Our Supply Chain Heroes program recognizes and celebrates the hard work of LeanDNA customers who optimize inventory, reduce shortages, and empower their companies to operate more efficiently. Every hero has a story, and we’re here to tell them.
Erica Tan, Inventory Management Specialist at Carrier SG, has become a key player in her team’s efforts to streamline and optimize inventory management. Erica plays a crucial role in ensuring that tools like LeanDNA are leveraged to their fullest potential, enabling her team to meet and exceed their inventory reduction goals.
Processes for Progress
Erica leads her team to success by reviewing inventory on a weekly basis and leverages LeanDNA to generate a list of inventory actions for the buyers. This helps set expectations on a weekly basis to ensure the team is aligned and always on top of their priorities.
“We created a workflow process where we review a list of inventory action recommendations from LeanDNA and act on the list on a weekly basis,” Erica explains. This systematic approach not only improved her team's ability to manage inventory but also ensured consistent progress toward their goals.
Empowering the Team Through Strategic Training
When Carrier SG lost a critical buyer who handled the highest number of inventory actions, Erica quickly stepped in to fill the gap. Demonstrating exceptional leadership and leveraging technology, she trained and ramped up a new buyer in just one month.
Erica shares her approach: “By beginning with the Inventory Actions list, I showed how the list is generated, why the inventory actions are important, and how it reflects on both site and individual performance levels. This was followed by a guided walkthrough of LeanDNA’s widgets and reports that may be of use to the new buyer.”
Her strategic training approach not only maintained the team’s momentum but also contributed to a broader success: Carrier SG now boasts 100% buyer engagement in utilizing LeanDNA’s inventory optimization workflows and tools. This level of engagement underscores the effectiveness of Erica’s leadership and her commitment to fostering a culture of continuous improvement.
Achieving Inventory Reduction Goals
Under Erica’s leadership, Carrier SG has successfully identified and acted on critical inventory actions, leading them to achieve their inventory reduction goals for both Q1 and Q2. By leveraging LeanDNA’s reports for monthly sitewide internal reporting, Erica enabled her team to make data-driven decisions that directly contributed to these results.
As Erica looks to the future, she sees significant opportunities for further optimization. With the Vendor Managed Inventory (VMI) and Clear-to-Build functionalities currently in progress, Erica anticipates greater visibility into supplier inventory and parts availability for production. These advancements will empower her team to manage inventory more effectively.
A Tip from the Hero
We like to ask every Supply Chain Hero the same question. What is the most valuable thing you have learned that you would want to share with other supply chain professionals?
“With the advancement of technology at such a fast pace, it is important that we acknowledge the importance of investment into optimization tools like LeanDNA. With the right tools and proper set up in place, an optimization tool like LeanDNA would benefit users in the long run with increased efficiency, increase performance with ease of usage and useful recommendations, as well as reducing workplace wastes such as overprocessing.”
Erica’s story at Carrier SG is a powerful reminder of how embracing modern tools and enabling teams to use those tools to be more efficient can overcome common supply chain challenges and drive significant improvements in efficiency, cost savings, and overall performance.
If you’d like to nominate someone for our Supply Chain Hero program or view more heroes stories, click here.
If this story resonated with you and you’d like to learn more about how to save valuable time with LeanDNA, click here to schedule a demo.
