Don't forget the grease!

Auto Supply Chain Prophets

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:

• How Julie "fell" into a career in supply chain after working in human resources
• The importance of continuous communication with suppliers and customers
• How to attract Millennials to the supply chain industry
• Why having multiple suppliers is critical in an emergency
• The need for supply chain leaders to open their minds to alternative products

Featured Guest:

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

At the heart of The Prophets’ vision are “The 24 Essential Supply Chain Processes.” What are they? Find out, and see the future yourself. Click here

Episode Highlights

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 supply chain industry would benefit from being “more open to alternative products,” Julie says. She stresses the importance of having backup plans to keep things moving, even when the unthinkable happens.

Top quotes

[1:53] “I feel like every day I'm walking into something new. When you think it can't get any worse, somehow it does.”

[3:32] “You always have to think outside the box to make magic happen, and that's what we've been doing for almost two years now.”

[4:16] “One thing I would recommend [manufacturers] do is not be single source or not have just one material approved. Being a small company, we have the flexibility with our lab and management and everybody at our company to [say], Hey, we can't get this. What else can we do? And we figure it out.”

[7:16] “I have to pretty much keep my day open because you don't know what's going to hit. We could get hit with one of my supply chain analysts getting a response from a vendor: We have an issue with this. We can't get this for you. Or we can only get one out of four that you ordered. We're in a very reactionary state right now. Honestly, I love it. I love the puzzle building. I love trying to figure the mess out.”

[10:39] “I really fell in love with all of the analyzing data, figuring out buying patterns, how we should buy products, stocking levels, production schedules, and trying to make the whole … puzzle work so that we can be as efficient as possible. I guess in order to get more people like myself involved, it just comes down to opportunities available. And knowing that supply chain just isn't transportation logistics.”

[13:48] “Have alternative sources for everything, just because you never know what life will throw at you.”