Lean Operations

Proven in my career

• Replaced paper picking with scan-to-pick — picking time per part cut from ~7 minutes to 30 seconds (~300% faster).

• Added 1,700 storage locations through space analysis, growing warehouse capacity 25% without a new building.

• Lean labor utilization across a 1,200+ person, 1.2M sq ft distribution center at 210K units/day.

Why it matters

Lean keeps every step, touch and square foot tied to what the customer actually pays for — the fastest way to lower cost per unit while raising service.

Waste, unevenness, and overburden

Proven in my career

• Muda (waste): consolidated picking methods and audited obsolete stock, freeing ~300 rack positions.

• Mura (unevenness): electronic dock scheduling smoothed inbound arrivals, unloading and put-away.

• Muri (overburden): built a second shift and 24/7 AGV coverage so people and equipment weren't pushed past capacity.

Why it matters

Most operations attack only visible waste. Unbalanced workloads and overworked teams quietly cause the injuries, turnover, mispicks and missed trucks that waste creates later.

Data-driven defect reduction

Proven in my career

• Inventory accuracy raised from 25% to 95% at ABB; 99.99% accuracy at the Trader Joe's flagship DC.

• Order mispicks reduced 75% through revised selection controls.

• 99.98% on-time delivery — measured, tracked and managed through Power BI KPI dashboards.

Why it matters

Six Sigma's DMAIC cycle (Define, Measure, Analyze, Improve, Control) turns 'we think' into 'we know.' In a warehouse, every defect — a mispick, a miscount, a late trailer — is a cost and a customer experience.

Focused, rapid continuous improvement

Proven in my career

• Led 15+ process and policy improvements in under a year at ABB.

• Redesigned receiving, order selection, reporting and quality control workflows during a leadership transition.

• Zero missing-invoice rate on subcontracted receipts through new audit and documentation controls.

Why it matters

A well-run Kaizen gathers the people who do the work, fixes one real problem in days instead of months, and builds a culture where every employee looks for the next improvement.

See the whole flow, end to end

Proven in my career

• Mapped dock-to-stock flow with measures for on-time arrival, unloading, checkout, goods receipt and put-away.

• Wrote 18 KPIs with financial accountability into a 3PL contract to control the full outside value stream.

• Phased go-live across Cooler, Cross Dock, Dry and Freezer divisions of a 1.2M sq ft distribution center.

Why it matters

Mapping the value stream shows where material and information actually wait. Usually 90%+ of lead time is waiting — the map shows leaders where to invest for the biggest payoff.

• Blockbuster Video — Failed to adapt quickly enough to online movie rentals and streaming.

• Kodak — Failed to transition its film-based business quickly enough to digital photography.

• Borders Books — Fell behind the growth of online book sales and electronic books.

• Polaroid — Struggled to adapt its traditional instant-film business to digital photography.

• Tower Records — Failed to adapt its physical music retail model to digital downloads and online competition.

• RadioShack — Failed to successfully reinvent its retail business for the modern mobile electronics market.

• Sears — Fell behind modern retail competitors and the growth of e-commerce.

• Circuit City — Failed to keep pace with competitors in customer service, online retail, and changing consumer expectations.

• Toys "R" Us — Struggled against online retailers and discount competitors while carrying substantial debt.

• BlackBerry (Smartphone Business) — Lost its dominant position as touchscreen smartphones and mobile application ecosystems transformed the industry.

• Palm — Helped pioneer handheld computing but struggled to compete with modern smartphones and their application ecosystems.

• Kmart — Lost ground to Walmart and Target as years of underinvestment, store deterioration, and ineffective management weakened its ability to compete.