60 Seconds with Jerry Pimental - Paladin Supply Chain Solutions

Modern: Congratulations on retirement after 39 years in the industry. Tell us a little about your career.

Pimental: I got started unloading boxcars for the Alpha Beta supermarket chain in Southern California. From there, I worked my way through every hourly position in the warehouse you can imagine, and I was a teamster for 12 years, including the time I attended college on the GI bill. Eventually, I was promoted to management. My degree was in the application of systems and technology, and it turned out that it was a natural fit for me. Over the years, I was involved in WMS, TMS and OMS implementations in more than 15 locations, and I designed, built and ran a number of DCs. The last three years, I was vice president of supply chain for the Stop & Shop Supermarket Co. in New England where I was responsible for transportation and distribution, including the management of our largest DC, with 1.1 million square feet of dry and refrigerated space, 1,000 associates, and a 77-aisle AS/RS.

Modern: Given the breadth of your responsibilities, what have been the most significant changes you’ve witnessed, especially in recent years?

Pimental: First, I would take a look at systems, and how we used to operate on mainframes, then distributed systems and now we’re moving to Cloud based. The advancements and adoption rates of technology and automation in the United States have continued to grow. I think the key factor is the changing labor workforce. We have an aging workforce—if you’re my age you’re retired or about to be. The new workforce doesn’t work the same way as the one it is replacing. Different things motivate them, and labor is getting more expensive. Employers are forced to reduce operating expenses, and automation is the way to do that.

Modern: Compared to when you started, how important has automation become to the industry? And, how do we best use it?

Pimental: First, automation has always been important, but never to the degree that it is today. Again, I think a lot of that has to do with the makeup and cost of the workforce. At the same time, smart operators are using automation to change the nature of work. I think automation is best used when it enhances what a person does rather than replacing a person. For example, goods-to-person picking eliminates travel while systems like scale and weight technology improve accuracy. In both of those instances, a human is still a critical component. As I look at almost four decades in the industry, the biggest change is that today’s technology is fully capable of supporting our imaginations. Three or four years ago, many of the things we wanted to do weren’t possible with an electro-mechanical device. Today, if we can imagine it, it can be done with technology and software.

Modern: When you look down the road, what excites you most about the changes in the industry or the coming technologies? What’s going to impact us the most?

Pimental: I get excited when I get into the world of WMS and WES systems. Today, the gap between these two applications is very narrow, and in some cases it’s become very blurred. Software as a service is very exciting. The systems are easier to implement and there is less cost and risk. I also look at automation technologies, like shuttles, that free us from having one device that moves vertically and horizontally, as in a mini-load or AS/RS.

Modern: What are the biggest hurdles the industry faces?

Pimental: The labor workforce. They are incentivized differently and they want different things, like flexible work schedules. As employers, we have to think outside the box to retain them. At the same time, we’re going to have to change the mix of labor and automation to make it work. Last, is the level of government regulation, especially in food safety. Today’s companies have to find ways to comply without adding cost. That’s a big nut to crack.

Modern: Tell us about Paladin Supply Chain Solutions, and what you’re doing next?

Pimental: Paladin is an idea I’ve had for quite some time and it’s becoming a reality. I think we’ll bring a wealth of experience to the table in DC life cycle management as well as software systems. I’m also working on an educational primer to inform business teams on how automation can be used. I think I have a pragmatic approach, and I have the scars to prove it.