Senior Routing Manager, Keurig Dr Pepper
At Keurig Dr Pepper, Woolley manages a team that routes the company’s DSD (direct store delivery) trucks throughout the southern U.S., handling 50 locations and more than 700 delivery routes daily. Woolley, who completed her MBA and graduate degree in supply chain management at Jindal School, designed the company wide process for creating balanced sales and delivery route plans. Her team accounts for daily changes to order sizes and available trucks to determine the most efficient way to get products from warehouses to stores.
How have your degrees impacted your career?
My degree in supply chain management qualified me for my first job managing co-packers for a small company, which got my foot in the door at Dr Pepper. Then, my MBA opened up the opportunity for me to be trained in Lean Six Sigma, which got me into continuous improvement, which morphed into this role.
What is a professional highlight of your career, either where you currently work or in the past?
I had several continuous improvement projects that were highlights, but my favorite was my first one. I redesigned a process for pre-building inventory at a capacity-constrained co-packer and saved the company $638,000. I had other growth projects that resulted in $1.2 million in additional revenue, but I’m really more of an operations person at heart.
What characteristics do you look for when hiring people into your workplace?
I look for how a person learns, their excitement to problem-solve and their communication style. The best workers aren’t the ones who have a specific technical skill, but rather the ones who can learn quickly, are self-motivated to dig into issues, and collaborate well with others.
Why did you come to UT Dallas?
UTD had a great, affordable business program that was flexible enough I could volunteer and work part-time while still taking a full class load. Then, once I was established in my career, I came back to complete my MBA since many of my MS credits counted toward it. It was clearly the right way for me to build my resume and open doors. I wouldn’t have the career I have today without UTD.
How have you connected with either Jindal School or UTD alums since graduating and how has that been fulfilling?
Funny enough, my husband is also a UTD alum, though we didn’t meet in college. He graduated from the ATEC program (School of Arts, Technology, and Emerging Communication) a year before we met. It was one of the first things we realized we had in common. We recently celebrated our eight-year anniversary.
What advice do you have for college students hoping to succeed professionally?
Take notes. Whenever I am trained on something new, I take notes so I don’t have to be taught again. It has helped me develop a reputation for being sharp and reliable. And don’t underestimate taking notes on personal things, too! When I meet someone new, I add a quick note about them in Evernote. It’s hard to remember someone’s favorite hobby or their kids’ names when you don’t see them often. Write down something meaningful to the person you’ve met so you can refer back to it at a later time. It will help build your rapport by showing you took the time to care.
What makes an effective leader?
An effective leader does more listening than talking. As a Lean Six Sigma Black Belt, I know that it’s the frontline workers who know the issues and often have the best ideas for how to fix them. Share your personal leadership philosophy, establish trust so they’ll open up to you, and then lean in and listen. You’ll quickly get to the root of the problem and be able to improve the operation.
What do you enjoy doing in your free time?
I love to learn and develop new skills. My husband and I enjoy traveling and I do a fair amount of sewing and baking. There’s something deeply satisfying about creating something, especially when you have to learn something new or figure out how to make something work. In quieter moments, I enjoy reading history and listening to early jazz and swing.
