Say ‘Yes’ Before You’re Ready: Embracing Opportunity and Innovation
Devon Vogel is vice president, corporate strategy with Nelson-Jameson, Inc., a leader in food processing distribution.
RESPONSIBILITIES: Nurture strategic partnerships with key customers; lead internal initiatives to drive efficiency via technology, explore and identify new product and service markets, and enhance the company’s ecommerce solutions.
EXPERIENCE: Vice president, corporate strategy; vice president, customer solutions; director of customer solutions; inventory solutions manager; MRO product manager; assistant product manager; marketing associate, sales and marketing intern; all with Nelson-Jameson.
EDUCATION: B.S. Business Administration, University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire.
I joined Nelson-Jameson as an intern in college, starting in marketing. I moved into product management and then branched out into different value-add service offerings for our customers.
Fifteen years later, I’ve learned from so many great people in our industry.
A motto I live by and that has allowed me to grow within my career is: ‘Say yes before you think you’re ready.’ Roughly 10 years ago, I had an opportunity to lead a new venture for Nelson-Jameson, the SupplyRITE™ Inventory Solutions.
Launching this required developing a program to offer inventory management on-site at our customers’ locations. We act as true strategic partners, while also using technology such as industrial vending machines and automated replenishment.
There were a lot of unknowns at the beginning. Yet, we were able to take this opportunity with one customer, and 10 years later, offer this service across the United States. We continue to listen to the voice of the customer and then evolve the solution with technology available to meet those needs.
About three years ago, another opportunity impacted my career. A known gap in our industry was plants struggling to complete necessary maintenance services. Often, equipment preventive maintenance can be one of the first functions that gets passed by when other urgent matters need attention.
To address this, I was able to absorb a sister company into the Nelson-Jameson brand, leverage our team’s technical knowledge, and bring a new professional maintenance offering to our customers. This service allows our customers to augment their maintenance teams with our expertly trained service techs. Seeing this service and team grow over the past two and a half years has been extremely rewarding.
Now, I continue to take the opportunity to listen to our customers. We have open conversations to understand what their goals and strategies are and, in turn, create pathways to meet their needs within our product and service offerings.
Product Management to Supply Chain
My career in supply chain happened organically. After college, I sought out established companies within central Wisconsin. It was more about finding the right culture fit versus seeking out a role in supply chain.
Over my career at Nelson-Jameson I worked on creating supplier relationships and understanding our customers. Whether they’re concerned about managing a potential tariff or the impact of a port closure, understanding their experiences and hurdles allows me to be their voice within our company.
Now, I’m a conduit from our key customers to product management, sales, and logistics teams so they can offer solutions to assist them.
I also lead our cross-functional digital transformation team. We’re embarking on a journey to adopt technology to improve our internal processes and be positioned to further scale. This means creating efficiencies and looking into artificial intelligence (AI) to understand how it will affect our product teams, our distribution centers, and the logistics function.
It’s an exciting time. We’re a 78-year-old family-owned company that has experienced year-over-year growth. As we continue to evolve and bring on new technology, it’s imperative we hold onto our customer-centric and education-first foundation. I believe, to my core, that our number-one goal would be to educate or help a customer before it would be to sell them something.
Devon Vogel Answers the Big Questions
1. How would you describe your job to a five-year-old?
I have six- and nine-year-old sons, so this is a perfect question. I say, ‘I help people make the foods you see in the grocery store.’
2. If you could have a superpower, what would it be?
Teleporting. I would love to be able to go to any location in a very efficient manner and take my loved ones with me.
3. Who are your heroes?
My family. My work ethic and belief that I can do anything; that tenacious go-getter attitude has come from multiple people within my family. My loved ones have always continued to support me and I’m very grateful for that.
4. What movie, song, or book has had an impact on you?
Next Thing You Know, a country song by Jordan Davis. It talks about how quickly life transitions. I try to appreciate the different stages of my life and career and to be grateful I can experience them, while keeping in perspective what’s most important.