Meet the Author

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Torrence J. Smith is a West Point military veteran with over 20 years of experience leading transformation in operations and technology for mixed production make-to-order businesses. 

In manufacturing, he has led four business turnarounds, driven $8M in cost out, and reduced lead times by up to 70% without requiring significant change management. In digital transformation, he has implemented SAP S/4HANA and delivered eight software applications over 10 years of complex global projects. Torrence has had P&L responsibility ranging from $200k to $100M and teams of 5 to 400 personnel. As a player-coach, he has worked with US-based and international 3rd party technical and non-technical stakeholders in private, public, and private equity companies. 

► DIGITAL TRANSFORMATION: Led a 75-person Global export platform team from concept to automating 800 monthly shipments, utilizing SAP S/4HANA. Automated export shipments across 400+ facilities, reducing order-to-cash by 30 days, a $1.7M P&L benefit. Led a 12-person team, reducing AP backlog from 5k to 2k invoices. Created five end-to-end digital applications from scratch, integrating with Home Depot and Power BI. Led cross-functional 3rd party offshore and virtual teams.

► TURNAROUND/ PROCESS EXCELLENCE: Increased profitability by $2M+ / year four times, through application of lean, Six Sigma, and Theory of Constraints (TOC). Increased inventory turns from 1.0 to 2.1. Increased revenue per employee by $10k year over year. Improved On-Time Delivery from 64 to 87%.

► PROFIT AND LOSS: Managed P&L, accounts receivable, general ledger, and cash flow for businesses ranging from $200k to $18M. Financial responsibility for two $100M factories. CAPEX responsibility up to $450k per year. Performed monthly performance to plan gap analysis.

► QUALITY: Improved ISO audit performance from 74 to 90%. Cut supplier defects 50% in 12 months. Standardized work for 30+ activities. Experience breaking the rework "hidden factory". Utilized Plan Do Check Act (PDCA), Process Failure Modes and Effects Analysis (PFMEA), control plans, 5 Why root cause analysis, and the Ford 8D process.

► MAKE TO ORDER/ ENGINEERED TO ORDER EXPERTISE: Broke constraints in an automotive job shop, oilfield manufacturing, automotive, HVAC, and software development. I produce results when environments demand extreme rigor or exceptional flexibility.

Speaker on Leadership and continuous improvement:

• Houston PMI
• University of Houston
• Lean and Flexible Conference
• TOCICO
• Lonestar Community College
  

Seeking Vice President (VP), COO, advisory board seat, or podcast guest spot.