Episode 272

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Published on:

24th Apr 2024

Crafting Walmart’s Customer-Centric Supply Chain with David Guggina

This week on the Be Epic podcast, Brent welcomes David Guggina, Executive Vice President of Supply Chain at Walmart. They delve into the transformative strategies and technological advancements reshaping Walmart's supply chain to better serve and meet the rapidly changing needs of customers globally. David shares insights from his extensive background in supply chain management, starting from his early days at Purdue University, through roles at General Motors, Anheuser Busch, and Amazon, before joining Walmart. He discusses the integration of e-commerce and physical store operations at Walmart, emphasizing the implementation of modern software and robotics to enhance efficiency and customer satisfaction. The conversation also covers Walmart's commitment to a people-led, tech-empowered approach that prioritizes both associates and customers in creating a seamless omnichannel retail experience.

Transcript
David Guggina:

Time and time again, I find that the best

David Guggina:

performers aren't necessarily the people that come with the

David Guggina:

skill set already intact. It's just the folks that are

David Guggina:

dedicated to our purpose.

Brent Williams:

Welcome to the be epic podcast, brought to you

Brent Williams:

by the Sam M. Walton College of Business at the University of

Brent Williams:

Arkansas. I'm your host, Brent Williams. Together, we'll

Brent Williams:

explore the dynamic landscape of business, and uncover the

Brent Williams:

strategies, insights and stories that drive business today.

Brent Williams:

Today, I have with me, Dave Guggina, and Dave is Executive

Brent Williams:

Vice President of Supply Chain at Walmart. Dave, thanks for

Brent Williams:

being here today.

David Guggina:

Brent I am excited to be here and look

David Guggina:

forward to the conversation.

Brent Williams:

We're excited to have you on campus both for this

Brent Williams:

and interaction with our students. We appreciate your

Brent Williams:

time and that maybe before we dive in, because I want to, I

Brent Williams:

want us to talk about the supply chain transformation, that that

Brent Williams:

you are leading along with others at Walmart, but maybe

Brent Williams:

before that, for this audience, tell us a little bit about your

Brent Williams:

background and, and then also the scope of responsibilities

Brent Williams:

that you have at Walmart.

David Guggina:

Absolutely. So I I reside in Northwest Arkansas.

David Guggina:

I've been living here for about three and a half years. I've

David Guggina:

been with Walmart for about six and a half years. Live with my

David Guggina:

two girls, Colette and Eloise and my wife Danielle, and we

David Guggina:

love this area, love spending time outdoors. Love walking this

David Guggina:

campus. It's a beautiful area of the country. So like I said,

David Guggina:

I've been working for Walmart for six and a half years I

David Guggina:

started with Walmart, in the E commerce space. In a role we

David Guggina:

call it operational excellence. But but essentially, my focus,

David Guggina:

when I first came in was the software and the robotics that

David Guggina:

we were looking to deploy in our e-commerce and our fulfillment

David Guggina:

network. And then over time, we brought the e-commerce supply

David Guggina:

chain teams and the the legacy or the store side supply chain

David Guggina:

teams together. And then more recently, we've brought the

David Guggina:

store operation teams and the supply chain teams even closer

David Guggina:

together from an org structure standpoint, and formed a team

David Guggina:

that we call end to end. And today I oversee central US

David Guggina:

supply chain. So I've got a team that focuses on flow, end to end

David Guggina:

flow from point of origin to point of sale. I've got a team

David Guggina:

that focuses on end to end supply chain strategy. And then

David Guggina:

there's all the assets that we manage, our ports, our inbound

David Guggina:

consolidation centers, distribution centers, we have

David Guggina:

both ambient distribution centers and temperature

David Guggina:

controlled or perishable distribution centers and then

David Guggina:

fulfillment centers across the country. So over 270 assets,

David Guggina:

physical assets across the US today. Before Walmart, I started

David Guggina:

my career in supply chain when I was in college at Purdue

David Guggina:

University. I worked for General Motors. And then I spent a

David Guggina:

couple of years with Anheuser Busch. My first job there was

David Guggina:

logistics planning for the St. Louis brewery. So we didn't have

David Guggina:

software doing load planning. So it was people like myself. So

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routing and dispatch as well. And then I ran a canning line

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for Anheuser Busch. And then, you know, they were acquired by

David Guggina:

InBev. And during that time was like 2007. A company amazon.com

David Guggina:

reached out to me. And I didn't know what amazon.com was, at the

David Guggina:

time, they were pretty small. They had 10 fulfillment centers

David Guggina:

in the US. So I, I went onto their website and started became

David Guggina:

a seller just to test it out to see if I wanted to go work for

David Guggina:

this company. It was pretty, pretty seamless experience to

David Guggina:

become a seller and I thought they figured something out. So

David Guggina:

went and worked there for about a decade in a bunch of different

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roles, fulfillment roles, inbound, outbound, customer

David Guggina:

returns, quality control, lead, my last role was leading a

David Guggina:

virtual team. So a team that everyone worked from home, we're

David Guggina:

in 11 different countries, we provided customer service, we

David Guggina:

resided in within operations. And that was an interesting

David Guggina:

experience as well. So then I had a mentor who had left Amazon

David Guggina:

and took a short stint as the CEO of Restoration Hardware and

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then went to Walmart and recruited me for about something

David Guggina:

like six eight months and talked me into jumping over and at

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Walmart, I've found that Walmart's purpose and reason for

David Guggina:

being aligned really well with you know, how I live my life and

David Guggina:

the values that myself and my family have and this is home for

David Guggina:

me.

Brent Williams:

Yeah, wow. Home for me as well, I love it here.

Brent Williams:

And, you know, I thought I would ask you this question, you know,

Brent Williams:

you've had lots of different experiences in your background,

Brent Williams:

and in some ways, Walmart pulls all of that together, right, you

Brent Williams:

know, with the with the physical footprint, you know, the E

Brent Williams:

commerce explosion, you know, in the business that's happened

Brent Williams:

and, and everything else in between.

David Guggina:

It does, you know, we've been using the term

David Guggina:

saying where people and tech empowered omni channel retailer

David Guggina:

that exists to serve, and save people money so that they can

David Guggina:

live a better life. And that couldn't be more, more true, I'm

David Guggina:

not sure that the term omnichannel will stand the test

David Guggina:

of time, but I do know that the people led, tech empowered will,

David Guggina:

that's how we think about it. And, you know, we start with the

David Guggina:

people on our teams, the associates, working in our

David Guggina:

stores, the communities that we serve, and, and, you know,

David Guggina:

we're, we all are working together, so that we can bring

David Guggina:

the best experience possible for the customers that we serve

David Guggina:

them, hundreds of millions of folks across this country and

Brent Williams:

I think that's the thing that's hard to get my

Brent Williams:

the globe.

Brent Williams:

head around sometimes with Walmart is just how many people

Brent Williams:

across the globe that you're touching on a daily or hourly

Brent Williams:

basis? Well, you know, I know that just in getting to know,

Brent Williams:

you know, the last couple of years, and then, you know,

Brent Williams:

observing Walmart, you all have been going through quite the

Brent Williams:

transformation in supply chain. And would, that's where I'd

Brent Williams:

really like us to spend the majority of our time and like

Brent Williams:

what's, you know, maybe at a high level, describe that supply

Brent Williams:

chain transformation for us. And, but then also like, what

Brent Williams:

precipitated the, the need, and the, you know, and, and the

Brent Williams:

urgency in this.

David Guggina:

When I think about the need, I think about

David Guggina:

something that our US CEO, John Furner, says quite a bit, and

David Guggina:

that is that in retail loyalty exists in the absence of a

David Guggina:

better alternative. And retail's constantly changing, because our

David Guggina:

customer's needs and wants are constantly changing. Mr. Sam

David Guggina:

would say customers vote with their, their wallet, right. And

David Guggina:

they're voting, you know, every single day in our business. So

David Guggina:

the supply chain is critical to the customer value proposition

David Guggina:

that we ultimately put put in front of the folks that we

David Guggina:

serve. And we have to be able to keep up with the pace of work,

David Guggina:

which customers needs and wants are changing, and they're

David Guggina:

changing more rapidly today than I think they have in a long,

David Guggina:

long time. And I think that's partially due to the fact that

David Guggina:

technology is changing. It's not on a linear trajectory, it's on

David Guggina:

an exponential trajectory. I'd say, you know, I say all that to

David Guggina:

say in the simplest terms, we, we looked at our supply chain,

David Guggina:

and wanted to change because we want to serve. We exist to serve

David Guggina:

the customers. And, you know, outside of our values and our

David Guggina:

principles, change is the one thing that's constant at

David Guggina:

Walmart. So if I think about the, the transformation itself,

David Guggina:

I guess I would, I'd start with, you know, talking about the

David Guggina:

evolution of our supply chain. So Mr. Sam realized early on in

David Guggina:

Walmart's storied past, that owning the supply chain

David Guggina:

controlling the supply chain was, was a competitive advantage

David Guggina:

from the standpoint of providing everyday low costs, which allow

David Guggina:

you to provide everyday low prices. So he stood up the

David Guggina:

Ambien distribution network, that was where we started. And

David Guggina:

I've been in some of the facilities that are the first

David Guggina:

distribution centers that we we we kicked off over 40 years ago,

David Guggina:

and then they're running today. And then, you know, customers

David Guggina:

really enjoyed those everyday low prices. And they also they

David Guggina:

liked shopping for general merchandise with Walmart. They

David Guggina:

also wanted that experience with with consumables with fresh

David Guggina:

goods food. So then we we stood up a perishable supply chain.

David Guggina:

And then customers again, changed and wanted to have goods

David Guggina:

delivered to their doorstep. And we stood up a fulfillment

David Guggina:

network. And then more recently, you know, customers again are

David Guggina:

changing. They Want this omnified experience of not only

David Guggina:

being able to shop off a shelf, but having been able to pick up

David Guggina:

goods from their local neighborhood market and also

David Guggina:

have goods delivered to their doorstep, or even inside their

David Guggina:

refrigerators or their pantry, so we're changing yet again. But

David Guggina:

this time, we're not standing up another network, we're

David Guggina:

integrating the networks in a more connected and flexible way.

David Guggina:

And we're doing that with modern software capabilities, as well

David Guggina:

as robotics or hardware capabilities. And we're rolling

David Guggina:

those capabilities across the entirety of our supply chain,

David Guggina:

software can move at a much faster pace, because it doesn't

David Guggina:

require you to pour concrete for example. So we're moving rapidly

David Guggina:

with, you know, improved transportation management

David Guggina:

systems, yard management systems, warehouse control

David Guggina:

systems, warehouse management systems, modernizing those

David Guggina:

connecting those, but then we're also bringing in modernized

David Guggina:

robotics, I think, you know, if you look at our major

David Guggina:

investments, one common thread is automated storage and

David Guggina:

retrieval systems, which allow us to densify storage and a

David Guggina:

particular centroid or node where an asset is, so that we

David Guggina:

can improve our cube utilization for those nodes. But then it

David Guggina:

also removes a lot of the manual redundant work and helps us

David Guggina:

become more accurate. As well as increases our throughput

David Guggina:

capacity and, and our productivity, quite frankly.

Brent Williams:

Yeah. So which, really, ultimately, as the, as

Brent Williams:

the customer that ultimately serves what I want, right, which

Brent Williams:

is really what I want is the item that I want, or the items

Brent Williams:

that I want, when and how I want it. You know, the the focus on

Brent Williams:

automation, and robotics, has probably been some of the most

Brent Williams:

well documented, you know, of the work that that you've done.

Brent Williams:

What's the change management process been like inside Walmart

Brent Williams:

to or, you know, for, for adopting not only, I guess, the

Brent Williams:

technology, but also the integration of, of legacy lines

Brent Williams:

of the supply chain, that can't be easy work.

David Guggina:

It's not, it's not easy work at all right. But

David Guggina:

I would say it's, it's incredibly valuable, right? The

David Guggina:

fact is that we have these nodes that exist across the US that

David Guggina:

are the right locations, right, and being able to reshape those

David Guggina:

nodes with the most modern software and hardware without

David Guggina:

having to put a new dot on the map is incredibly valuable. So

David Guggina:

it is important for us to manage through the change and be able

David Guggina:

to come up with solutions that truly change our processes,

David Guggina:

processes at the root at their core and create something

David Guggina:

totally new and different from a process standpoint, that gives

David Guggina:

you capabilities that we just flat out cannot couldn't even

David Guggina:

imagine with with the more manual processes that we've

David Guggina:

historically utilized. So so it is it is very valuable. What I

David Guggina:

would say is how we think about it. When we're implementing new

David Guggina:

technology into the supply chain. From a change management

David Guggina:

standpoint, we start with proof of technology, we cast a really

David Guggina:

broad net at Walmart, both internally and externally to try

David Guggina:

to find the best ideas, capabilities, tools to solve

David Guggina:

problems that help us serve customers better. So we cast

David Guggina:

that broad net, we call it pot proof of technology. And often

David Guggina:

that work is done in one of our labs or or at one of our

David Guggina:

partners, labs, or one of their centers. And once we found that

David Guggina:

a technology is something that we think can really help us move

David Guggina:

forward towards delivering outcomes that matter to

David Guggina:

customers quickly. Then we move to proof of concept. And that

David Guggina:

just basically brings that capability in house at a really

David Guggina:

small scale. And if that proof of concept is successful, so

David Guggina:

we'll define KPIs key performance indicators that that

David Guggina:

let us know, hey, this is bearing fruit, then we'll move

David Guggina:

from a proof of concept to a pilot and pilot is just broader

David Guggina:

scale. And we, you know, we use math to tell us, hey, what is

David Guggina:

the scale that we need to prove this capability out at so that

David Guggina:

we are confident that it can be rolled out across the network,

David Guggina:

and then we move to roll the rollout phase? And depending on

David Guggina:

the capability and how disruptive it is. We have teams

David Guggina:

that handle rolling these these initiatives out out. Some are

David Guggina:

relatively simple and easy, like a software update. You know, and

David Guggina:

it's more of an informed the site through one of our

David Guggina:

communication mechanisms. Others, like we've shared our

David Guggina:

ambient automation program where we're partnered with a company

David Guggina:

called symbiotic. That's pretty disruptive. So we have teams

David Guggina:

that focus on training, focus on prepping the site focus on, you

David Guggina:

know, ensuring that our associates have the right skills

David Guggina:

and tools so that when that change occurs on site, we can

David Guggina:

that lead time to proficiency is shrunk. And the great news is,

David Guggina:

we're getting better and better at handling this kind of change.

David Guggina:

And I see it in the data with how quickly we go from launch to

David Guggina:

fully proficient.

Brent Williams:

Interesting.

David Guggina:

So, but it is, we're learning new new things on

David Guggina:

a, on a daily, weekly basis. And how to do better.

Brent Williams:

Hourly, yeah. You know, we've talked about the

Brent Williams:

customer as a key stakeholder, of course, in the supply chain

Brent Williams:

transformation. associates are another really key stakeholder

Brent Williams:

in in this transformation. And I'm not asking you about both

Brent Williams:

well, one, I had the opportunity along with you with your team to

Brent Williams:

be in one of the the new fulfill fulfillment centers. And I got

Brent Williams:

the opportunity to talk with a woman that like she was elated,

Brent Williams:

you know, I felt like in her role in the way that it has

Brent Williams:

changed interacting with the technology, but like inside the

Brent Williams:

fulfillment centers, that part of the network? How How are you

Brent Williams:

equipping associates? And what's what's their reaction to these

Brent Williams:

change?

David Guggina:

So let me let me back up, and then I'll answer

David Guggina:

that question more directly. How I think about this is I and I

David Guggina:

think you and I've talked about this before, briefly, but you

David Guggina:

know, I'm excited about the capabilities. I'm excited about

David Guggina:

what it means for our customers. But I would say I'm most

David Guggina:

excited, or I get my cup gets filled up the most when I spend

David Guggina:

time with our associates in the impact that this reshaping of

David Guggina:

our supply chain is going to have and is having on them. What

David Guggina:

we're doing is we're bringing together robotics software and

David Guggina:

people said differently, we're bringing together machines and

David Guggina:

humans. And machines are really good at ingesting large

David Guggina:

quantities of data and processing them at high speeds.

David Guggina:

They're also good at executing repetitive tasks with a subset

David Guggina:

of rules at high speed. With high levels of accuracy and

David Guggina:

quality. Humans are really great at problem solving. Humans are

David Guggina:

great at utilizing their creativity, utilizing empathy

David Guggina:

for one another, and upstream and downstream. Participants in

David Guggina:

the supply chain and or ultimately, the customer in our

David Guggina:

programs, in my opinion, are really focused on allowing

David Guggina:

machines to do what they do best, and allowing humans to do

David Guggina:

what they do best. And how does that ultimately show up? And how

David Guggina:

are our associates responding? You know, I think of a

David Guggina:

conversation I have with a gentleman named David shares my

David Guggina:

name at our Brooksville, Florida site, which is we're putting in

David Guggina:

the the ambient automation. And we were having this conversation

David Guggina:

and he almost got emotional, just saying, you know, when I

David Guggina:

asked him has it changed your life, he's like, I'm building a

David Guggina:

pole barn. At first, I was like, what, that's how it's changed

David Guggina:

your life. And he went on to explain how, you know, when he

David Guggina:

was driving eight to 10 miles a day lifting hundreds of items,

David Guggina:

cases every hour. He he went home and just didn't have the

David Guggina:

energy to do during the week things that you know, that he

David Guggina:

wanted to do with his friends with his family. In this case,

David Guggina:

he wanted to build a pole barn and he walked me through how he

David Guggina:

had recently completed his pole barn and how the automation

David Guggina:

allowed him to do that. So what I have found is we go through

David Guggina:

our change management process, POT proof of technology, proof

David Guggina:

of concept, pilot, and those associates that experience that

David Guggina:

change originally they are our champions. And if you can get

David Guggina:

them to interact with the rest of the population. It's it's

David Guggina:

this self perpetuating model that we don't need to sell this,

David Guggina:

we don't need to convince people that it's the right thing. They

David Guggina:

do it themselves and we see it in the data, our jobs, we are we

David Guggina:

today we provide good jobs that lead to great careers. And I

David Guggina:

think we're doing that. At an at another level, right, the

David Guggina:

ceiling is becoming the floor. And this reshaping of our

David Guggina:

network and the capabilities is helping us do exactly that. So

David Guggina:

our associates are excited about the change. And then I think you

David Guggina:

also mentioned how do we equip them, you know, we are we have

David Guggina:

learning teams that train our, our associates, and give them

David Guggina:

put the tools in their toolkit that allow them to take on these

David Guggina:

new roles. And some of those we've talked about pretty

David Guggina:

publicly An example would be like the associate to driver

David Guggina:

program. Some that we'll talk about more in the near future

David Guggina:

are associate to technician programs, which are incredible.

David Guggina:

And, you know, time and time again, I find that the best

David Guggina:

performers aren't necessarily the people that come with the

David Guggina:

skill set already intact. It's just the folks that are

David Guggina:

dedicated to our purpose, and have been with us for a long,

David Guggina:

long time. And it's just us investing in them and giving

David Guggina:

them the new set of capabilities they require to do the jobs of

David Guggina:

the future, so.

Brent Williams:

Well and it's that point that I was just

David Guggina:

Good time of the year right now.

David Guggina:

thinking about, as I was listening to you thinking like

David Guggina:

those associates that are committed to the purpose have

David Guggina:

been with you. And then the investment in them that is, in

David Guggina:

some ways future proofs them in their career is, is quite a

David Guggina:

meaningful thing. You know, you mentioned David building a pole

Brent Williams:

playing time of the year volleyball, and a car

Brent Williams:

barn, I was actually last night, I was with my family on the

Brent Williams:

front porch. And it was a beautiful night in Northwest

Brent Williams:

Arkansas. My kids were my girls were

Brent Williams:

pulls up to our house and didn't know who it was. And long story

Brent Williams:

short, gentleman starts unloading groceries and other

Brent Williams:

items from Walmart. And my wife and I were both sitting there.

Brent Williams:

And after he left, you know, I told her like, well, I will

Brent Williams:

thank Dave, for the fact that you can sit here beside and

Brent Williams:

enjoy this night instead of shopping.

David Guggina:

It's not me,

Brent Williams:

You and your team,

David Guggina:

There are many so many folks involved in that

David Guggina:

space. Even beyond the supply chain team, it's just

David Guggina:

unbelievable to see how the end to end operations, the stores,

David Guggina:

the supply chain, our delivery partners, Spark drivers, are all

David Guggina:

coming together to create these pretty incredible experiences.

Brent Williams:

You know, so fundamentally, right, you had

Brent Williams:

heard a story of how you've impacted one of your associates

Brent Williams:

lives hears, you know, at least a firsthand customer story.

Brent Williams:

That's quite purposeful. So how is that purpose helping you

Brent Williams:

attract the talent? I guess it's that purpose. It's helping you

Brent Williams:

attract the talent from, you know, folks in fulfillment

Brent Williams:

centers, but also, you know, the engineers and the expertise that

Brent Williams:

you're bringing across the team, it just seems like as I interact

Brent Williams:

with more and more of your teams, I'm blown away with their

Brent Williams:

capabilities.

David Guggina:

Yeah, great question. I would say. I often

David Guggina:

answer things in a roundabout way. So I'll get there. But

David Guggina:

where I'm going to start is, I think for a long time in supply

David Guggina:

chain and just industry in general, even manufacturing. You

David Guggina:

know, I think it started probably in the industrial age,

David Guggina:

we had this model of there's leaders and there's followers.

David Guggina:

And there's top down directive. I think we're exiting that age

David Guggina:

and in, in most cases, at least with Walmart, we've already

David Guggina:

moved far beyond that. And we're moving into a world where there

David Guggina:

are leaders of leaders, where we are focused on empowering

David Guggina:

individuals. And I think we do that through communicating to

David Guggina:

the leaders within our organization, and even folks

David Guggina:

that are interested in potentially joining us the

David Guggina:

purpose of why we exist, right? And companies that have strong

David Guggina:

purpose, I think have an incredible competitive

David Guggina:

advantage. In today's day and age, with this model, people

David Guggina:

don't just go to do a job get directed from the top down and,

David Guggina:

you know, connect two widgets together. They want to

David Guggina:

understand why they're doing something. And at Walmart, where

David Guggina:

we're very, very clear on we exist as a company to serve. Our

David Guggina:

purpose is to save people money so that they can live a better

David Guggina:

life. And that's not just in the US that's across the globe.

David Guggina:

We're dedicated to the communities in which we reside.

David Guggina:

We want to make those communities better places. So I

David Guggina:

couldn't ask for a better tool to help us bring talent into the

David Guggina:

organization, whether it's bringing it up through the

David Guggina:

organization, from someone who started loading trucks for us,

David Guggina:

or whether it's attracting undergraduates, graduate

David Guggina:

students, subject matter experts in different fields. So all that

David Guggina:

we do kind of starts there. And then how we conduct work to

David Guggina:

deliver on that that purpose, like I mentioned earlier, is

David Guggina:

constantly changing. So we're introducing new capabilities

David Guggina:

that require us to get expertise in areas that are new and

David Guggina:

different for for the company. But again, that strong Purpose

David Guggina:

allows us to do that more seamlessly.

Brent Williams:

You know, Dave, another stakeholder in the

Brent Williams:

transformation, I assume is your partner's you mentioned, there's

Brent Williams:

been, you know, that, that you guys have been public about your

Brent Williams:

partnership with synbiotics, as an example, has this

Brent Williams:

transformation required you Walmart to work differently with

Brent Williams:

those partners in some ways?

Brent Williams:

Yeah.

David Guggina:

I would say is we, you know, in different

David Guggina:

And we partner like here locally, we partner

David Guggina:

companies take different approaches, a lot of companies

David Guggina:

will just do the vast majority of their development in house.

David Guggina:

And don't get me wrong, we are we're builders. And if you look

David Guggina:

with plug and play, I think, I think you and I've been at

David Guggina:

at the our tech organization, our software engineering

David Guggina:

organization, it's incredible what they're building, we're

David Guggina:

building capabilities in house that are helping us do things in

David Guggina:

new and different ways that are pretty, pretty unbelievable. But

David Guggina:

at the same time, we don't sit back and think that we have all

David Guggina:

events,

Brent Williams:

We have yeah,

Brent Williams:

the answers or all the best ideas. So I mentioned earlier

Brent Williams:

that we cast a broad net.

David Guggina:

Plug and play, you know, and they're bringing

David Guggina:

in companies and different stages, early stages of

David Guggina:

development, and introducing them to folks like ourselves,

David Guggina:

and others within the area. You know, and I, I love having the

David Guggina:

opportunity to work with these different organizations in

David Guggina:

different phases of their development and maturity.

David Guggina:

Because the ideas that are coming about are just

David Guggina:

unbelievable. So like I said, we're not, we're not so proud to

David Guggina:

think that we're the only ones with with all the great ideas.

David Guggina:

We do have incredible amounts of valuable data that can help us

David Guggina:

develop solutions with others that deliver great results for

David Guggina:

retail and great results for Walmart customers. And then,

David Guggina:

specifically on have we had to partner with folks in different

David Guggina:

ways. I guess what I would say is the scale of the change with

David Guggina:

some of our key partners is so significant that absolutely

David Guggina:

we've had to be there's been a level of depth in the

David Guggina:

partnership. That's, that is different than what I've seen in

David Guggina:

the past. It's one thing to deploy a capability, whether

David Guggina:

it's a combination of software and hardware or one of the other

David Guggina:

in a handful of sites. And then across the entire network.

Brent Williams:

Yeah.

David Guggina:

And the closer that partnership is whether it's

David Guggina:

managing a ramp, or the procurement of raw materials,

David Guggina:

the closer that partnership is, the more efficient, you're going

David Guggina:

to be in the delivery of the ultimate solution. So, yeah,

David Guggina:

we've really had to lean into those relationships. And it's

David Guggina:

helped us it's helped us move much, much quicker.

Brent Williams:

Yeah, I can only imagine that the partnership

Brent Williams:

piece of that is is critical. Just because of the scale. No

Brent Williams:

one else you know has the scale and that is going to be required

Brent Williams:

to deploy technology in hardware. Well, you know my

Brent Williams:

finish up with a couple of questions. Just as your as

Brent Williams:

you're looking out there maybe maybe zooming out a little bit

Brent Williams:

just as you're continuing to lead, of course, the supply

Brent Williams:

chain organization at Walmart and the continued

Brent Williams:

transformation, just what's what excites you, you know about the

Brent Williams:

future in supply chain? And, and you know, you'll be with a group

Brent Williams:

of our students and in just a few minutes, what what advice do

Brent Williams:

you have, you know, for Walton College students, as an example,

Brent Williams:

that are thinking about careers, not only in supply chain, but

Brent Williams:

more broadly, and many of them will be graduating in just a few

David Guggina:

I think what excites me, we're fortunate to

David Guggina:

weeks.

David Guggina:

be, you know, alive in this this period of time. Specifically,

David Guggina:

because of the advancements in technology, and I mentioned this

David Guggina:

briefly earlier, but technology does not follow in an intuitive

David Guggina:

like linear view, it's exponential. So the progress in

David Guggina:

the 21st century isn't going to be 100 years of progress. If you

David Guggina:

use the rate of change, you know, the last 100 years, it's

David Guggina:

going to be the equivalent of 20,000 years or whatever that

David Guggina:

whatever that would equate to, but it will be significant. And,

David Guggina:

you know, when you think about supply chain, we want to know

David Guggina:

what we own, where it is, in what quantity, in what condition

David Guggina:

all in near real time. And folks have reached for that for a long

David Guggina:

time. And it's just unbelievable to see the capabilities that we

David Guggina:

have today that we're able to deploy that are allowing us to

David Guggina:

achieve that vision. And the outcomes from that our folks

David Guggina:

will talk about speed a lot. And speed is important. But think

David Guggina:

about like the importance of being timed definite within a

David Guggina:

supply chain. And all that you can do to optimize if you know

David Guggina:

what you own in what quantity where it is all in near real

David Guggina:

time, and when it's going to be where it is today. And when

David Guggina:

it'll be to the next point. All the waste you can extract it's

David Guggina:

it's an exciting time. And then when I think about advice that I

David Guggina:

would give to new new graduates. So a couple things come to mind.

David Guggina:

First, you know, we were talking you will have a supply chain

David Guggina:

course for freshmen and sophomores I believe. You know,

David Guggina:

it's not incredibly common to do that, that early in someone's

David Guggina:

career. I think that's incredible. I think what what I

David Guggina:

found when I was in school, and I think under students will find

David Guggina:

is that they'll find that they're good at certain things.

David Guggina:

Let's say you're taking a course in supply chain, and you're

David Guggina:

doing your last mile delivery, catchment and batching design

David Guggina:

with some kind of you're building a model based on a

David Guggina:

subset of data that was given to you from your professor, you may

David Guggina:

find that you enjoy that you may find that you're good at it. I

David Guggina:

would say as you exit, school and move into the workforce, you

David Guggina:

know, find something you're good at and become exceptional at it.

David Guggina:

You know, so many folks think, oh, I need experience in a bunch

David Guggina:

of different areas that'll come. But first, whatever you start

David Guggina:

doing, if it's in supply chain, just find something you were

David Guggina:

good at, then become incredible at it and become a subject

David Guggina:

matter expert. And then others will come to you to learn. And

David Guggina:

guess what happens when they do that they're going to teach you

David Guggina:

something. And they're going to want to pull you into new and

David Guggina:

different experiences within your career. So that'd be one

David Guggina:

piece of advice. And then my, my second would be I think in

David Guggina:

today's day and age, the ability to be present and listen to

David Guggina:

someone else is so valuable. And if you give someone your your

David Guggina:

full attention, it is an expression of respect, empathy,

David Guggina:

care, and those individuals will will thank you for that. And

David Guggina:

we'll treat you differently because you treated them that

David Guggina:

way. And that'll help you build, build your network and build

David Guggina:

relationships and in that leader of leaders model, it'll help you

David Guggina:

get leaders to follow you and help you move towards whatever

David Guggina:

outcomes you're trying to drive or whatever goals you're trying

David Guggina:

to achieve. And then the last advice is, you probably want to

David Guggina:

come work at Walmart in supply chain if you're graduating so

David Guggina:

give us a call.

Brent Williams:

I love it. Uh, well, seriously, what great

Brent Williams:

advice, you know, work hard, become excellent at something,

Brent Williams:

and, and be a little patient. You know, that's what I talk to

Brent Williams:

our graduates about Be a little patient because you're exactly

Brent Williams:

right excellence. People want to be around people that that

Brent Williams:

operate and work with excellence and they want them on their

Brent Williams:

team. So those opportunities will come. But also want to, you

Brent Williams:

know, the the advice of be present and listen, you know, in

Brent Williams:

a world that's pretty noisy, right, and seems like it's

Brent Williams:

increasingly noisy is quite simple, but quite powerful. So,

Brent Williams:

Dave, thank you for being here today. Thanks for spending some

Brent Williams:

time with me and talking about the supply chain transformation.

Brent Williams:

And thanks for spending time and investing in our students. Some

Brent Williams:

of the some of the students that you're spending time with today

Brent Williams:

will hopefully be leaders of Walmart supply chain in the

Brent Williams:

future.

David Guggina:

Hope so. Thank you, Brent. Appreciate your

David Guggina:

time.

Brent Williams:

Thank you. On behalf of the Walton College

Brent Williams:

thank you for joining us for this captivating conversation.

Brent Williams:

To stay connected and never miss an episode, simply search for Be

Brent Williams:

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About the Podcast

Be EPIC Podcast
Welcome to the Be Epic Podcast featuring Brent Williams, interim dean of the Sam M. Walton College of Business at the University of Arkansas. In each episode, you will hear from guests that will inspire you to be epic. As experts in their field, they will emphasize strategy, leadership, and entrepreneurship. This programming will highlight innovation and cutting-edge information that will leave you wanting more. Be sure to connect with Brent Williams on LinkedIn to join the conversation, access show notes and discover fantastic bonus content.