Dawn Jett

Dawn Jett came to Valin in 2010 to be the buyer for Valin filtration products. At that time Valin had over 150 different filter suppliers. The goal was to consolidate that number to fewer than 20 suppliers with a list of top 10 preferred suppliers. To make this happen we needed a gatekeeper. Dawn became that gatekeeper in addition to managing her other buyer responsibilities. As our filter buyer Dawn helped develop Valin’s preferred supplier list. All parties were notified that orders would not be entered for non-approved supplier items without prior approval. Dawn took on the task of policing the policy making sure written approval was generated before she would enter an order from a non-approved supplier. Dawn also worked with the approved suppliers to get part numbers, pricing, and pertinent cut sheets where necessary. Her work with one specific filter supplier alone enabled Valin to remove 14 air filter manufacturers from the supplier list, improve margins to over 50%, and eliminate freight costs, which is one of the most expensive items when selling air filters.

Below are the number of filtration suppliers Valin has purchased from since 2013:





Ultimately the burden of converting customers to Valin approved suppliers was put on Customer Service and Sales Personnel. However, Dawn played a vital role by watching and alerting management to customers that had not been converted. She helped us understand and explain where to apply greater focus so Valin did not lose customers to a supplier that treated Valin unfairly. She continually works with Valin suppliers to ensure they ship orders as promised. She follows up as needed updating orders with changes in shipping schedules and notifying the appropriate individuals.

In December 2018, Dawn took the lead in moving all Aviation related items from a major supplier to a new smaller regional supplier. The smaller regional distributor could not ship out of their territory thus, Dawn moved all stock plans to the Valin Chandler location. She set up the new supplier correctly, added new list prices, and made sure that discounts and costs were correct in P21, so margins were maintained. Dawn and her work with Valin filtration suppliers are an example of how a single person’s efforts can make an impact.