36 DC VELOCITY JULY 2018 www.dcvelocity.com
t
h
ou
g
ht
l
e
ad
er
s
Todd Greener knows how to manage change
and improve supply chains. As senior vice
president supply chain for Advance Auto
Parts, he has created a five-year strategic
business plan to improve performance and
transform operations at North America’s
largest automotive aftermarket-parts supplier. Two years into the program, the
company has addressed cultural and operational issues, initiating quality programs
such as Lean Six Sigma and enhancing both the logistics
and warehousing/distribution sides of the business. Some
key improvements to date include a 6-percent productivity
improvement through procurement, route/asset optimization, and lean DC operations projects, as well as the
successful startup of two 450,000-square-foot greenfield
distribution centers with new technology platforms.
Greener’s quarter century of industry experience is a
key driver of the changes at Advance Auto Parts. Prior to
joining the company in 2015, he spent 20 years at General
Electric Co., serving as general manager, distribution operations at GE Appliances and general manager, service parts
supply chain at GE Transportation. He also held supply
chain and finance leadership roles at GE Lighting, GE
Corporate Audit Staff, and GE Aviation. And he continues
to give back to the industry, participating as a member of
the Supply Chain 50, the Fortna Advisory Board, and the
Gartner Enterprise Supply Chain Leaders Peer Forum,
among other local and national organizations.
Q What attracted you to the logistics/supply chain field and what motivates you to continue your work each
day?
A The significant impact that the supply chain has with customers, shareholders, and team members and the
continuous improvement opportunities to optimize safety,
service, and productivity in such a meaningful way.
Q You are leading a major supply chain transformation at Advance Auto Parts that includes improvements
in processes, systems, and automation. In a nutshell, what
were your goals and what impact has the project had to
date?
A We are currently in year two of a five-year transfor- mation. Early in our strategic business planning pro-
cess, it became clear that we had an industry-leading base
of assets, products, and team members, but at the same
time we were underperforming and needed to transform
the customer experience, transform our operating model,
and transform our culture. We started on the culture piece
by defining a common set of cultural beliefs that defined
what we stand for and how we will work. There were also
several organizational improvements that came out of
that effort. We spent a lot of time under-
standing the shape of industry demand,
mapping our key customer touchpoints,
and defining improvement opportunities.
We also spent a lot of time looking at our
operating model and defined a multiyear
productivity roadmap across the material
spend, supply chain, and selling, general,
and administrative categories.
Out of those planning efforts, we’ve implemented a number of customer-facing and operational
improvements, including the initiation of Lean Six Sigma,
service excellence, and environmental, health, and safety
organizations; implementation of telematics and delivery
software in our professional delivery fleet; optimization
and standardization of store replenishment frequency; and
the announcement of closing our Gallman, Miss., distribution center. It has been a massive change agenda, and I’d
like to thank all of our team members who have worked so
hard to make these changes successful.
Q As someone with more than 25 years’ experience in logistics and supply chain, what are some of the greatest industry changes you have seen in your career?
A As computing power and cost have exponentially improved, the customer experience and the cost of
that experience have been transformed. Also, university
supply chain programs have become so sophisticated and
well integrated into the industry over the past 25 years.
In addition, the quality of industry publications and
networks has improved tremendously. It has never been
easier to find help with a particular problem, statement,
or challenge.
Q What hasn’t changed?
A The strategic and tactical importance of the supply chain function and processes to a company’s success
and the optimization of multiple safety, service, and cost
metrics.
Q What advice would you give to professionals just entering theindustry?
A Gain as many foundational assignments as you can across a broad group of disciplines, including procurement, inventory planning, manufacturing, DC operations, transportation, and enabling functions such as
quality, analytics, technology, facilities, program management, and safety. I’d also recommend taking the tough
assignments/projects—they are significant investments but
can be incredibly rewarding and valuable to your career.
Finally, seek to build a broad network and utilize external
resources to find solutions and best practices.
Todd Greener
