Entrepreneur gains supply chain experience from military
Paul Quinn witnessed the critical importance of supply chain management from his days as a Naval officer on the USS Mount Hood (AE-29), an ammunition and supply ship.
He used that knowledge and experience to shape a successful career in manufacturing and supply chain management, which in turn led him to become the first Nexterus supply chain and logistics regional office owner. Based in Naperville, his territory includes the Northern Illinois region.
"Supply chain is crucial to the success of the mission of the military," said Quinn. "That's something I learned in the Navy. I understood the importance of fulfilling that need."
After serving in the Navy, Quinn was hired by The Clorox Co., headquartered in Oakland, Calif. He oversaw the manufacturing side of supply chain, from factory operations to freight and logistics, distribution, warehousing and purchasing.
With over 25 years of supply chain experience, Quinn began exploring business ownership opportunities. He was drawn to Nexterus because its business model and Fusion Center TMS technology helps small- and mid-sized companies optimize their supply chains.
Fusion Center is customized for each client. And because Nexterus is carrier-agnostic, it scan carrier transport companies with high reliability ratings at price points that benefit the smaller companies.
"On-time delivery and cost savings are critical to our clients," said Quinn.
Supply chain management and optimization are crucial to business, especially with talk of a possible recession.
The Fusion Center cloud-based software is a transportation management system. Shipping a product from Point A to Point B can happen on a truck, a ship, a train or a plane. The technology helps customers manage their broader supply chain and increase profits by lowering shipping and administration costs. Quinn also offers customers access to Llamasoft, an advanced supply chain optimization technology. This tool provides insight into the most efficient and low cost ways to run their overall supply chain. Customers can look at different "what-if" scenarios, and use real analytics to provide high decision-making confidence.
"Customers are experts in the products and the process going on inside the four walls of their plant," said Quinn. "But from the loading dock to the customer, they rely on our Fusion Center TMS and Llamasoft optimization technology to move their products efficiently, quickly, reliably and on time."
Quinn grew up in New York and lives in suburban Chicago. He enjoys cheering the Chicago Cubs at Wrigley Field, except when his beloved Mets are in town. A lifetime member of the Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW), Judd Kendall Post 3873 in Naperville, Quinn regularly donates his time to the post, helping with fundraising events such as Buddy Poppy sales during Memorial Day Weekend, and volunteers at the VFW community events like Friday night fish frys.
One of his favorite quotes is from best-selling leadership author, Tom Peters. "Leaders win through logistics. Vision, sure. Strategy, yes. But when you go to war, you need to have both toilet paper and bullets in the right place at the right time. In other words, you must win through superior logistics."