Why would a $3 billion distribution company refuse to use backorders?

In this episode of Second Shift, Shawn Brown explains the thinking behind its order fulfillment strategy, why complete orders matter, and what distributors can learn about inventory management and customer service.

Most distributors count an order as on time if it shows up on time. HP Hood doesn't. If it isn't also complete, it doesn't count.

Shawn Brown has spent 37 years at HP Hood, one of the largest dairy companies in the country. He started as a delivery driver, taught himself spreadsheets and databases, and worked his way through analytics, IT, and sales support while the company grew from $220 million to more than $3 billion.

Today he's the Director of Reports and Analytics.
In this episode of Second Shift, Shawn and host Kelly Poholarz get into what a $3B operation measures, how it makes decisions, and what it learned the hard way. Shawn explains why on-time and in-full only tell the truth when they're measured together, why Hood never turned on backordering, and why that metric now goes to the officers every month. He also shares the one question that started Hood's data journey, how finding a gap nobody owned saved $1 million in a single year, and why Hood paused its SAP rollout to rethink the approach.

For owners and operators in manufacturing and distribution, it's an inside look at how one of the industry's biggest players thinks about service, data, and leadership, from someone who started on the customer's loading dock.

ABOUT THE GUEST
Shawn Brown is the Director of Reporting and Analytics at HP Hood, where he manages the company's EDI and data warehouse systems. In 37 years, he's gone from Direct Store Delivery Driver to roles in logistics, IT, and sales technology, including 17 years supporting Hood's EVP of Sales on reporting, pricing, forecasting, OTIF, and ERP selection. He's worked remotely since 2007 and lives by one motto: Company. Team. Self.

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/shawnebrown

ABOUT THE HOST
Kelly Poholarz has spent 30 years in the fastener industry. He started at 19 and worked through different roles while earning his bachelor's degree part-time. On Second Shift, he sits down with leaders, operators, and founders in manufacturing and distribution to talk about what it actually takes to build a top 1% operation.
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kelly-poholarz

ABOUT SECOND SHIFT
Real conversations with leaders in manufacturing and distribution about what it actually takes to build a top 1% operation. Hosted by Kelly Poholarz.

ABOUT SETKO FASTENERS & DISTRIBUTIONSetko Fasteners & Distribution is a family-owned industrial fastener distributor serving manufacturers and distributors with standard and specialty fasteners, including socket products, cap screws, set screws, shoulder bolts, dowel pins, hex and Torx keys, and custom parts manufactured to print. Setko provides both domestically manufactured and imported fastener solutions, along with services including blanket orders, scheduled releases, secondary processing, and custom finishes.Visit SetkoFasteners.com [ https://setkofasteners.com/ ]

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