Meet JR
It usually started before dawn. Whether is was his paper route for the Grand Rapids Press or shagging balls at the local golf course in trade for free rounds, JR has always started early. At Western Michigan University, he joined the groundbreaking Integrated Supply Management (ISM) program as a freshman, and as a sophomore, became one of the youngest supply chain interns at Deere & Co. As an upperclassman, JR started a student mentoring program for ISM students that is still going strong today. It’s hard to say exactly where it came from, but that drive to get up and get to work has defined JR professionally and personally.
As a coveted campus recruit, JR chose to join Ford Motor Company and its purchasing organization. During his time with Ford, JR developed a deep understanding of the risks companies face within their supply chains and methods to monitor and mitigate the impact of those threats. One of JR’s proudest achievements, while at Ford, was building an outreach program for minority-owned suppliers that brought all the resources and business intelligence of one of the world’s largest companies to its supplier community. This experience and success working with growing, and often struggling, companies inspired JR to leave Ford and join Stout Risius Ross, a boutique consulting firm, to introduce innovative technology solutions to assist supply chain organizations proactively proactively manage supply threats.
This was a pivotal point in JR’s career where he began to transform his supply chain and performance improvement experience into high quality innovative products. They were so successful, that the group was spun off and acquired by Grant Thornton. During his 3 year tenure, JR refined and expanded the portfolio by building and delivering four additional products focused on third party risk mitigation. It became abundantly clear as the bottom fell out of the auto industry around 2007, how vital these solutions were for his clients’ future sustainability. The supply chain was failing in every direction but using the principles and technology JR had helped to build, companies were able to see further into the future and protect themselves.
JR’s portfolio of products and innovative approach to new revenue sources started to attract attention. In 2010, KPMG acquired JR’s group and the flagship product, Vontik. They tapped JR to shepherd the cutting edge system into a broader market. Vontik now stands as one of the pillars of the market leading supply chain and risk monitoring tool, Third Party Intelligence. JR continues to integrate new ideas and technologies into every aspect of business to achieve greater reliability and build truly intelligent systems.
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Leadership
What I Think is Important
Find your rhythm...
Frank Barrett writes about the leadership lessons one can learn from jazz, and Ken Norton furthers that association by applying its logic to product management. I love a great metaphor. And, as enthusiastic amateur saxophonist, I love a metaphor that ties my hobbies to my work. Jazz. It’s unpredictable, exciting, and hard to master. It requires skills far beyond the ability to press the right keys on an instrument. It’s built on an etiquette of listening, leading, following, and embracing mistakes to create something unique. Product managers should strive for nothing less. Listen - to the team, the market, the users, and the nay-sayers. It all has value. Share the Lead - every team member has an expertise that needs to be empowered. Embrace Change - have the courage to get uncomfortable and go where the users take you.
Build a team like a heist movie...
Laura Klein, author of UX for Lean Startups, recently shared the results of a study she conducted about happy teams, and drew an analogy to heist teams. I always find myself rooting for the crew to complete the mission and get away with it. Klein identifies three primary reasons to build teams in this mindset: (1) the goal is very clear - ambitious but reachable and understood why it is an important goal. (2) the team is made of experts - built on trust and respect and able to withstand personality clashes. (3) they balance time together and apart - “synchronizing watches” to get started - allowing the experts to stay focused on the tasks at hand. Her findings suggest that teams like this are more resilient, continuously improve, and stick around for longer.
“Always work hard on something uncomfortably exciting!”Larry Page
Passion
We wanted to run our own business, and be in control of our own destiny. We had no idea where it would lead us, but wherever it was, we knew it had to be better than feeling bored and unfulfilled. We were ready for an adventure.Tony Hsieh
My Work
Third Party Intelligence | Supplier VulnerabilityWe identified a significant need in the automotive manufacturing market to more efficiently and holistically monitor supply chain risks. In response, we designed, built, and deployed an enterprise SaaS product facilitating the sharing of data and analysis of the level of risk. Third Party Intelligence reveals these vulnerabilities in advance of a disruptive event to provide more time to avoid and mitigate the impact. Learn more at www.kpmgspectrum.com/3pie Read More Read Less | |
Vontik | Supplier OutreachAs the auto industry entered one of its largest downturns in history, companies quickly realized the how little insight they had into the financial health of their suppliers. In 2008 I launched Vontik to provide a platform for data exchange between buyer and supplier, and an analytics engine to assess the financial health of each company. It quickly grew to be the largest set of privately-owned company financials in the auto sector. Read More Read Less | |
Supply Chain Risk Management | Supply Risk DashboardingModern companies face challenges from disparate systems and chaotic interfaces. Supply Chain Risk Management measured financial, operational, and strategic indicators, across every tier of the supplier’s ownership structure. It highlighted suppliers with chronic corporate issues or isolated location issues. Part level detail enabled precise follow-up actions and potential product line impact. Supply Chain Risk Management was initially released to the US market in 2005, and in 2007, I redesigned and updated the software to expand to the European client base. Read More Read Less | |
Service Part Dispositioning System | Inventory ManagementService part management is often the forgotten child of the supply chain family. During a plant closure, it rarely receives the appropriate attention or tools to effectively assess the closure’s impact. In response to this problem, we built a system that collected, analyzed, and mapped the bill of materials for all service part end items to facilitate the disposition of each service part component. This System resulted in significant time and cost savings, while maintaining the service part requirements for the end customers. Read More Read Less | |
Component Consolidation | Directed Buy ManagementMany commodity-based components are directed buys through the first tier supplier. While this strategy aims to reduce total cost by leveraging volume buys, it often leads to lack of control through decreased commonality and lack of visibility. This bill of material management system provided a platform for buyers and suppliers to communicate component volumes and prices, and gain visibility into opportunities for commonality, piece price savings, and supplier efficiency. We estimated a 10,000% ROI for one client. Read More Read Less | |
Ford Supplier Diversity Development | Lean Principles ImplementationDesigned, developed, and implemented a supplier development program; identifying and assessing candidate companies based on needs and support willingness. Touched and improved over 25 companies during a 2 year tenure. Learn more at http://www.fordsdd.com/sdd_program/init_lean.htm. Read More Read Less | |
Western Michigan University Student Mentoring | Supportive DevelopmentWhen I began in the ISM program, we had relatively few students so I implemented a peer-to-peer mentoring program so upperclass students could guide and encourage underclass students. We then expanded the program to include our sponsoring executives as mentors. By my senior year, our program connected the majority of ISM students with either a student or executive mentor. Learn more at http://wmich.edu/supplychain/advising/mentors. Read More Read Less |