Dollar General Drives Success through an Exceptional Supply Chain Network
Nov 25, 2019
On average, a Dollar General tractor trailer makes a delivery to a neighborhood store location every two minutes. That means on any given day, approximately 3,000 Dollar General stores across the country are greeted to the vibrant sounds of tractor trailers backing up to make their weekly deliveries, and each truck’s beep gleefully signifies the success of the Company’s refined and robust supply chain network to deliver items that American families rely on us to carry.
Supplying approximately 12,000 products in more than 16,000 stores in 44 states is no easy feat. Yet, Dollar General’s comprehensive network of 17 traditional distribution centers, four cold storage facilities, a transportation program encompassing a growing private fleet, trains and ocean liners, an enhanced demand chain program and expanding cold storage facilities all work precisely and simultaneously around the clock to make it look easy.
So, as store associates carefully wheel rolltainers (a rolling cart holding boxes of product) into stores’ back rooms or to the aisles to stock store shelves, Dollar General’s complex network of Store Support Center employees, distribution center associates and fleet drivers continue to work to procure, transport and deliver the items to customers across 44 states.
“Dollar General’s supply chain network never loses sight that our role is critical to ensuring the products customers need are available in a timely and consistent manner,” said Mike Kindy, Dollar General’s executive vice president of global supply chain. “We are proud to be the engine that helps keep our stores on track because it’s a direct reflection that Dollar General always keeps our customers at the center of all we do.”
How Does Dollar General Do It?
Each day, it is a fine balancing act for the Dollar General Global Supply Chain team to oversee thousands of moving puzzle pieces with delicate precision to manage an expansive footprint across the country.
The intricate process originates in DG Master Data Management after the Company’s merchants and vendors agree to carry new items. The DG MDM team coordinates with merchants and vendors to establish new SKUs and establish products within Dollar General’s vendor software. Next, the DG Demand Chain and Allocations team collaborates with Dollar General’s merchandising team and their vendors to ensure products are ordered and arrive to distribution centers in a timely manner.
Next, the DG Distribution Center Operations teams are diligently working to prep products on rolltainers for Dollar General store teams to stock on shelves. This process works congruently with DG Transportation, which encompasses a dynamic web of tractor trailers, ocean carriers, international containers and Dollar General’s own private fleet of company-owned trucks to physically move the products that eventually make it to Dollar General store shelves.
“Dollar General’s global supply chain team’s worldwide focus and tremendous scale truly demonstrate our mission of Serving Others,” said Tony Zuazo, Dollar General’s senior vice president of inventory and transportation. “Each day, our teams accurately and precisely manage an incredibly large span of control through strategic investments in emerging technology, such as artificial intelligence and visibility platforms, which support our critical business functions. Most importantly, we’re proud to say that approximately 10,000 supply chain and distribution center employees work through a refined and proven international global supply chain program to support more than 16,000 stores across the 44 states.”
While each of the supply chain teams’ functions are different, the teams all share the common goal of ensuring the right products arrive at the right stores at the right times in the right quantities for Dollar General’s customers. This focus reflects Dollar General’s commitment to keep the customer at the center of all they do.
Although the process of unloading a truck and placing items on a shelf appears to be simplistic in nature, the complex process of doing so across nearly 16,000 retail locations from 17 different distribution centers and four DG Fresh facilities each week is a carefully-executed strategy that demonstrates the sophistication of Dollar General’s world-class supply chain network.
How Can I Join Dollar General’s Supply Chain Team?
If supply chain management is an area of interest, Dollar General is hiring in several channels of the field including Demand Chain, Transportation and Operations. Visit www.dollargeneral.com/careers to learn more about Dollar General’s global supply chain opportunities and apply today.
Supplying approximately 12,000 products in more than 16,000 stores in 44 states is no easy feat. Yet, Dollar General’s comprehensive network of 17 traditional distribution centers, four cold storage facilities, a transportation program encompassing a growing private fleet, trains and ocean liners, an enhanced demand chain program and expanding cold storage facilities all work precisely and simultaneously around the clock to make it look easy.
So, as store associates carefully wheel rolltainers (a rolling cart holding boxes of product) into stores’ back rooms or to the aisles to stock store shelves, Dollar General’s complex network of Store Support Center employees, distribution center associates and fleet drivers continue to work to procure, transport and deliver the items to customers across 44 states.
“Dollar General’s supply chain network never loses sight that our role is critical to ensuring the products customers need are available in a timely and consistent manner,” said Mike Kindy, Dollar General’s executive vice president of global supply chain. “We are proud to be the engine that helps keep our stores on track because it’s a direct reflection that Dollar General always keeps our customers at the center of all we do.”
How Does Dollar General Do It?
Each day, it is a fine balancing act for the Dollar General Global Supply Chain team to oversee thousands of moving puzzle pieces with delicate precision to manage an expansive footprint across the country.
The intricate process originates in DG Master Data Management after the Company’s merchants and vendors agree to carry new items. The DG MDM team coordinates with merchants and vendors to establish new SKUs and establish products within Dollar General’s vendor software. Next, the DG Demand Chain and Allocations team collaborates with Dollar General’s merchandising team and their vendors to ensure products are ordered and arrive to distribution centers in a timely manner.
Next, the DG Distribution Center Operations teams are diligently working to prep products on rolltainers for Dollar General store teams to stock on shelves. This process works congruently with DG Transportation, which encompasses a dynamic web of tractor trailers, ocean carriers, international containers and Dollar General’s own private fleet of company-owned trucks to physically move the products that eventually make it to Dollar General store shelves.
“Dollar General’s global supply chain team’s worldwide focus and tremendous scale truly demonstrate our mission of Serving Others,” said Tony Zuazo, Dollar General’s senior vice president of inventory and transportation. “Each day, our teams accurately and precisely manage an incredibly large span of control through strategic investments in emerging technology, such as artificial intelligence and visibility platforms, which support our critical business functions. Most importantly, we’re proud to say that approximately 10,000 supply chain and distribution center employees work through a refined and proven international global supply chain program to support more than 16,000 stores across the 44 states.”
While each of the supply chain teams’ functions are different, the teams all share the common goal of ensuring the right products arrive at the right stores at the right times in the right quantities for Dollar General’s customers. This focus reflects Dollar General’s commitment to keep the customer at the center of all they do.
Although the process of unloading a truck and placing items on a shelf appears to be simplistic in nature, the complex process of doing so across nearly 16,000 retail locations from 17 different distribution centers and four DG Fresh facilities each week is a carefully-executed strategy that demonstrates the sophistication of Dollar General’s world-class supply chain network.
How Can I Join Dollar General’s Supply Chain Team?
If supply chain management is an area of interest, Dollar General is hiring in several channels of the field including Demand Chain, Transportation and Operations. Visit www.dollargeneral.com/careers to learn more about Dollar General’s global supply chain opportunities and apply today.