Tim Vann

Background

About Tim Vann

I have always loved Trucks. Its in my blood if you will. My father worked for UPS driving big trucks. I even went as a UPS driver on Halloween when I was younger because I was proud of him. I started out my college career in computer science, ultimately ending up in accounting because I love numbers, but I held a CDL during school to help pay for it. I never could get away from it and here I am now, 20+ years always being dependent on that truck to make me successful. I have had the pleasure of working in all facets of Transportation from running my own freight relying on Private Fleets to supplementing with 3rd Party carriers to being that 3rd party carrier. What have I learned? You cannot do it without good people. People who care. People who want to make a difference. That is how I started, caring about people. It was the only skill I knew. How to ask questions and be engaging. My dad gave me the best advice before I took one of my first jobs as a Driver Manager at Schneider,"Do not act like you know everything. Your drivers have been doing this a long time and will be your best resource for information." You cannot walk into work without a Continuous Improvement mindset. This approach/skill has been heightened over the past few years working with the largest retail operation in the world. There is so much opportunity to throw money away, that if you are not in that mindset, you will not be a part of the solution. Supply Chain is ever evolving so as a professional I owe it to my company to be ever evolving as well and have the right focus. Data is king. Data, if used right, makes you better, your team better, the operation better. Data also if used wrong or is wrong can sink the most stable ship. It can cause you to make wrong decisions, go after the wrong growth, go after savings that do not materialize, give your team the wrong feedback. I have made it a point to understand all the above aspects and constantly perfect my craft. I am continuously curious. I left a great company to run my own inventory and learn warehousing. I took on the challenge to be a part of the largest retail organization in the world. I took on the challenge of running a large retail footprint to understand the impact at the furthest downstream point you can get. I stayed up until 2 AM for two years to learn how to code. I guess you can say I am not comfortable being comfortable. Have a great day!