Women in Supply Chain: Walmart's Jennifer McKeehan Named Overall Trailblazer

Jennifer McKeehan knows what it takes to put the customer first. Whether it's listening and executing on their wants/needs or providing speed and convenience on a consistent basis, the goal is always to give customers what they want in the timeframe they want it in.

As SVP, transportation and delivery for Walmart, McKeehan does just that.

"There's a Walmart within 10 miles of 90% of America. Our ability to serve customers when they want how they want where they want is really differentiated. And so we use our stores as fulfillment centers and as I think about what we've been listening to customers and what they want. We've launched early morning at 7 a.m. Late night express from 8-10 p.m.., and we even have drones delivering in 30 minutes or less across multiple states. I think about everything from like a busy mom who forgot school snacks to somebody who wants late night ice cream. We spend a lot of time listening to what the customer wants, and understanding how we can build capabilities or experiences that help deliver on that," McKeehan says.

It's for these reasons and more that McKeehan was named the overall winner of the Trailblazers category for this year’s Women in Supply award.

Journey of regeneration

 McKeehan and her Walmart teams liken themselves to being on a journey of regeneration.

"Net carbon emissions is a lot of what our customers are saying are important to them. And so we're transitioning from plastic to recyclable paper bag mailers. When you get that package to your doorstep, it'll be coming in a recyclable mailer, and we estimate it's going to eliminate 65 million plastic mailers and 2 tons of plastic from circulation in the U.S. And so that alone, small changes at Walmart have huge impacts," McKeehan says.

"We're also really excited about our next-gen facilities. We now have technology in place that makes a box specific to the size of the thing you ordered. And so imagine, for all supply chain folks, lets put more boxes on trucks, spend less emissions, and save the cardboard of not creating a box bigger than you need," she adds.

Sustainability aside, McKeehan encourages everyone in the supply chain to keep going.

"We need more women. We've seen so much progress, but have so much more to make. Keep going," she says.

LISTEN our exclusive interview with McKeehan and learn more about about the importance of servicing customers in different ways and what it takes to be a Trailblazer in the fast-paced e-commerce world.

CLICK HERE to meet all of this year's winners, effective Sept. 16.