This is why your million dollar sorter collects dust

Thanks, Mac. Glad to be here.

well I I had a thirty-five plus year long career. I got into retail distribution and was really fortunate. I'm based out of the United States and started out with a company over here called TJ Maxx. they were you know sales were less than a billion and just had substantial growth over the I think I was there 12 years, and was able to learn a tremendous amount about retail distribution and work my way up the ranks, moved a couple of times with the company, and then wound up finding another company called Kohl's Department Stores that was basically a Midwest retailer here in the US. And again, they exploded. Their sales were less than a billion dollars a year. I think by the time I left, they were well over 20 billion a year. so very exciting to be part of that. had done a small tenure at JCPenney, who was a competitor of Cole's. I think they were in some trouble and needed some help with some consolidation. So I thought that'd be interesting. but you know, the further up you go, Mick. The travel, being away from home constantly. There were times I had 12 to 15 distribution centers under my watch, so I was constantly on the road. decided to leave the industry in 2019, started up a real estate business in upstate New York, did that for a number of years, missed everything with COVID, and then heard that you could get these remote positions. with retailers. And so I I wanted to find a small retailer and I wound up joining with Coda Paxy. They're based out of Salt Lake City. They're an outdoor brand. Their sales were less than 200 million a year. Completely different experience going from these multi-billion dollar companies that are growing, throwing cash hand in fist, you know, to grow the business. to a smaller company that really needed somebody to come in roll up their sleeves. Fell in love with it. you know, very small distribution center, almost no technology. but what it enabled me to do is really spend a tremendous amount of time on the floor working and really passing on that 35 plus years of knowledge of doing the job day to day. and showing them the tricks of the trade. So, you know, after about three years, we we got them, you know, stabilized to a point that they thought that they could take it run from that point. So got together with three of with four other peers late last year and we said hey wouldn't it be great to start a consulting company so we created GoV Alliance group formally announced it in April and been up and running since.

Yeah, I I would say that one of the big things I learned going from these large billion dollar companies to a small, small pretty much a startup company, the available capital to be able to do things, and the need for every leader to be a hands-on operator. as I rose up the ranks and I describe this a lot. when you're a frontline supervisor, you you know how to process every unit, hands-on, work side by side with your people, and your leadership skills is down here. So it's all process knowledge, computer knowledge, systems knowledge, and your leadership's here. Well, the higher up you go, your processing knowledge decreases, and your leadership Ability needs to increase. When you go to a startup company, it's like this. You need those leadership skills to think forward and be able to plan ahead for the future, but you also have to have all those, you know, rudimentary systems knowledge and applications. So it really was an invigorating three-year tenure with them, which is what led me to consulting because I really did miss that. I missed the hands-on approach and being able to work side by side with people on the floor. And you know, along with the four other partners we have, we're all hands-on people. You gotta roll up the sleeves, get your hands dirty. we have a video on our website. You're not You know, I've hired consultants, you get a binder, here's read through this binder, it'll solve all your problems. that's not what Gov is about. We're about getting in, getting our hands dirty, identifying root cause problems, and then really working with the client towards teaching them a solution so we can get the heck out of there and they can move.

Yeah, I I would say the gap that the the opportunity that we identified and and this is you know from thirty five plus years we we've hired plenty of consultants with plenty of companies. what's always missing is that operator element. I I've had this I've worked with engineers many, many times throughout my career. The best engineers were always the ones Who understood the operational challenge because they did it on the floor. And so when we would try to problem solve or brainstorm methodologies to improve a process, they were looking through it through the lens of an operator. And I would say that, you know, I think the same applies from consulting consultants. That many times when I brought consultants in, it was all about theory. oftentimes, you know, like you'd hire a consultant to put in a new labor management system, they would walk you through the things that made it successful at other companies, but they weren't the ones who actually made it successful, right? It it it was really some an employee within that operation that took the lead. was able to run with it. Well, I've been that person. I have been the one who has was put in charge of putting in a warehouse management system at not only my facility but other helping other facilities. There's a world of difference between theory and actually executing the task. And I think that's what we offer. We've been there, done that. I don't think there's anything Within a warehouse operation, a project management situation, whether it's onboarding a 3PL or trying to get goods out of China, we all have been there where we've rolled up our sleeves and actually done that. And and also having the contacts, you know, people that we had to use in the field in the past. One of the things we preach is we do not accept any commissions. You know, if we if we think there's a 3PL that can help a company, we don't take a commission from that 3PL. We we are there just to help. and at the end of the day, get out. I I think one of my frustrations with past consultants is they will come in, two weeks we start to identify the problem, and then all of a sudden you're getting pitched a sale on another problem they may have identified. And start to get, you know, deflect away from the problem that we actually hired them to come into. So that's not what that we're there for. we're actually we're all looking to do this on a part-time basis, you know, a couple months a year. So we're not looking. while we have other people that can help us, none of us are looking for a full-time job. This really is about coming in, identifying a problem, So helping them solve their problem, give them the tools to move forward with and and get out.

Everybody's got a bottom line they're trying to meet. And and I think at the end of the day, you know, we're not in it for that. like I said, I I I think we're all own there's five of us. We're owner operators. We each own 20% of the company. our goal is to come in at a value added rate. we're not look none of us are looking to get rich off of this thing. We we are really just passionate. about the good that we can do. You know, our our our tag is guided by integrity, driven by results, right? And it really is about the integrity of this thing. It really is about we just want to come in and help. We're passionate. I was always a passionate leader, whether it was at TJ Maxx or Coles or wherever. I just love distribution. when I started up a real estate company My dreams every night I was in a distribution environment. I just it's part of my DNA. at this stage my career, I do not want to work full time anymore, nor do some of my peers. But we're so passionate about what we do. And I really was taught well. I the the things I was taught throughout my career by mentors, gosh, there were so many in my life. that taught me, you know, a how to treat people with dignity and respect. Explain the why, make sure you're listening to them, seek their input. Don't be the smartest person in the room, right? All those things that I was taught, I want to continue to teach. And and because they work. they've they've been time tested, they work. And add value to an operation. So if we can come in to an operation or a retailer that's struggling, offer our services at a reasonable price and actually make a difference, that's much more reward at this stage of our careers than future business or or you know what was our total revenue for the year.

first is keep it simple. you know, in this day in technology, everybody's looking for the latest, greatest thing. And and don't get me wrong, there is some technology out there that has had tremendous impacts on throughput and and the ability to be able to to drive throughput within a facility. But I have definitely experienced times with organizations that they're just always chasing it. you know, I talk a lot about change management and the impact that that has out there on employees. people want stability, they wanna know their job's secure. You know, it's a s it's eight hours a day in the US and gosh, you get in the peak times like going. Christmas, you're you're looking at 50, 60 hour weeks. They want stability. So keep it simple. most of the time, I guess number two, is listen to the people that are doing the job. I have found ninety-five percent of my solutions. I certainly never came up with them. the people came up with them. They may not have been able to articulate it correctly. you know it may be rough around the edges, but if you listen to them, they have the answer you're looking for. And so number three is you need to be present on the floor. if you're someone who tries to manage from the office, good luck. because the answers are all out on the warehouse floor. so, you know, I I think ultimately you've got to engage with your employees, understand that they are the process experts, and understand that they are the key to anything that you're trying to if even if you're gonna introduce a new technology, a bagging system and a B2B e commerce, they're wonderful, right? But if you don't bring those employees on board, seek their input with the bagger, let them interact with the engineers, bring them along that process so that they're advocates that this is a good thing for everybody. You're you're I've I've seen companies spend millions of dollars on technology. I s I won't mention the company, but there was this wonderful sortation system. that they implemented that did not bring people on board. They did bring consultants in. And when I was with the company, that thing was sitting collecting dust, doing nothing, because they could not get it to work. And ultimately, I think, you know, being on the floor and working with the people and getting them on board and and helping navigate all that change forward together is the key.

Yeah. boy, what an ever changing world out there. I will tell you, I embraced AI when it first started coming on board. I was still with Codaxi and we started messing around with chat, GPT, and and then you know, when I went on my own, I didn't know how to build a website. I I built ours, had no idea how to do it. and so I transitioned to Gemini and it it really helped me develop the structure of our website and how to actually I I use Wix and actually how to use Wix because Wix didn't have AI to help me along the way. and then I graduated to Claude and what I've discovered with Claude is is being able to teach Claude about me as a person And us as an organization, and use it as a way to help with our messaging out in the field, but also in analyzing data. I I will tell you, you know, we had a saying retail is detail. every distribution environment I've ever worked in, the data along with employee input, but the data will tell a story. And what I am finding is that by using AI, the time that it is saving, you gotta always verify what it's telling you, but the time that it is saving me being able to take that data and and really identify trends out there that I think can help organizations. I'm not sure how the heck we ever got by, you know, thirty, forty years ago without this, but it is definitely a game changer. I I think for folks like myself that are on the tail end of the career, I really encourage people to try to embrace this thing and understand it. it really is pretty simple to use and the more you use it, the more you learn and and boy boy, I look at where I am today versus a year ago. I can't believe how far I've come with it. And but understanding, you know, compared to some other people out there, I'm probably I got this much knowledge. You know, I got enough to be dangerous with it, but I I think a lot of organizations out there need to use it to their advantage, not be afraid of it, embrace it. My son works in data analytics and his company has really embraced AI. And the things he is doing with managing inventory and replenishment levels and supply chain time, it's unbelievable. It would take a staff of thought, you know, a lot of people that'd be able to do this and and you know it it it's enabled them to make decisions much quicker and and with a high level of confidence that the data is accurate.

It's crazy. Yeah, it it it's truly crazy. you know, I I look at the rate that it's accelerating today. you know, the running joke amongst us boomers is, you know, you've got to remember first ten years of my career we computers didn't exist. And then finally we got computers and email, and it's it was life changing, not so necessarily in a good way. but then Excel came out in Word, and and being able to learn basic Excel was a major undertaking. And my gosh, you look at what AI can it's just leaps and bounds beyond anything we were dealing with. And and I think, you know, for the younger generation like yourself, it is so imperative to embrace this stuff and understand it. because man, it's moving at at light speed. And and being able to keep up with that. I I'm really am fearful for people that don't embrace it. I hope they don't get left behind. But you know certainly I I think just jumping in and learning the basics of it, at least you've got some proficiency with it and hopefully gain an interest and some confidence to use it.

Yeah, I'm on LinkedIn. and we also have a website that's govia alliance dot com. we've got all of our contact information there. We do publish some YouTube videos and we try to publish contact on content on LinkedIn. again, you know it's a work in progress as we're starting up, but very much available and and very much again looking for those smaller companies. Our specialty is between 50 million and 500 million dollar revenue companies. we're we're here to help and and you know here to teach and here to partner. So appreciate the time today to be able to speak about it.

Thanks, appreciate it.