Celebrating Women in Logistics: Jill Barron's Journey
by Jaidyn Farar
As we near the end of March, this article marks the fourth and final chapter of our Women’s History Month blog series celebrating women in the logistics space. Today, we’re spotlighting Jill Barron, practice lead at Summit Advisory team.
Meet Jill Barron
Jill Barron leads the supply chain operations and strategy practice at Summit Advisory Team, which provides consulting services for retail and consumer products companies. Prior to joining Summit, she worked in supply chain, supply chain operations, and strategy with a luxury retailer.
She says, “I've really dipped my toe and have [experience] in everything from operating a facility to strategy to partner relations and even some facility engineer experience in there.”
Jill’s insights on the consumer experience
In her Unboxing Logistics episode, Supply Chain and the Consumer Experience, Jill teams up with Matt Boland from Körber Supply Chain to discuss how behind-the-scenes logistics processes affect customers.
Staying agile to keep costs low
Jill points out that businesses don’t have to sacrifice customer experience in order to keep costs low. With the right processes and technology, it’s possible to balance both considerations. “I think the most important thing, if you are a retailer, is you have to be nimble. You have to have systems that allow you to plug and play as these expectations change.”
How to lose customer trust
Last-mile shipping is one of the most important elements of the consumer experience. But warehouse processes have a big effect on customer trust and loyalty as well. Jill explains why good inventory management can make the difference between a satisfied customer and a disgruntled one.
“There's no quicker way to lose loyalty and trust than to not accurately communicate to your consumers that an item is back-ordered or out of stock until either the point they’re in your checkout, or even worse, they’ve already entered their payment information and clicked order, and then they get an email saying, oh, sorry, your item is back-ordered.”
Offering sustainable packaging
Most consumers want sustainable packaging options, but brands hesitate to make the switch. Jill points out that going green doesn’t necessarily require an upfront investment.
“[You might offer] consolidation of packages. [If someone] ordered something on Monday and ordered something on Wednesday, can we consolidate? That doesn't cost the retailer any more money, and it saves them money. It saves on the carbon footprint.”
“I have worked for a retailer … that packaged everything in these very beautiful boxes that cost a lot of money. And there was an offering that [consumers] don't have to get every product in this beautiful, expensive box. We can send it to [them] in something that's more sustainable.”
Thanks for following along
That wraps up this Women’s History Month blog series on women in logistics. If you’ve missed our other posts, check them out! We highlight the expertise and knowledge of three women from EasyPost whose work has helped shape the shipping technology landscape: