1. CLIENT: American Purchasing Society DATE: December 31, 2015
SUBJECT: Two-column, 720-word Ronda S. Marks APS Member Profile.
SUBJECT:
Hitting Her Marks
COPY:
When not working as a purchasing professional, Ronda S. Marks volunteers as a
harpist for a hospice organization, playing “bedside harp“ for hospice patients.
She has also pulled the right strings in her career, which leads to her selection as
this month’s featured member in the APS Member Profile Series.
Ronda’s official title with Pattonair in Fort Worth, Tex. is buyer. However, supplier
management is the central focus of her position.
That role, she says, “Involves daily relationship interactions with suppliers to
ensure on-time delivery of product. My former role as a material controller
enabled me to build strong supplier relationships that are the key to improving
supplier performance, sourcing of product and negotiating best pricing.”
Pattonair is one of the world’s largest procurers in the aerospace and defense
industry.

2. Its more than 40 years of experience allows it to offer competitively priced
products, as well as high standards, performance and customer service. Its
specialties are supply chain expertise, consultation, distribution services,
rationalization services, direct line feeds and kitting.
The major products purchased are Class C parts for gas turbine engines used on
commercial aircraft, including fasteners, seals, bearings and electric products.
Ronda reports to the commodity lead and strategic sourcing director. The
company employs 15 in the procurement department in the U.S., and additional
staff works in the company’s home office in Derby, United Kingdom.
Purchasing is centralized, Ronda says. “However, we are looking at expanding
the sourcing role into our direct business in order to optimize our opportunities in
the marketplace,” she adds.
Prices are comparatively stable. However, raw material costs determine the
company’s immediate buy pricing. “We prefer to negotiate longer term
agreements in order to ensure level pricing over time,” Ronda says.
The aerospace supply base is fairly well diversified and there exist many
marketplace suppliers.

3. Pattonair purchasing professionals work with suppliers able to maintain a 95
percent on-time delivery rate, and very high-quality standards.
Ronda faces a couple key challenges in her role. One of the most prevalent is
meeting turn-time demands on RFQs. Another is that at times, Pattonair buyers
find appropriate supplier paperwork is missing.
That paperwork is supposed to be shipped with the goods. “We are working to
improve communications with the supplier within the RFQ process to make sure
suppliers are aware of our documentation requirements,” Ronda says. “We have
recently added NAFTA certificate requirements to our bid packages.”
As for buying internationally, Ronda occasionally assists Pattonair’s U.K. buyers
in sourcing products within the United States and vice versa. Due to ITAR and
NAFTA restrictions in the aerospace industry, most of her work is focused on
customer sourcing in the U.S., she reports.
Ronda uses Thomasnet.com, NSN search and a variety of supplier websites in
addition to Google when researching purchases. The Internet is used 40 to 50
percent of the time in sourcing activities. “Purchase history and internal data are
used daily as a matter of course,” she says.

4. Originally from Little Rock, Ark., Ronda spent her college years at Michigan State
University in East Lansing, Mich. She earned her way to a bachelor’s degree in
advertising with a business emphasis by working in retailing, where she
managed teams of up to 10 people. After spending 10 years working first as
senior regional quotations manager and subsequently national account sales
coordinator for Cooper Lighting in Elk Grove Village, Ill., she joined Legget &
Platt in Fort Worth, Tex. in 1997.
Following acquisition of the lighting division of that company by Tarrant Lighting,
she became purchasing manager of Tarrant.
There, she was involved in the daily flow of issues and receipts, problem solving
and resolution of inventory discrepancies/set up. She maintained pricing
contracts, AP support and administration of Activant’s “Array” wholesale
distribution software and supervised warehouse personnel.
She joined Pattonair US. In 2011, and has remained there since as buyer. She
earned her Certified Purchasing Professional (CPP) designation from the
American Purchasing Society in October, 2014, and intends to pursue her
Certified Professional Purchasing Manager designation in 2016.
Looking ahead, she sees a greater amount of electronic contract pricing being
utilized in the future.

5. “EDI has been around for a long time and as a rule is underutilized,” she says. “I
see this process being used much more as we head into the next decade.” ###
SOURCE:
Ronda S. Marks, CPP, buyer
Pattonair US, Fort Worth, TX
817-276-3157

6. “EDI has been around for a long time and as a rule is underutilized,” she says. “I
see this process being used much more as we head into the next decade.” ###
SOURCE:
Ronda S. Marks, CPP, buyer
Pattonair US, Fort Worth, TX
817-276-3157