Samuel 艾民 Alford

About Samuel 艾民 Alford

I am a strategic sourcing professional who is passionate about leveraging data analysis, Chinese language, and expertise in Asia to help companies reduce costs and strengthen their supply base.At Lenovo, I serve as a Global Commodity Manager for our company’s storage platform commodities. In addition to leading cost initiatives and RFx activities for our storage product groups, I also negotiate and execute procurement contracts, lead supply chain analytics projects, and provide strategic oversight to inventory management. I am a graduate of Lenovo’s esteemed Global Supply Chain Rotational Program, where I gained much of the end-to-end supply chain experience that has allowed me to perform with excellence in my current role. My rotations and experience include TierN supply management, demand planning, manufacturing and customization project management, and strategic sourcing in hardware and software. My strong educational background includes an International MBA from the Darla Moore School of Business with focuses in Global Supply Chain Management and Business Analytics. My undergraduate studies include BAs in International Affairs and Chinese Language, as well as a minor in Physics (Summa Cum Laude). I am also a recipient of the US State Department Critical Language Scholarship Program (Dalian), and I am a graduate of Middlebury Kunming’s immersive language program.

Experience

1. Global Commodity Manager

   Lenovo

   Jan 2024 — Present · Morrisville, NC, US

   Lead commodity cost improvement initiatives, develop strong supplier relationships, and build supply chain strategy for Lenovo ISG (Infrastructure Solutions Group) storage platform products. Leads team KPI analytics and process improvement projects. Managing $XXM+ in vendor spend across 5 major contracts across 3 business groups in coordination with legal, finance, and compliance teams.Successfully negotiated and executed various legal agreements including amendments to existing MPPAs, MSAs, BAs, SOWs, and LOAs, with particular emphasis on product support, epidemic defects, net payment terms, and incoterms. Replicated 16 procurement contracts between storage suppliers and new Lenovo entities to avoid geopolitical risks.Led 5 RFx events including RFPs with domestic and international third-party manufacturers, coordinating between external participants and internal stakeholders. Implemented direct-source strategies for components for new product launch for project savings.Saved senior GCM 3 hrs/wk and reduced rebate lead time by automating storage switch sellout report (Excel, SQL). Leading ongoing dashboarding project to automatically track team commodity spend, inventory, and consumption (PBIX, SQL).Continually avoid significant costs with data-driven PO management, price negotiations with suppliers, and cross-functional BOM analysis.Avoided major excess-and-obsolete risk through strategic inventory management during storage product portfolio refresh

Education

• Dalian University of Technology

  Chinese Language

  2017 — 2017

• Darla Moore School of Business at the University of South Carolina

  Master of Business Administration - MBA, Logistics, Materials, and Supply Chain Management

  2020 — 2022

• Wofford College

  Bachelor of Arts - BA, Majors: Chinese Language, International Affairs. Minor: Physics

  2015 — 2019

• Beijing Language and Culture University

  Advanced Business Mandarin - 高级商务汉语六周班

  2020 — 2021

• WHU – Otto Beisheim School of Management

  Master of Business Administration - MBA, International Business

• Middlebury College

  Chinese Language

  2017 — 2017