It’s a good thing Julie Dedene likes to think on her feet. In her role as a supply chain manager for industrial lubrication supplier Eastern Oil Company, she’s had to contend with everything from the COVID shutdown to a demand spike, labor shortages, and natural disasters.
Julie describes her job as “a constant battle,” but as someone who loves a good puzzle and solving problems in real-time, she’s in her element.
Themes discussed in this episode:
Name: Julie Dedene
Title: Supply Chain Manager at Eastern Oil Company
What she does: Julie began steadily working her way up the supply chain ladder at Pontiac, Michigan-based Eastern Oil Company when she was hired in 2015 as a purchaser. Today, she manages the organization’s supply chain.
Connect: LinkedIn
Timestamped inflection points from the show
[1:17] A false start: After realizing human resources wasn’t for her, Julie joined Eastern Oil Company as a buyer and began her career in supply chain.
[2:02] Never a dull moment: Since 2020, Julie and her team have dealt with a number of challenges. COVID, a demand spike, labor shortages, and bottlenecks created what Julie describes as “a huge trickle-down effect.”
[2:28] The perfect storm: In 2021,fires at multiple oil and chemical facilities in several states and a winter storm in Houston seriously affected the industry's ability to meet demand and do business.
[4:16] Check your sources, and make sure there’s more than one: To address unforeseen disruptions, Julie recommends that manufacturers have multiple suppliers, each approved to provide more than one material.
[6:15] Communication is your fail-safe: Amid the instability of the past few years, Julie has found continuous communication with customers and suppliers to be essential in keeping things running as smoothly as possible.
[8:19] Small advantage: Since she doesn’t have to navigate the giant hierarchy of a big corporation, it’s easy for Julie to communicate directly with decision-makers and stakeholders in her organization.
[10:12] Piecing it all together: While working in human resources, Julie realized that she really liked numbers and analysis. Eventually, she made the transition to supply chain.
[12:32] Ground control: The importance of a strong IT system can’t be understated. Julie says this is especially true when multiple sites work together and need to view the same data.
[13:12] The one thing: The auto...
