My Experience as a Target Supply Chain Operations Manager Intern: How to make Supply Chain Operations more Efficient.

I spent this summer as an Operations Manager Intern at 塔吉特百货 's Sortation Center located in Austin, TX. Target invested over $100 million into their supply chain in 2021 to advance their position against competitors for next-day delivery. Sortation Centers are a part of Target’s last-mile initiative, as they receive packages from 30-40 local stores, reorganize packages, then ship to nearby customers’ homes. The impact that Target’s Sortation Centers have on their customers is incredible, as these facilities increased the number of orders delivered next day by 150%.

I managed a group of 15 team members that fluctuated in size based on volume demand. While day-to-day operations were different, my role as a leader remained consistent. I implemented effective process improvements using CI methodologies (Gemba Walks, 5 Why’s, Standard Work Audits) to reduce defects in the operation. Additionally, I tracked various KPI’s such as safety, teamwork, quality, and productivity to identify gaps and overcome operational hurdles.

Working with Target has been the most rewarding, encouraging, challenging, and resilient experience I’ve ever had. I couldn’t be more grateful for my mentor Maurina T. , SOM Fred Crose , HRBP Courtney McKinley-Garza , and my peers for their guidance, knowledge, and encouragement throughout my internship. While I have gained an endless amount of valuable lessons that I will apply the rest of my career, here are the top five experiences that have made operations more efficient:

1. Safety, Safety, Safety!

Safety was the first topic I learned in my role and was evidently the number one concern for our team members (TM)- inside and outside the building. Expressing safety issues to the team while demonstrating safety habits led to consistent and efficient operations. Our TMs are working in a physical setting with the packages, so implementing these safety habits prevents any safety or quality defects to the team, such as injury or missed scans. Additionally, we communicated to the team the importance of their safety outside the building so the TMs take care of themselves physically and mentally before coming into work. Expressing our consideration on the TM safety created a stable and positive environment for our team to work in.

2. Be a leader, not just a manager.

Throughout my second week, I worked alongside the team members in each of their functions. This helped me create an intentional connection with the team members, as I was getting to know them on a personal level while understanding the operation. I gathered information on who the team members are personally and what their interests are outside of work. Creating this personal connection with the team laid a strong foundation of trust between the TM and I, since I was working with them for eight weeks. Gaining the team’s trust early helped them, and myself, become confident and respectful in my decisions. The following weeks I embraced to the team that I am a leader, not just a manager. Establishing this mindset with the team showed that I am here to engage with them, help work through problems, provide mentorship, and embrace a positive teamwork environment. I am humbled to say that my team consistently had a smile on their face, no matter the situation we faced together.

3. Communication is key.

An important lesson I have learned from my University of Arkansas -- Sam M. Walton College of Business classes is the importance of communication, and it was incredible seeing and applying that knowledge first-hand this summer. Overseeing supply chain operations, no day looks the same, and it was critical to communicate any information to my team and cross-functional leaders. There were many instances when there were last-minute disruptions to the operation, and I had to act agile to modify the operation plan for the shift. Communicating these changes cross-functionally and to my team were essential to avoid any confusion. I intentionally looked out for my team by having difficult safety, behavioral, and quality conversations with them. Following back on the importance of safety, enforcing and communicating the safety expectations sets a clear understanding to the TM. The trust between the team and I grew strong from having these difficult conversations, as they felt cared for from being intentionally looked after by myself and other leaders.

4. Set quantitative and qualitative goals-and follow up on them.

Prior to the shift, we communicated to the team any updates regarding that day’s operations and expected changes that will occur in the future, such as a predicted increase in package volume. We conducted a pre-shift plan meeting as we presented the shift information and our goals for the night to cross-functional leaders. This information included the planned package per hour (PPH), shift safety and quality priorities, volume and hours plan, and total day throughput. Sharing these expectations to my team while consistently communicating updates motivated them to increase or maintain their workload, creating an efficient operation to reach our target goal.

5. Have a continuous improvement mindset.

The sortation centers are fairly new in Target’s supply chain, so constant improvements are made throughout the facility and our team. Whether improvements are made to the processes, operations, management, or the team, implementing a continuous improvement mindset creates a resilient and adaptable culture. Being vulnerable to the team inhabits a growth and resilient mentality; we make mistakes, we learn from them, and we take actions to become successful.

In the operations, I helped implement changes to reduce “waste time”- the unproductive time spent in a function due to obstacles. Observing the team members in that function and having thorough discussions about specific issues were extremely insightful, and helped me critically think as a leader: how can we improve the operation from this obstacle? In conclusion, I communicated the TM’s feedback to my peers, where we upgraded to a new power conveyor, reducing time spent in that function by 10%. Showing the team that us leaders value their input and feedback, and it improves not only that function, but our operation as a whole.