Jay Zortman is a proven leader in logistics, material handling and supply chain.  For the past 10 years Jay has been the global leader of continuous improvement and lean manufacturing for a leading manufacturer of specialty vehicles.  Additionally, he is an accomplished academic instructor serving as an Adjunct Professor for the past 12 years.  This has allowed him to provide a unique learning environment based upon industry experience. Areas of expertise include: materials and supply chain, change management, strategic planning, professional development and education, organizational restructuring, and integrated supplier implementation.

Notable experience and accomplishments:

• Led the Simulated Work Environment Training Program which provides cultural and hands on training to over 500 new employees each year. A recent revision to the program resulted in $500k annual savings.
• Developed the online MBA course “Operations and Supply Chain Management”.  Curriculum and content was created to support an asynchronous Life-Flex learning program.  Over 50 specific subject matter videos were created using actual business acumen.
• Led “Project Windfall” which promoted Lean Manufacturing and Continuous Improvement at the floor level by cross-site communication of cost saving activities with all manufacturing team members.  The project captured over  $2.5M of annual savings.
• Provided pre and post launch guidance to multiple Tier 0 Integrated Supplier start-ups.  Decreased initial plant downtime at start up by 92%
• Provided resolution to a deadlocked 3PL warehouse at 100% full capacity with a 100-trailer backlog.  Identified process issues and excessive days on hand inventory which would free 8% capacity.  Backlog was reduced to 20 trailers.
• Championed a Continuous Improvement Assessment program. Lead bi-annual plant assessments of 5 core Principles (Standardization, People, Quality, Delivery, Continuous Improvement System). Delivered assessment results to plant leadership and provided gap closure assistance after the assessment. The process resulted in consistent annual plant KPI improvement.

Prior to consulting, Jay worked at Harley-Davidson Motor Company for 19 years and held roles in Materials, Lean Manufacturing and Continuous Improvement.  During this time, Jay lead the implementation of a Lean Operating System at six manufacturing sites. He has led major Kaizen events to improve safety, improve throughput, and reduce waste.  As a senior executive at Harley-Davidson, he has been the Global Lead for Continuous Improvement responsible for: process improvement, strategic alignment of multi plant initiatives, assessment of plant operating systems, and policy implementation and change.  Additionally, Jay has also served as the Instructor of Graduate and Undergraduate Business Management courses for both on-ground and on-line sessions at Eastern University.

Jay holds an MBA from York College of Pennsylvania, with two additional mini-MBA degrees in Lean Six Sigma and Digitized Supply Chain from Rutgers University. He has also completed the APICS Supply Chain Management Program, at Penn State University.