36 DC VELOCITY JULY 2014 www.dcvelocity.com
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Chris Rork has cut his career from the
apparel industry cloth. He currently serves
as executive vice president of supply chain
at Carter’s Inc., the well-known children’s
clothier. In this job, Rork, who joined the
company in 2011, is responsible for the
end-to-end supply chain, including product
development, sourcing, quality, logistics,
distribution, and inventory management.
Rork’s résumé in apparel includes 13
years in Asia, four of which were spent in
Hong Kong for Levi Strauss & Co., where he was responsible for global sourcing and the total supply chain for its
Asian operations. He has also worked for Ralph Lauren and
children’s apparel company Little Me. He recently oversaw
the construction of a 1. 1 million-square-foot omnichannel
distribution facility in Braselton, Ga., that supports Carter’s
retail, wholesale, and e-commerce channels.
QYou’ve had a long career in the apparel industry work- ing in key positions with many major brands. What
are some of the biggest changes you’ve seen in the industry?
A I was in Asia when companies began chasing low-cost production there. Now, those frontiers have all been
sourced into, and everything has, for the
most part, leveled off.
Companies are not just seeking the
lowest cost any more; they are also looking
at their speed to market and at inventory
productivity.
QHow did the time you spent in Asia prepare you for your current role at
Carter’s?
A The time I spent with Levi Strauss there gave me a good background in managing the end-to-end supply chain. I was responsible for
sourcing globally as well as the end-to-end distribution
process for the Asian business, which included China,
Japan, and Malaysia. So I gained experience in sourcing,
inventory, distribution, and logistics—getting all of those
to coordinate and align to meet the corporate goals. I
was also indirectly managing about 400,000 people who
touched my supply chain operation, any of which could
cause disruption.
You get a different perspective when you are on the firing lines in Asia than you do here in the U.S. It was a good
place to be.
Chris Rork
tomer. Because of that, it was impossible to provide con-
sistent, acceptable levels of customer service, regardless of
how much time and effort we spent on it. … Collaboration
wasn’t part of the business lexicon at that time.
Over time, though, the idea of collaboration began
to grow within the context of “team play” in retailing.
When Robert Bruce of Wal-Mart Stores came up with
Collaborative Forecasting and Replenishment, or CFAR,
it all began to coalesce. The next step was to include marketing plans, and CPFR was born. Thanks to CPFR, the
value of collaboration became recognized in transportation, upstream manufacturing and logistics, packaging, and
practically every touch point in the company.
QYou have long been involved in industry-sponsored initiatives like CPFR and item-level RFID. Would you
encourage others to volunteer for similar projects?
A Absolutely. Let’s look at the benefits enjoyed by an individual who volunteers to work on an industrywide
project. Networking ranks right up at the top, because you
can learn so much by working with peers and superiors.
Working on an external/industry project will help you learn
how to organize and manage a project, to set goals and
objectives, and to build a case for action. It will also give
you visibility into other companies, which could be service
providers, customers, or competitors. A stellar performance
leads to a very positive and compelling reputation that
can benefit you as an individual as well as your company.
Volunteering is also one of the most effective methods of
gaining external knowledge that could be important to the
development and execution of your company’s strategic
plans.
QRecently, you published My Incredible Supply Chain Journey … And What You Can Learn From It, a book
about your life and experiences in business. What prompted you to write the book?
A The idea for the book came partly through my work on business collaboration. It got me thinking about the
importance of what I call “caring, sharing, and giving back.”
First, I felt that if colleagues were acting in a collaborative
way, then they had to care strongly about the audience
(the company and its customers) and the team they were
working with. I’ve also observed that people who are of
a caring nature and are traveling along the collaborative
path are the kind of people who are willing to share. But
it’s important to consider how to begin sharing and what
should be shared.
The question of determining how and what to share led
to the idea of giving back. I felt I had a “calling” to write a
book that encapsulated the experiences I’ve had, which I
believe are important to share, as my way of giving back.
