required
with non-performers.
•   Coached and mentored the team of 5-8 professionals to enhance their knowledge in advanced
technical materials, textiles including fibers, yarns, knit and woven fabrics, knowledge of textile
manufacturing, dying, finishing and testing. Developed subordinates through providing challenging task
and responsibilities,
•   Developed, implemented and executed processes, tools and strategies to measure the team's and vendor's performance metrics and achieved over 95% commercialization rate by the sales sample
deadline, development turn time of 21 days and met price targets with a maximum variance of 5%.
•   Stayed up to date on the fiber and materials market in relation to global material trends, costs and technological advancements. Saved over $3M for the company by strategic redevelopment and multi-
sourced of selected materials.
•   Led the team for continuous process improvement, including 100% achievement of conducting
development tests, quality exception callouts if any and 90% availability of actual fabrics for the 2nd
prototypes.
•   Took part an active role in decision making process of fabric and FG inspection failures and provided
innovative solutions to make commercial decisions, take corrective action plans, and enhance quality
and performance of fabric.
•   Source base management - Led, developed and managed the raw materials source bases of Americas (USA, Central and South America) and South Asian regions with over 50 vendors, supported
and executed advanced development needs and met strategic supply chain positioning to align with global manufacturing strategies.
•   Supplier performance management - Achieved an average of over 90% on time delivery performance
in acceptable quality, development turn time of 21 days and over 90% first time right for lab-dips/strike
offs. Supplier performances were evaluated to determine invests, divest or maintain business levels.
Conducted seasonal meetings and reviewed KPI and drove for continuous improvement.
•   Drove profitability through product and process innovation, cost analysis and negotiation. Optimized
value and created competitive advantage with the source bases. Saved over $2M for the company
during a cotton price hike.
•   Process implementation / management - Ensured following of the SOPs and implemented processes
where applicable, trained and supported their use.
•   Technology management - worked with innovation team on commercialization and successful launch
of new and advanced technologies to ensure smooth transition to production environment.
•   Prepared fiscal year budget and ensured materials teams operated within the budget.
•   Additional responsibility in the HQ materials team with commercializing inventions, developed over 30-
40 materials per season for lifestyle, graphic tees and strategic response team categories.
•   Developed and established guidance on garment washing requirements and targets for development
teams.
•   Established a quality engineering and issue resolution process, which helped to reduce the issue
resolution lead time to maximum of 3 days.

Manager

Sri Lanka
•	Led and managed product development team of 10-15 professionals for customer accounts; Lands'
End, Banana Republic, Next, Uniqlo and Vanity Fair.
•	Saved over $1.5M per year for the company by strategic sourcing of raw materials, negotiation of bulk
minimum quantities and lead times, while maintaining 100% accuracy in garment costing.
•	Achieved over 95% to customer deadlines in product development process and sample needs.
•	Forecasted and prepared business plans of over $10M for top management.
•	Trained new members to the team.

Asst. Manager / Fabric Technologist / Marketing Executive

Find out detailed information about Pushpitha Weerasekera, Director - Raw Materials and Supply Chain in Beaverton, OR

Pushpitha Weerasekera: Director - Raw Materials and Supply Chain in Beaverton, OR

Pushpitha Weerasekera

University of Leicester

University of Moratuwa