DC Velocity - July 2013

How has that changed the way you approach your job? A We have spent a lot of time building segmented sup- ply chains and designing fulfillment and logistics solutions that work best for each respective segment. When you throw in the challenges of supply chain design in emerging markets and our unending focus on continuous improvement in more mature markets, it makes my job very challenging—and a lot of fun.

QSince you joined Dell, digitization has migrated from the PC to smartphones and tablets. Has that caused you to rethink how Dell’s supply chain is positioned in the marketplace?

A Product form factor changes will drive transportation modal decisions, but they can also create the need for new supply chain capabilities like postponement, serial number tracking capabilities, and incremental packaging and bundling that is closer to the customer. The PC market is still very much alive, and we definitely have more variety and capability in what we fulfill these days.

QMichael Dell seems to be focused these days on his efforts to take the company private. Does he still have a day-to-day focus on the supply chain operations? And would a privately held Dell impact your job in any way? A The entire operations team is very focused on deliver- ing on our plan for improvements in our key operational metrics. We are also very aligned with the business units as we leverage our supply chain capabilities to assist them in their market goals in each area.

Q

What best practices have you been able to migrate from the big box retailing world to utilize at Dell?

A We are leveraging more deferred transportation solu- tions to better meet the needs of the business in certain segments. We also have a much more robust process to determine who manages different transportation legs in the supply chain. One of retail’s core competencies is understanding how to modify delivery terms and freight management responsibility across the supply chain. We have used that very effectively at Dell over the past four to five years.

QThe IT sector appears to be in a state of constant upheaval. Does working in this world pose special types of challenges for a supply chain practitioner? A My view is that every industry has a requirement to reinvent and question what you do periodically to evolve. The “clock-speed” of the high-tech world is much faster than other industries. This forces us to innovate and evolve our capabilities more rapidly than other industries do. We incorporate cross-industry best practices as well as ideas from all levels of our organization and our supply chain partners into our supply chain strategy. I enjoy the challenge. A job in the supply chain profession is constantly changing and evolving. You need to have a strong out-side-in perspective, a strong team, and the ability to make decisions and set direction quickly to stay ahead.

QIs there one piece of advice you would give someone coming out of college who wants to pursue a career in the IT supply chain?

A If you want to work in a fast-paced industry focused on growth, build competitive global supply chains all over the world, and have a relentless drive to continuously improve, this is a great industry to work in.

Hanko Kiessner

Hanko Kiessner is chief executive officer of Packsize International, a privately held “ on-demand” packaging company he founded in the United States just over a decade ago. Packaging is in Kiessner’s blood—his family’s business in Germany has been providing corrugated materials since the 1960s. In a bid to expand the marketing opportunities for corrugated material, Kiessner started to experiment with corrugated converting machines in Europe in the 1990s. In 2002, he introduced the machines, which produce cartons tailored to the exact dimensions of their contents, to the U.S. market.

Kiessner is a member of the Council of Supply Chain
Management Professionals, Warehousing Education and
Research Council, and the Salt Lake Chamber of Commerce.
Ernst & Young recognized Kiessner with its 2008 Entrepreneur
of the Year Award in the Manufacturing and
Distribution category for the Utah region. He
holds undergraduate and graduate business
degrees from the University of Utah.

QPacksize is your family’s business. Can you tell us how it came to be? A My father started in Germany as a sup- plier of corrugated material, the same basic product that now feeds our machines.

We developed the machines in the 1990s and introduced them to the United States in 2002 with a new business model that provides day-one savings. The corrugate and the equipment are a complete solution.