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Robert Swanson: Developing Colleagues with Passion
Robert Swanson’s first employer helped put him through college while he worked. Today, at Pfizer Global Research and Development Michigan Labs, Swanson is paying that favor forward, not with tuition assistance, but with extensive on-the-job training. A major part of Swanson’s mission is to help the people in his organization live out “the passion to […]
Read MoreKim Brown: Keeping the Home Fires Burning
When work goes well for Kim Brown, people stay warm. Brown’s company, Hearth and Home Technologies, manufactures stoves, fireplaces and related products for home heating. As materials manager at the Lake City, Minn., plant, she’s responsible for getting materials to the production line and transporting finished goods to distributors and direct customers. Like many supply […]
Read MoreRob James: The Pepsi Challenge–Taking Charge of Inbound
Promoted to logistics manager at PepsiAmericas’ St. Louis plant, Rob James had a revelation. The operation was giving money away. Instead of managing its inbound freight, the plant relied on vendors to book loads and pass on the charges—whatever they happened to be. Research showed there was plenty of room for improvement. “I quickly found […]
Read MoreTodd Horne: Master of Disaster
Every logistics professional handles the occasional crisis. But for Todd Horne, crisis is the core of the job. As a disaster logistics officer with the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), Horne moves relief supplies such as food, blankets, plastic sheeting and water purification kits to help victims of war and natural disaster. Horne […]
Read MoreMark Davis: Logistics at the Speed of Flight
Like many logistics professionals, Mark Davis spends nearly every day racing the clock. At Tracer Corporation, his department rushes aircraft parts to meet airlines’ just-in-time requirements, or to get grounded planes back in the air. Along with time, though, Davis’ department faces another sort of pressure: they have to maintain precise records on every part […]
Read MoreJohn Henderson: A Man of Parts
Over the past few years, John Henderson has pulled off a double logistics coup. He led an effort that cut $20 million out of Gerber Technology’s service parts inventory, and he did it while boosting next-day customer service delivery from 40 percent into the high 80s. A division of Gerber Scientific International, Gerber Technology sells […]
Read MoreSandy Chavis: To the Line, Just in Time
In 1995, Sandy Chavis took on a new challenge: creating a logistics department at Toyota Industrial Equipment Manufacturing (TIEM). Until then, purchasing staff who procured parts, raw materials, and supplies for the forklift truck manufacturer also handled the transportation of those goods. But as TIEM started buying more parts in the United States instead of […]
Read MoreRichard Jackson: Purchasing Power
From cancer cultures to special valves to dual-engine aircraft, Richard Jackson stood ready to find and deliver almost anything. As manager of export purchasing for chemical company ICI Americas (later Zeneca and AstraZeneca) until his retirement in 1993, Jackson tapped U.S. suppliers for materials and equipment his company’s overseas facilities couldn’t find in their own […]
Read MoreGalen Erickson: Back to the Sporting Life
After seven years calling balls and strikes in the minor leagues, Galen Erickson was looking for a major change. The former umpire soon found a new career in logistics, rising from receiving dock supervisor to vice president of distribution at Phoenix-based Broadway Southwest Department Stores. Later, he advanced to executive positions with—among other companies—Leslie Fay […]
Read MoreBill Jones: Distribution and the Deep Blue Sea
Twenty-seven years ago, the day school let out, Bill Jones and his father went to buy a pair of boots. The 14-year-old needed them for a summer job with his mother’s employer, Pacific Seafood of Portland, Ore. From then on, summers and weekends, Jones ripped the backs off Dungeness crabs, built boxes, shoveled ice, and […]
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