Larry Smith
Chesterfield
Summary
Dynamic professional with over 20 years of experience in supply chain logistics and operations management. Known for enhancing employee performance and fostering continuous improvement through innovative training programs, resulting in a +4% year-over-year productivity increase and successful team transitions to top performance.
Overview
26
26
years of professional experience
Work History
Learning & Development Supervisor
ADUSA
01.2024 - Current
- Designed, implemented, and oversaw training programs that enhance employee skills, performance, and personal growth.
- Collaborated with leadership and HR teams to cultivate a culture of continuous improvement and increase employee retention.
- Established weekly communication with site leadership to highlight associate performance and engagement insights, facilitating informed conversations.
- +4% YoY weekly average productivity increase for Perishable associates in the STAR onboarding program as compared to 2024.
HR Business Partner
Amazon
01.2018 - 01.2021
- Provided strategic HR support and guidance to operations leadership, enhancing alignment with organizational goals.
- Advised on and managed employee relationship initiatives, including conflict resolution and disciplinary actions, to foster a positive work environment.
- Participating in succession planning and talent management efforts to ensure the organization has the right people in the right roles.
- Supported effective succession planning and transition for senior operational leadership and midlevel management.
- Implemented associate engagement program for operation leadership to address underperforming associate satisfaction scores.
- Transitioned site from bottom 5% in performance to a top 10 within comparable groups within 6 months.
- Proposed and supported front line leadership redesign and alignment to streamline operational efficiency and effectiveness.
- Supported succession planning and transition for senior operational leadership and midlevel management, ensuring continuity and stability in key roles.
Learning Operations Manager
Amazon
01.2015 - 01.2018
- Oversee implementation of organizational learning and talent development programs for onboarding leaders and over 3,000 fulfillment associates.
- Conducted training needs analysis and developed initiatives resulting in continuous improvement.
- Created Leadership Development program designed to provide front-line operational leaders the skills and tools necessary to achieve career advancement goals.
- Restructured new hire training curriculum for high-risk departments designed to reduce learning curve dilution and timeline for achieving veteran productivity rates.
- Initiative resulted in a 6% increase in new start productivity performance rates and average cost savings of 140 man-hours per hiring week.
- Implemented Job Rotation Tool enabling operational managers to quickly identify cross-trained associates, reducing research time from 1.5 hours to 7 minutes.
Area Manager
Amazon
01.2012 - 01.2015
- Managing a large scale fulfillment center team focused on exceeding customer expectations via effective process adherence while seeking and engaging in continuous improvement activities.
- Implemented DPMO reduction effort as SME to simplify research and reconciliation process, establishing real-time identification techniques for root cause drivers.
- Through these efforts outbound operational departments observed a 27% reduction in weekly DPMO avg and set a site record for the number of weeks with a network A rating in DPMO performance.
- Led AFE Kaizen to enhance safety and maximize operator performance by reducing process waste.
- Through these efforts AFE was able to observe a 3.2% increase in overall throughout resulting in an annualized savings of $51,000 per year.
- Batch Sort SME - Developed a Batch Sort continuous improvement initiative designed to remove waste by reducing wait time, travel distance (for waterspiders); and increase safety by minimizing traffic in the buffer staging area.
- Through these efforts Batch Sort was able to observe a 20.5% increase in direct Rebin rates, 7.7% increase in %OP2, 72.5% decrease in Rebin transition time, resulting in an annualized savings of over $191,000 per year.
- Co-led Non-Sort Box on Demand Kaizen to improve process throughput by redesigning supply chain, eliminating process variations, and reducing wait times through flex transitions and assignment responsibilities.
- Through these efforts RIC1 was observed a 32% increase in BOD throughput within the 1st month of implementation receiving the VP Award for Excellence 'going from worst to first'.
Executive Group Leader
Target Distribution
01.2009 - 01.2012
- Managed distribution team to achieve results in safety, quality, productivity, cost effectiveness, growth, and community relations through innovative and creative approaches.
- Executed freight forwarding implementation strategy that reduced costs and improved facility throughput efficiency.
- This resulted in exceeding established goals improving inbound efficiency 14 % taking ranking from 24th to 15th in the distribution network within 10 months.
- Developed and executed retention strategy that retained diverse talent and fostered productive, inclusive, and collaborative culture within executive team.
- Selected out of 350k employees to receive Target’s 2011 Best in Community award for leadership and direction.
- Award based on driving a successful United Way campaign (raised over $100k in contributions, #1 in distribution network by % to DC population) and establishing a Title I mentoring program in the Dallas TX area.
Logistics Project Manager
CEVA Logistics
01.2007 - 01.2009
- Coordinated the successful phase development of new business opportunities which included contract negotiation, SOW/SOP definition, facility build-out, and KPI definition.
- Credited for implementing turnaround strategies in Mexico, Brazil, and China that facilitated the on-time Go-Live execution of a multi-site project in the region.
- Improved VMI operations using Lean and benchmarking methodology, achieving 99.5% delivery reliability (up from 67%) and reducing in-house damage liability by 63%.
- Drafted Zero Defect Startup (ZDS) procedures for service logistic center (SLC) startups, establishing standard operating procedure guide for new business implementation.
Operations Manager
CEVA Logistics
01.2001 - 01.2007
- Developed and implemented warehouse management operations procedures, tools, and systems for district 3PL VMI operation, enhancing overall operational effectiveness.
- Instituted LEAN operations methodology which resulted in a 30% increase in operational efficiency while saving the customer over 500 man-hours weekly labor costs, featured in Global Logistics and Supply Chain Strategies magazine.
- Created and redesigned high velocity inbound receiving processes for the streamlining of materials throughput Activities led to Six Sigma quality standards in the areas of on-time performance, OS&D adherence, accuracy, and a 30% reduction in man hours utilized.
- Redesigned high velocity inbound receiving processes to streamline materials throughput, achieving Six Sigma quality standards in on-time performance, OS&D adherence, accuracy, and reducing man hours by 30%.
- Traveled domestically and internationally to oversee the installation and development of new business launch sites.
Education
BS - Business MAnagement
Texas State University
San Marcos, TX01-2005
AUTOMATED LOGISTICS SPECIALIST -
US Army
01-2001
Skills
- Learning program design
- Curriculum design
- Talent Acquisition
- Budget Management
- Needs assessment
- Lean Methodology
- Training Program Evaluation
- Learning Needs Analysis
- Learning Path Development
- Talent management
- Employee engagement
- Training needs analysis
Personal Information
Title: Operations Manager
Profile - Overview
Over 20 years of successful supply chain logistics, operations management and leadership experience with a reputation for meeting the most challenging organizational goals and objectives. An energetic and focused individual recognized for driving efficiency, standardization, and reliability with a proven record for producing higher performance standards and fostering a continuous improvement culture by utilizing both LEAN and benchmark standardization methodology. Controlling startup inefficiencies: Domestic and International experience in training sites how to transition emerging new business from development stage to an effective and efficient operational steady state. Meeting and exceeding customer expectations by seeking feedback/input, leveraging partnerships, and developing unique solutions designed to improve the customer experience.
Timeline
Learning & Development Supervisor
ADUSA
01.2024 - Current
HR Business Partner
Amazon
01.2018 - 01.2021
Learning Operations Manager
Amazon
01.2015 - 01.2018
Area Manager
Amazon
01.2012 - 01.2015
Executive Group Leader
Target Distribution
01.2009 - 01.2012
Logistics Project Manager
CEVA Logistics
01.2007 - 01.2009
Operations Manager
CEVA Logistics
01.2001 - 01.2007
BS - Business MAnagement
Texas State University
AUTOMATED LOGISTICS SPECIALIST -
US Army