thoughtleaders
BY MITCH MAC DONALD, GROUP EDITORIAL DIRECTOR
Keeping track
INTERVIEW WITH
D.G. MACPHERSON
of all the moving parts
With a catalog of over 1 million products, W.W. Grainger aims to clean up in the facility
maintenance market. It’s D.G. Macpherson’s job to keep the orders flowing smoothly.
A SUPPLY CHAIN THAT MOVES OVER 1,000,000 ITEMS
around the globe each year and supports worldwide sales of
$7 billion annually demands organization, innovation, and
a leader with the right background, skill set, and management style. For W.W. Grainger Inc., that person is D.G.
Macpherson.
Macpherson, who joined Grainger in February 2008,
heads up the company’s global supply chain operations as
senior vice president of the division. He is responsible for
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DC VELOCITY NOVEMBER 2011
operations, including the performance of Grainger’s distribution centers as well as its product offerings and availability. He also provides global planning, coordination, and
specialized expertise to the supply chain organizations in all
of Grainger’s business units.
Macpherson came to Grainger from the Boston
Consulting Group (BCG), where he was partner and managing director for six years. In that capacity, he served as a
strategic consultant at Grainger and led BCG’s relationship
