Working Across the Organization

Upon completing my MBA in 2002, I joined the Leadership Development Program at W.W. Grainger (GWW ), North America's leading distributor of facilities-maintenance supplies such as lighting, motors, tools, safety, janitorial, and sanitation products.

After eight months in our Madison, Wisc., branch, I moved to our corporate headquarters in Lake Forest, Ill., and spent eight months on an internal supply chain consulting project. I then moved into my current role as Distribution Center (DC) Inventory Manager. I'm responsible for managing the customer service and inventory levels in Grainger's nine U.S. distribution centers.

What I love most about my role is that I interact with virtually every functional area of business -- from sales and marketing to distribution operations. I truly get to see across the organization, because to do our job well, we need to understand not only our supply chain but also how our customer needs are evolving.

I think my biggest challenge in the role has been focusing not only on the day-to-day responsibilities but trying to address the professional development needs of a staff of 18. I feel that I should be spending more than 50% of my time on staff development, yet I'm continually challenged to find that time during the day. Here's an overview of a typical schedule:

5:50 a.m. -- Time to get up and get ready for the 6 a.m. conference call with our DC Inbound Team. Our DCs run inbound on the third shift, so they're all finishing their day as I start mine.

7:30 a.m. -- Out the door for the half-hour drive to the office. Check voicemail on the way and try to collect my thoughts for what I want to accomplish today.

See Full Version