Brett Barcelona
Brett Barcelona, President and General Manager Retail Services
Associates Driving Change
When you invest in your associates, you invest in the future of the company. This statement has proved to be incredibly true this year. We’ve talked a lot about Vision 2020, the guiding principles that will propel us to success in the coming years, and our associates make me realize that the goals we’ve set for ourselves are achievable.
Recently our company made significant investments in the technology and systems that directly impact our associates. The improvements we’ve made for our field teams have made day-to-day processes easier, faster and more accurate than ever before. This has allowed us to increase our productivity and put us on the path to provide new services for our retail and CPG partners.
By this August all of our field locations in North America will be equipped with computers, printers and tablets—as well as the appropriate systems to effectively run and use this equipment. While on the surface this may seem like a simple and straightforward task, it has been nothing short of a Herculean effort by our own associates to make this happen.
A field associate tries out the new tablet system.
It took teams in IT, Operations, Human Resources, Sales, Marketing and many others to plan, execute and implement this initiative. Every detail—from addressing connectivity issues to communicating to and training associates—was thought of by our teams. In the instances where we didn’t identify every opportunity for success, we learned from our experiences and incorporated best practices from one phase to the next. As with any project of this magnitude, it’s nearly impossible to foresee every challenge. Our teams responded and adjusted along the way—and I’ve been impressed with the level of ownership and accountability by associates to drive this initiative forward.
For me, it is projects like this that underscore the importance of cross-functional communication and collaboration among our teams. Thank you again for all that you do and all that you contribute to the success of our organization.
Regards,
 Brett Barcelona President and General Manager Retail Services |