For over 100 years, The Clorox Company has been making your favorite cleaning products, but their portfolio is much more wide-ranging than you might realize. In this Supply Chain Now classic episode, Senior Vice President and Chief Supply Chain Officer Rick McDonald joins Scott and Greg to share how the company puts people first, even throughout the onset of a global pandemic, and continues to deliver innovative products — cat littler, lip balm and ranch dressing included. Tune in to hear Rick’s thoughts on navigating a tough labor market, the future of automation and other top supply chain challenges.

Intro/Outro (00:03):

Welcome to supply chain. Now the voice of global supply chain supply chain now focuses on the best in the business for our worldwide audience, the people, the technologies, the best practices, and today’s critical issues. The challenges and opportunities stay tuned to hear from those making global business happen right here on supply chain now.

Scott Luton (00:30):

Hey, good morning. And Scott Luton and Greg White here with you on supply chain now. Welcome to today’s live stream, Greg, how you doing?

Greg White (00:37):

Doing quite well, Scott, how are you

Scott Luton (00:40):

Out doing outstanding. It’s uh, a big day. Big show today, Greg. Yeah, we welcome back one of our all time faves, but for his first live discussion with us here on supply chain now. Oh,

Greg White (00:51):

That’s right, right. Yeah. We’ve we recorded before haven’t we

Scott Luton (00:54):

That’s right. Have we

Greg White (00:55):

Ever shown his faith? I mean, were they video

Scott Luton (00:59):

Episodes before? That’s a great question. Cause

Greg White (01:02):

You know, I know the first one probably was not cuz right. It looked like we were even doing video yet. Then

Scott Luton (01:07):

I think the second and potentially a third one, I’m not sure he’s either had two or three episodes with us, but the second or third one was, was certainly video but not live, but who we’re talking about, Greg of course is Rick McDonald. Chief supply officer with the Clorox company is here with us to date. Just doesn’t get too much better than this, right?

Greg White (01:26):

Yeah. I mean, if anyone’s ever listened to any of the episodes with Rick, they already know an incredibly inspirational leader. He is, has done the done the doing and now is leading the doing and, and you know, he shared with us a lot about the culture of Clorox, which a lot of folks will get to hear shortly plus. And I don’t wanna distract people the best do in supply chain is my opinion. <laugh> cool. Coolest looking guy in supply chain without a question. So,

Scott Luton (01:54):

And I hear he could still handle the hot corner on a baseball diamond, Greg.

Greg White (01:59):

Yeah. So catcher and col we should let him,

Scott Luton (02:03):

Was he catcher? I lost third base. Yes.

Greg White (02:06):

Okay. Well may have been both at one point, but

Scott Luton (02:09):

Well he’ll have to share a story or two maybe who knows?

Greg White (02:12):

Yeah. Yeah. One question. Well, I mean, Georgia tech had a, I think they still have a pretty good ball team, but they had an incredible ball team when he was playing there. So he’s a legit player. Let’s ask if Pete let’s ask him what his bowing average was too though.

Scott Luton (02:29):

Let’s do that triple threat, but not take anything away. I’ll tell you. It’s amazing what Rick and the Clorox team have been doing over the last few years in particular. And we’re gonna talk about that. Get some of his insights, hear what’s new at Clorox, organizationally and beyond. So, and better yet. We wanna hear from you. So drop your comments industry based on what, you know, how the conversation’s going, what we’ll share as many of those as we can get to. All right. So Rick’s wanting us in just a couple minutes before he does Greg. Let’s share a couple quick events, right? We’ve got other learning opportunities for folks got a neat webinar coming up on August 2nd, three ways to stay afloat through the supply chain crisis, a distributor story with our friends that enable. So join us. That link to join is in the comments and on August 10th, sustainability and profitability, the ripple effect of shipping less air. How about that ever ship air Greg? It’s no fun. Is it?

Greg White (03:24):

Uh, no, we hated it, but you know, back in the day, but it’s inevitable for some, you know, in some cases, but you know, it, this is, this story is gonna be one of those that confirms that sustainability doesn’t have the cost more. It can actually save you. Yes.

Scott Luton (03:41):

Right? Right. So join us on August 2nd and August 10th. For those, you’ll find a link to that in the comments, but with no further ado though, Greg, we have been really looking forward to today’s conversation, reconnecting with the one only Rick McDonald, senior vice president and chief supply chain officer for the Clorox company. Hey, Hey Rick, how are you doing

Rick McDonald (04:04):

Scott? I’m doing great. And it’s terrific to be back with you and Greg again, I, I really appreciate the opportunity. I’m looking forward to the session today. I heard some of your comments on the baseball. I’d really rather talk to you about my fielding percentage than my yeah. But you know what kind of a fun story about my time playing at tech was, uh, we got asked one day by the coach. If any of us didn’t have class in the afternoon, if we wanted to go to the old Atlanta Fulton county stadiums before Turner field.

Scott Luton (04:28):

Right.

Rick McDonald (04:29):

And be extras in a movie. And we’re like, yeah, we all, we all ought to be movie stars. And so, uh, we went down there. We really didn’t know what we were getting into. It turns out it was a Burke Reynolds movie called Sharky’s machine.

Greg White (04:40):

Oh my gosh. Yes.

Rick McDonald (04:41):

Yeah. There, there are a couple scenes Atlanta Fulton county stadium where the detectives are trying to figure out this murder mystery. And we are the extras in the background. You can see and hear a couple of my teammates really clearly. I was over at first base that day. And I’m just sort of this, you know, blob running around in the, uh, in the short outfield there. So I know who I am, but you wouldn’t be able to recognize, but it was a, it was a really fun day to see how they made the, made that part of the movie at the stadium.

Scott Luton (05:06):

Oh, that is, that’s awesome.

Greg White (05:07):

Probably the best $21 you ever earned. Right.

Rick McDonald (05:10):

<laugh> we didn’t get paid. Greg that’d be in violation of NCAA rules.

Greg White (05:14):

Ah. Oh, of course. Well, it would’ve been then, right? For sure. Yeah.

Rick McDonald (05:17):

That’s right.

Greg White (05:18):

That’s right now you could get credit for the, for the movie. So

Rick McDonald (05:22):

We’d like the name. Yeah. If we had name like this rights at that point in time, who knows

Scott Luton (05:26):

Man? Yeah. Right. We could all, well,

Greg White (05:28):

Glad we didn’t because we need you in supply chain and with what these kids are making these days, they may never have to get a job.

Rick McDonald (05:34):

<laugh> right. Well,

Scott Luton (05:35):

Rick, one final baseball question, then we’re gonna say hello to a few folks and then move into our interview here today. But Rick was it catcher? Our third base

Rick McDonald (05:43):

Catcher and first base first

Scott Luton (05:45):

Base.

Rick McDonald (05:45):

Yeah. So never played the hot corner, but uh, mostly caught and then, uh, got thrown to the first base every now and then

Scott Luton (05:52):

Greg’s always right, Greg. You’re always right. Who Shrew the best?

Greg White (05:56):

Who threw the best ball you ever caught? Just outta curiosity.

Rick McDonald (06:00):

Oh, that I ever caught. Yeah.

Greg White (06:02):

Not, not was the that’s one you ever missed with the bat.

Rick McDonald (06:05):

Yeah. There are plenty of those. The best

Scott Luton (06:06):

One I

Rick McDonald (06:07):

Ever caught a guy that played for us by the name of Eric Perry, who was a lefthander and he had this great 12 to six curve ball. It was just, it was a nasty pitch. Now the best one I ever missed came from Jimmy key, who played a long time in the major league. Oh wow.

Greg White (06:19):

Yeah.

Rick McDonald (06:20):

Play with the Yankees worked champion. He played for Clemson one. Yes. Heck and just unhittable

Scott Luton (06:26):

Yes.

Greg White (06:26):

Wow.

Scott Luton (06:27):

He was a big part. I wanna say after the Yankees, he joined the blue Jays, I wanna say, and, and, and matched up against the Braves. And then the, in the early nineties world series 92, I think we’re gonna, we’re gonna have to have a, a real deep baseball conversation. But today Rick, we wanna talk about supply chain and leadership and a lot more, but really first I wanna make sure we say hello to a few folks. Big, thanks to Amanda, Chantel and Katherine, all the folks on the production team helping to make it happen today. Hey Dr. Rhonda, one of our, our also one of our favorites tuned in from Arizona. Big. Thanks Dr.

Greg White (07:00):

On EPO. If I remember correctly,

Scott Luton (07:02):

I think you might be right. I think you might be right.

Greg White (07:04):

You might be doing this on a Rick that’s how much she wants to hear you, Rick.

Scott Luton (07:08):

We all wanna hear Rick, but yeah. Big shout out to Dr. Rhonda. We’ve got a big veteran’s initiative coming up and she’s volunteering her time there. So thank you for that. Dr. Rhonda Shelly Phillips is back with us. Shelly. Good morning to you. Great to have you back. Joey, just Joey says, just went to the local minor league, Minnesota baseball game last night with his colleagues. Fun fact. He struck out Joe Mauer, a legendary twins catcher in seven.

Rick McDonald (07:34):

How about that? Nice. Nice. Wow, impressive.

Scott Luton (07:37):

So we’re gonna have to, we’re gonna have to hook up with Joe and, and for that baseball episode at sometime soon. All right, so you can’t talk baseball, Greg and Rick without thinking food, right? That’s one of the first things that comes to my mind. So Rick, you know, we’re hard to believe, but halfway through July, it’s like prime grilling season, even though it can be kind of warm you’re down here in the Atlanta area. A lot of folks, Rick may not know that you’re quite the culinary enthusiast and have been known to grill quite the meal. So with that said, I’d love for you to share one of your favorite recent meals, whether it was been at home or out on the road.

Rick McDonald (08:17):

Yeah. This, this is one that I’ll prepare really any season, but we’ve done it a couple times. This summer, it’s basically a grill bake. Normally people would call the seafood boil. We don’t do the boil, but it’s it’s shrimp. It’s crab legs it’s and Dewey sausage. It’s regular sausage, it’s little new potatoes. And then corn cut in half. And you start with the corn and the potatoes, boiling them and getting them tender. Then you throw everything on a, a Blackstone or whatever you have for your, what I like to do is I like to mix all that with unsalted butter, old bay, some garlic and every now and then some PAA, if you are a little bit more smokey, mix all that up and, and let the shrimp go. And it’s a, it’s a, it’s a fantastic, fantastic meal. We love it. It’s just really casual. You roll it out on the butcher paper and have at it. It’s a, it’s a fun way to commune and have a meal together.

Scott Luton (09:08):

Okay. You had me at butter, but Greg, how, how delicious does that sound?

Greg White (09:12):

It, it sounds spectacular. Yeah. And thanks for doing that right at lunchtime

Rick McDonald (09:17):

<laugh> of course,

Greg White (09:18):

Of course.

Scott Luton (09:19):

All right. Well, let’s get into it. Dr. Rhonda confirms what Greg was suspicious or, or what he thought she’s at the grand canyon listening in Rhonda. You’ve gotta send us some pictures. I bet it’s gorgeous. Kaan great to see you via LinkedIn. Let us know where you’re tuned in from. Look forward to also your thoughts and yes, Shelly, that does sound delicious and has made us all very, very hungry me

Greg White (09:41):

At Anne Dewey sausage.

Scott Luton (09:42):

Yes. As long as

Greg White (09:44):

We, I dunno what it’s about Anne Dewey sausage and seafood, but it’s just natural.

Rick McDonald (09:49):

Right? Very combination.

Scott Luton (09:50):

All right. So we can check the box on baseball. We can check the Fox on box on delicious food. Let’s talk supply chain, let’s start with some level setting. Rick. I think, you know, when we hear the phrase much like much like CEO, we hear the phrase chief supply chain, officer, folks make assumptions. And, and, you know, in terms of what you do day in and day out, week in, week out, tell us about your role at the Clorox company, Rick.

Rick McDonald (10:11):

Yeah. So I’m the chief supply chain officer, as you noted, I’m responsible for about 6,000 of the company’s 9,000 people. That’s an awesome responsibility and I love it. And obviously over these last couple years, it’s been an even more important responsibilities. We navigated through this pandemic together. We, we operate in 21 countries. We sell Clorox products in more than a hundred countries. And the supply chain for us is everything from sourcing through the consumer. So sourcing, planning, internal, external manufacturing, engineering, quality assurance, health, safety environment, regulatory, continuous improvement, supply chain strategy, it’s, uh, logistics is included in that. So everything you can think of that is as part of the supply chain is, is under my purview. And you know, maybe just a few words about Clorox. If I, if I could 7.7 0.3 billion consumer package goods brands that you probably know and love like disinfecting lights and Clorox liquid bleach, but maybe some you don’t know Kings for charcoal is one of our brands, a fresh up cat litter, glad hidden valley ranch, dressings and sauces, Berta water filtration, Bertz bees.

Rick McDonald (11:16):

Those, those are all part of the Clorox portfolio. And 90% of our products are either number one or a strong number two in their category. And a fun fact about Clorox is we have super high household penetration. 90% of us households have at least one Clorox product in them. So we’re on a very short list of companies that they can say that yeah, you we’re also, yeah, we’re also one of the most trusted brands in the us morning consult just named us a third, most trusted brand. And we routinely get featured by the wall street journal as one of the best run companies in the us, in their, in their survey. So we’re really, we’re really proud of all that. And we’re, we’re most grateful for the trust that people place in the, in the Clorox brands and, and in us.

Scott Luton (11:56):

Well, Rick, I appreciate, I think, I think you probably surprise many folks, especially when it comes to your portfolio, but Greg, as, as we’ve shared, after our, our last conversation with Rick over the last four or five years, six years, whatever it’s been, we’ve had a great opportunity not to talk, not just with Rick and interact and, and meet them, but, but a variety of other Clorox leaders across supply chain had the opportunity tour, one of their plants and man, it is all about deeds, not words, you can see the culture and we’re gonna talk about some of the, the hallmarks of, of what makes the Clorox company so successful. But it, it, it’s very real. At least that’s been my takeaway, Greg.

Greg White (12:32):

Yeah. I mean, gosh, I was thinking about all those brands virtually, everyone that you mentioned is in, is in our house and you know, Rick, thank you by the way, for doing such a great job with supply chain cuz then you and I don’t have to hear from my wife about it. So

Greg White (12:49):

<laugh> that it’s really important. But I think, yeah, I mean, I think there’s a couple things that really stand out to me and that’s that the CEO of Clorox, doesn’t just know what supply chain is really engages and, and cares about it and makes it, and has made it even before the pandemic, a part of the strategic planning, the strategic structure of the organization. And that to me, you know, is a key, that’s an absolute key. A lot of companies are seeking that recognition. Now Clorox has had it for a long time and we have been talking Rick for, I don’t know, is it four years? Three, four years. And, and I’m curious over that three or four or more years, I mean, maybe there’s something you learned before the pandemic or something that you saw that has changed dramatically in the last several years. I have a feeling a lot of it has been in the last couple years, but I wonder if you’ve seen kind of an evolution and then this incredible disruption that caused change or, or, or were, were we pretty much status quo until the pandemic hit?

Rick McDonald (13:53):

Yeah. Let, let me come to your question. Just a second. Just another word about Linda Rundel. Our CEO, Linda is fantastic in our role. I can’t imagine anybody guiding us better and leading us better through this most amazing last couple of years, she was actually part of our supply chain team back in her career. She spent a couple of years in our logistics organization. So her appreciation for supply chain started before that role continued after that role. And she’s a, a great advocate and supporter and you know, the best part of it is she, she also knows a lot about it. So she’s able to challenge us appropriately as well and drive on that.

Scott Luton (14:27):

Love that

Greg White (14:28):

I love that the view of the broader spectrum and can, and can relate to how supply chain contributes to that. Right. That’s fantastic. She’s probably one of one CEOs that came outta supply chain. I mean, there may be a few others, but, but very few in big CPG company.

Scott Luton (14:48):

Yes. Hey, really quick, Rick, before you address the evolution of the change that Greg was, was posing to you. I wanna share a couple quick comments, Nikki Scott, Anderson’s back with us. Nikki’s doing some fascinating stuff across Africa, really empowering folks from all walks of life to get into transportation logistics. So Nikki, great to see here today, ju is back. She says Clorox to the rescue. I love that. Great. See you here today, Dr. Rhonda, she didn’t know all the products that we all rely on in our homes to your point, Rick and Greg, we got EDL. I’m gonna call it tuned in from Waco, Texas. Great to have you back with us. And finally, Savannah is tuned in via LinkedIn. Savannah, let us know where you’re tuned in from great to see here today. Okay. So to Greg’s question, Rick, a change in evolution in, in the craft is Greg loves to call it, which I love your thoughts.

Rick McDonald (15:32):

Yeah, there there’ve been a number of changes. Of course, I’m really gonna highlight quickly five of them, predictability leadership, talent, acquisition, resilience, and automation. You know, we think about predictability. We see the last couple of years, the level of disruption, the supply chain is really at an unprecedented levels. Extraordinary. You know, there’ve been surprises all the way from consumer demand and how that’s shifted and flowed to the interdependencies and the supply chain that have really created a lot of bullet whip effect within the supply chain over multiple rounds. And, and so I would just say predictability is one of those big things that is impacting us these days, leadership, you know, versus five years ago, I think we all felt like maybe we had a little bit more time to make decisions. We could try and achieve a more perfect set of data. And, you know, let’s just say best information versus needing to go fast with imperfect information and then trying to correct and making adjustments after you’ve made that quick decision.

Rick McDonald (16:27):

You know, the new normal is demand signals are distorted that the consumer is changing their mind quite rapidly. And, and this is leading to a number of a number of disruptions across the supply chain. It’s requiring different leadership levels. So better, real time visibility, more automation. Those are all things that are key in this, in this leadership space. I would also say talent acquisition is the, is the third area. So, you know, the, the calculus on how we, how we source attract onboard and retain individuals in the company and, and all of our companies has changed significantly. And they’re really in my mind, there, there are a number of drivers, but the three that are most predominant is certainly during the pandemic boomers retired at a faster rate than anybody expected. Right? Second thing that happened was there were about five to 6 million men and they were men who left the workforce for a cash jobs or gig economy just didn’t return to what we think of as more traditional roles in the supply chain and other industries. And then last but not least, you know, savings individual savings grew substantially during the COVID pandemic because of inability to spend money and then right. Multiple, multiple rounds of stimulus. And so people have their savings topped off and some just don’t feel the need to work. So these are all things that have kinda layered into this labor bed and labor availability.

Scott Luton (17:45):

Okay, man, what a great starting point for this conversation, Greg, pick one or two of those and give us, give your thoughts on what we’re to share.

Greg White (17:54):

Yeah, well, gosh, it’s hard to pick one, but I think I’ll, I’ll go, I’ll go with, with talent, right? I mean, we had a fi almost 5% unemployment rate in supply chain in 2019, right? And now supply chain jobs are more plentiful. I mean, distribution and manufacturing facilities have increased, especially distribution facilities have increased dramatically, right. And as Rick said, people are staying away in droves. I, you know, I just did a commentary on this very topic today on LinkedIn and, you know, baby boomers left at, they were leaving at an incredible rate anyway, 10,000 a day, leaving the workforce and 3.6 million additional over what was expected, left the workforce last year. And, and some of these are bruteforce jobs or perceived as bruteforce jobs. Yeah. And in this great generational change, the new generations, they don’t want those jobs. Yeah. So it, it’s a very difficult time from that standpoint. And I think we’re starting to, you know, to come to some new realizations in supply chain of how we’re going to have to manage work. I don’t even know if you call it workforce, if it’s automated in for the future, right.

Scott Luton (19:10):

Hey, really quick talking talent, Rick, you may know shaker, not a rock car engine. Thank you very much. Greg chief supply chain, officer of American Eagle, also a fellow Georgia tech alum. We had chance to sit down with him the other day and one of his priorities to what Greg and you were both sharing focused on talent, is creating jobs, get this crazy notion that people actually want, you know, day in and day out. That is one of his biggest focuses. And you could, you could really feel it is palpable. His passion. Rick, that seems to be, maybe y’all are, have, can have some kindred spirits in that regard, huh?

Rick McDonald (19:46):

We’re working on doing the same thing. You know, we’re well aware and Greg, I saw your post. I thought it was spot on spot on people do that. They, they perceive manufacturing, warehousing jobs. As you know, NA to the survey maybe a year or two ago, they perceived the jobs as dirty dimly lit unsafe kind of dead in jobs. And of course, what we have in our operations are everything. But that, and what I think we have to do is, is create the environment where people are looking at this as a career destination that has cool technology. So that kind of speaks to my, my point around automation. Right? And it, it, it’s never been more essential on the supply chain. This is not about a cost savings. This is about attracting people who want to come and work at your place, cuz they get to do cool stuff like fly drone drones and right. You know, maintain robotics and be

Greg White (20:33):

Ironman.

Rick McDonald (20:34):

Yeah. Iron RPA and AI right capabilities. So we we’ve gotta rethink the way that we are sourcing and attracting individuals. And some of it’s gonna have an automation focus to it.

Scott Luton (20:46):

Hammer meets now, whatever phrase you wanna use, Rick, a hundred percent, a hundred percent as Jeff Frank cord say, I hear that five times each phrase broadcast. And I wish you’d shout it louder and preach it louder for folks in the back. Rick, that’s what you know, that as folks will piece this together, thinking and visionary thinking and wanting to change your current state is one of the things that separates a leadership and an organization at the Clorox company from many others. Okay. But thanks. So Greg, go ahead.

Greg White (21:13):

I was just gonna say, I think, I think one other realization and I think it’s probably difficult for us all, all of us here being I’m presuming gen Xers and, and having grown up with in a time when you apologized for taking your parents and grandparents and great grandparents jobs with automation or mechanization of some sort, right? Because those jobs started out as manual. Well, all of those, almost all of those people have left the workforce now, right. There is nobody to apologize to anymore for automation because it’s not taking any jobs Rick, to your point, the dark dirty, dangerous and dead end jobs are perfect for automation. Right. Rather, rather than a, that a robot work in a lights out facility than a human. For sure. Right. And, and it allows this then to elevate this, these new generations who want fulfilling and challenging and technological jobs, it allows us to elevate them to those types of jobs rather than having the them stuffer. If you will, through physical labor, that really is better done by a machine anyway. Mm it’s taking no one’s job literally. No,

Rick McDonald (22:24):

You all have heard me talk about mindset, skill set, and tool set. And Greg, what you’re talking about is, you know, the leadership will to understand and affect the change and understand the change management be necessary as they go through and upskilling and reskilling their associates into this more automated world. And there’s gonna be plenty of work for everybody. We know gen X is a smaller generation, not, not too, not too concerned about that. And I, people are hungering for jobs where they can apply their critical thinking skills and problem solving skills differently. That’s something that is repetitive and, and transactional. They’re, they’re just you and sure of people who want that kinda work

Scott Luton (22:59):

Well said really quick,

Greg White (23:00):

No more carpal tunnel. Right? I mean, think about it. We could, we could actually eliminate carpal tunnel syndrome, right? Yeah. Which is a lot of repetitive work.

Scott Luton (23:09):

Yes. If you’ve ever had that, I know the pain associated with that. I certainly have. That’d be great thing to, to, to rid industry of Greg. I know we’re gonna keep driving on some, the priorities at, at Clorox with Rick in just a moment, but lemme share a couple. Amanda and Katherine Chantel, let me know who this is. This might be Cori coz who knows, just passing through, Hey to Rick. Great to see you, Scott and Greg, you guys know how to get great folks on this program. Hey, we tried to tell you, Rick is the real deal. Sure is his nickname is Rick flair. You <laugh> the best of the best. Hey, Joey says lots of great info, Rick full cycle challenges. The baby boomer discussion is eye opening automation hopefully will help us repurpose talent into positions they will thrive at and continue to do so wonderful. Joey, love that. I

Rick McDonald (23:55):

Agree with that. Agree with that. Joey,

Scott Luton (23:57):

Nick says it’s hard to hear that people are leaving various industries because they don’t like the jobs over 45% of our population is unemployed in South Africa. I fully support the idea of creating jobs that people won’t man, what a privilege well said, they’re Nikki. And this was, uh, so a

Greg White (24:14):

Good point, Scott let’s yes. Can I address that real quick, please let’s understand that the economics of the us are not the economics of the world and it may be different in different parts of the world. There may still be physical work jobs available. I’m what I’m not, I don’t think what Scott or Scott or Rick or I are saying is automate right. And just automate. Right. But to the extent that you can’t fill those jobs with human beings and they can be automated, automated, elevate human beings to those things that Rick talked about, you know, the things that humans do so well is critical thinking to solve urgent and, and critical tasks in rapid, rapid time with too little or inaccurate data. So that is something that humans can do that, that to date. Anyway, automation and technology cannot.

Scott Luton (25:04):

Yep. Well said, Hey, really quick. Close the loop here. This is Steve Ty. Steve Vil Medi is saying hello. Hi Steve,

Rick McDonald (25:11):

How are you, Steve? Good to see you.

Scott Luton (25:12):

So, alright, we’ll keep driving. And sometimes by the way, to all of our listeners that may be commenting. If you see that LinkedIn profile where your, your profile’s not showing up, it’s just a security setting on your LinkedIn profile that doesn’t allow it to be shared with third party apps. You can change that so that your profile shows up if you’d like, but Steve, thanks for popping in today. Okay. So Greg, and by the way, Nicky, under a hundred percent of what you just shared there, that clarification only Jeff,

Greg White (25:37):

Rick, thank or for you. That’s right. Yeah. Thanks. <laugh>

Scott Luton (25:41):

So Greg, where we going next with RI McDonald here?

Greg White (25:44):

Well, I mean, look, you all have such an incredible leadership team. You have a great leadership philosophy, but also you’re very, very good at what you do. And operational excellence is one of your foundational principles as well. So I’m, I’m curious, can you share a little bit about how you are imagining that or reinventing that, that approach?

Rick McDonald (26:03):

Yeah. You know, one of the things I love about Clorox and this starts with Linda, our, our CEO and lose running through the organization is this lifetime learner mentality. We’re a very curious group of people. And we, we, we couple that with continuous improvement thinking and that that really permeates throughout the entire organization. So, you know, as we, as we think about like, where are we going next in our manufacturing journey, we’ve come up with this concept of operational excellence. So I’ll give Jennifer Richter, who’s our VP of manufacturing credit for, for this one. This is really about how do we leverage our assets better and differently, more throughput, better utilization, the ability to step on the gas pedal when we need it the next time. And, and we’re looking at, you know, a 5% kegar improvement on, on throughput measured by asset efficiency, labor efficiency, and material utilization in a lot of industries that’s called yield. So it really is a very comprehensive look at our manufacturing assets around the globe and figuring out how we can increase associate skills to sweat our assets harder and, and leverage the leverage, the capabilities that we have in our manufacturing plants. We’re really excited about this. We think this is the next step in our journey of just, just continuing our move towards excellent operations and excellent manufacturing.

Greg White (27:21):

I think when you research great investors, right return on assets, return on capital, those are, those are the things that they talk about that build value in companies, right? And I think it’s interesting that you all have this mindset, skill set tool set perspective around your people, the operational excellence perspective. And you, you underpin that with these really powerful financial things and seem to do a really good job of bouncing because your customers love you. Obviously you’re 6,000 people. Rick. I had no idea. I don’t know how you have time to cook anything. Look,

Rick McDonald (28:00):

I’ll tell you how I have time. I have a great team, right? Great

Scott Luton (28:03):

Team.

Greg White (28:04):

Well, yeah. And we’ve gotten to meet some of those folks and it’s dead on that. You know, the, it is definitely a trickle down effect. And I, and I guess that’s kind of the point I’m coming to is that because Linda has such a, a great perspective on how to balance all of these things. And, and when you have a leader at the top that can do that, it projects down throughout the organization and it creates that culture of balance and synchronicity that, that you all have. And that’s a, you know, that’s a rare superpower for any company, but certainly difficult to maintain for a company, with as many people and with as much market exposure as you have at Clorox.

Scott Luton (28:42):

Well, I think,

Rick McDonald (28:43):

You know, we’re also, I would say we are, we are our best critics. Uh, so we’re pretty hard on ourselves as well. And, uh, there, there’s gotta be a good dose of that in your, in your culture to have this continuous improvement mindset and, and the drive and the world to, to make things better.

Scott Luton (28:59):

Yep. Well said, synchronicity. I love that word, Greg. And half the time I can say it and half the time I can’t, but orchestration

Greg White (29:06):

Half time will make me want to start singing, singing a, a

Scott Luton (29:09):

Police song. All right.

Rick McDonald (29:10):

As long as you, as long as you don’t sing Roxette I’m okay with that.

Greg White (29:13):

<laugh> I think Eddie Murphy has got that one. Right?

Scott Luton (29:16):

He’s got the market cornered really quick. Dr. Rona going back to, she says carpal tunnel issues less common is definitely a plus for the manufacturing workforces. I agree. Let’s continue to stimulate creatively in the workplaces, more fulfilling work of service and contributions that support our collective success and wellbeing. That was poetic. Rhonda. I love that. Keeping

Greg White (29:37):

Supply chain sane that’s that’s Dr.

Scott Luton (29:40):

Rhonda’s job. That’s right. That’s what, that’s what she does. Health and wellness guru for sure. Okay. So let’s, I wanna talk about labor, labor, labor. We’ve already talked about it. Some Rick, as you know, the topic of labor and workforce dominates, many of our conversations that we’re having, not just across global supply chain, but global business, can you share? And I love one of the biggest truths you’ve already shared with us is that you’re you, you and your team, your own biggest critics, we’ve seen that. And we’ve seen that in conversations. We always take away that continuous improvement. There’s no finish line. And that, that seems to be alive and well in the Clorox organization. Can you share a few thoughts? So around Clorox’s approach to navigating this crazy labor market, we all find ourselves in.

Rick McDonald (30:23):

Yeah, I sure can. And, and, and before I get into that, Scott, well, maybe as a part of that, I would just go back and plug Greg’s post on LinkedIn today. Again, I thought it was spot on, it’s capturing the essence of in part, why we’re having trouble sourcing people for manufacturing and logistics jobs. Right. And, uh, there, there’s a little bit of a recipe in there as well for the types of things that we have to do to make those more career destinations versus just somebody passing through, or maybe not even thinking about us at all.

Scott Luton (30:50):

Yep. Right.

Rick McDonald (30:51):

You know, for, for us, we’re, we’re a strategy led company and our current strategy is ignite. And a key element of that strategy is putting people at the center. And one of the best things I’ve always loved about Clorox is I don’t know about everybody else, but I know for us, these are more than words on a piece of paper. These are the things that we live every single day. And putting people at the center for us means we pay attention to employ employee engagement scores. So we have higher engagement scores than most of our CPG peers. And, and frankly, most of a lot of other companies that are, that are well known in global in nature. So we benefit from a highly engaged workforce, or we do well in the, in the Bloomberg gen gender equity index. We do well as a sustainable company.

Rick McDonald (31:33):

So we get listed by barons as one of the most hued best sustainable companies in the us. And all those things contribute to a culture where when people come and they experience us, they generally wanna, they wanna stay. Now having said that we’re having the same challenges, attracting, onboarding, retaining people in our, especially in our manufacturing operations. And so the current environment is, is really a huge driver for us to rethink how do we source people? Where do we source them? How do we leverage social media at all of its various forms? I, I find that’s, that’s not a place where we have a lot of expertise just yet, but I would say we’re experimenting with all forms of media and trying to find what’s working in the local communities where we operate. And that’s, that’s what we’re gonna continue to do. I think we’ll have, we’ll have some, some efforts that result in the right kind of, of talent acquisition that may work in one place and not at another mm-hmm <affirmative>. So we’re gonna be very, we’re gonna be center led, but we’re gonna be very focused on the local requirements and what appeals to people in those areas. You know, in a lot of our, a lot of our towns and cities, we are the largest employer. We are the employer of choice. It’s not so true in some of the metropolitan area where people have lots more choices and that’s, that happens to be where some of our bigger plants are and, and where we’re focusing our attention at the moment.

Scott Luton (32:54):

Hmm. Gosh, I love how you’re reinventing many aspects. It sounds like to me, of the talent strategy to, to, to navigate through this market, I wanna pose a question and I’m gonna pose this to Rick and to Greg. And this comes from Kaan. So Kaan is asking Kaan let’s know where you’re tuned in from via LinkedIn. If, if you had some succinct advice, you’d give someone that wants to break in the supply chain and make a successful career become, you know, uh, a beloved chief supply chain officer for one of the world’s most admired brands. What would be one piece of succinct advice for Kaan? I wanna ask both of y’all this question who would like to bat lead off for Kaan here. Greg, I’m gonna put you on the spot here, sir. What would you share? What, what piece of advice would you share with Kaan?

Greg White (33:39):

Yeah, I would say study supply chain principles, you know, reach out to just about anybody, reach out to Rick, reach out to just about anybody in supply chain, you know, and, and be able to express what your gifts are when studying supply chain principles. I want, I want you to forget three foundational principles that have undermined supply chain from the beginning of time, cost is the primary driver. You are not forecasting items. You are forecasting the customer. And lastly, oh my gosh, I hope I can pull this outta my mind really quickly. Shoot. And it, this is the biggest one, but

Scott Luton (34:16):

Not all things being equal. It strike

Greg White (34:18):

That. Oh, that’s right. Forget about that term. All other things being equal. Thank you, Scott, because they never are. Right. And those are all three of those things are taught in virtually every supply chain text on the planet. When, when you’re talking about all kinds of things, we forecast items. Even the beer game is wrong.

Scott Luton (34:38):

We’re forecasting

Greg White (34:39):

Beer. We’re not forecasting beer drinkers. We need to be forecasting the beer drinkers or the grill Mo grill masters, if you’re at Clorox. Right. So that’s right. That’s right. Those three foundational principles need to be upended. But other than that, there is a ton of valuable information to learn. And there are many, many, regardless of where you are in the world, there are many people to talk to.

Rick McDonald (35:02):

Yeah. I, I like that. I like that a lot. And what, what I would pair with that is get started on some practical experience. There are lots of places where you can have a supply chain experience, whether, you know, pick something you think is gonna get you up in the morning, or you wanna learn about that just seems intriguing, which manufacturing or logistics or sourcing or engine, you know, whatever your, whatever your interest is and maybe where your capability is, get going. Yep. And get in there and learn. And what you’ll find is once you get in, it’ll open up other vectors of the supply chain for you to consider. You’ll learn more about other parts of the supply chain and the interconnectedness of this end to end animal that we have here. And it will spark your curiosity likely to want to go and explore other parts of the supply chain. So that, that would be my advice. And on top of bricks,

Scott Luton (35:50):

Love that. And Kaan yeah, that’s great. You gotta become a Seren serendipity manufacturing plant, right? You gotta create your own luck. You gotta get real. <laugh> good. I would try. You gotta get real creative with how you put yourself out there and make those connections. You know, as I mentioned that shaker interviewed the other day, he created a video resume for his first ever position. It was seven months out of Georgia tech. He couldn’t find a job. He create, took a chance and sent in a video resume to the Coca-Cola company and that’s, and now he’s a chief supply chain officer like Rick. So man, don’t take no, get creative, create your own luck. And, uh, just if one door shuts one windows shuts closes, look for the next seven to open. So thank you. Yeah, that

Rick McDonald (36:31):

Was a really good, yeah, that was a good question. Kaan thank you.

Scott Luton (36:34):

Yeah. All right. So lots of big fans of, of the answers you’all shared, by the way, we did drop Greg’s post, which Rick has referenced, Hey, if Rick Maddon likes a post around here, we’re gonna share it and share it 7,000 more times. <laugh> I’m kidding right now. Right? Like big autograph for something. Okay. Yeah, exactly. <laugh> let’s keep driving. Dr.

Rick McDonald (36:55):

Garnell.

Scott Luton (36:56):

So we’re, we were talking about the labor market and you shared some of the cool things that y’all doing. Some of the neat, innovative things, different things you’re doing to navigate it. Let’s talk about one of the cultural traits that the market has, has referenced and recognized that a Clorox company they’ve developed quite the reputation for being able to demonstrate organizational responsiveness. And Greg, I’m gonna say it R word resilience. Mm-hmm <affirmative> is it’s it’s cliche for a reason. We all need more, much more resilience. We learned just in the last couple years, just how fragile as many leaders have acknowledged that global supply chain can be. You know, when you, when you’ve got this response, this and resilience that you find in companies like Clorox, you’re in a better position to respond to all the curve balls and surprises that comes with global business. So Rick, two part question here would love to get your thoughts on the importance of this, this trait that that folks recognize in Clorox. And then secondly, how has that become baked into the organization? How can other business leaders, you know, try to do the same?

Rick McDonald (37:56):

It’s a, it’s a really interesting thing. It was innate in us, I would say, but not as finally tuned or exploited, if you will, until the pandemic hit. And then it was really, we were just thrust into the middle of it. I can’t say we actively planted, or somehow we said, Hey, this is, this is how we’re, but we had to do it. We had to do it. We had to do it to keep our people safe and healthy in our manufacturing plant, as an essential business, making life saving products. It was just critical that, and kept our manufacturing plants running at a time of huge uncertainty. And what we learned we could do was make a lot of decisions a lot faster without as much information. In fact, sometimes with information that six months before we would’ve said is totally insufficient, go back and figure out the business case, and then come back when you’ve got things dotted and crossed.

Rick McDonald (38:47):

Hmm. And I’m, that’s probably one of the things I’m the most proud of. We kept our people safe. We kept them healthy. We didn’t have any COVID transmissions in our facilities. Wow. During the entire COVID period, which is a Testament to the leaders and our associates. And, you know, some, some work that we got from an epidemiologist, we put on staff to help us kind of see around a couple of corners. We, when we didn’t even know where the corners were, we feel really blessed by, by that we, we created a, some emergency pay for our associates. So they didn’t feel well at work. They didn’t have to come to work and they still got paid. So they didn’t, we weren’t forcing them to show up, to maintain their compensation when, when they weren’t feeling well. And then with, with the huge demand for products, we had to increase capacities.

Rick McDonald (39:28):

And we installed from November to February, went from empty space in, in one of our wipes plants to a completely automated line that doubled our capacity for Clorox disinfecting wipes. We did that in nine months and we did it with 175 contractors. Most of whom came from international locations, working with the us state department, working with the white house supply chain task force, and really leveraging every single bit of gravitas that we had with, with anybody to, to bring this thing up in, in nine months. It’s a, it’s an amazing accomplishment for our technical, our manufacturing team. So these are the types of things that we really found ourselves moving into. And these days, what we’re doing is just continuing that approach of reminding ourselves. We don’t need everything ticked and tied. We don’t need a second decimal place numbers to be able to proceed. We’re gonna get a lot of things, right? We’re not gonna get everything right. But the, uh, the trick is when you don’t get the things, right, you come back very quickly. You adjust, you adapt, you demonstrate flexibility. And in this environment, that’s, that’s absolutely a key leadership trait that we’re valuing a lot.

Scott Luton (40:32):

Okay, Greg, there’s so much there, man. We’re gonna have to bolt on in three more hours, but Greg, I’m gonna get your take. I’ve got time. You <laugh>

Scott Luton (40:41):

Right. No way Rick do that, but Hey, really quick. You know, all of that starts, I would, I would assume I would, I would propose with a leadership team. That’s committed to taking care of their people, which is one things that Rick mentioned, you know, people at, uh, being at the center of all they do. You know, the, the other short list you gave us a three point short list of true values. Last time we chatted people at center that all you do do the right thing, do the right thing while you’re still thirdly, playing to win. And as I hear all those moves that that y’all have made in recent years with the immense focus on taking care of your people, it is just remarkable. So folks, if you wanna learn how to do it, you start with being committed to doing it. Greg, your thoughts, you

Greg White (41:27):

Know, as Rick, as you were talking, I could not help, but think the awesome responsibility that you all had second to none, at least until the, the vaccine started coming out. I mean, your job was not only to keep your people safe, but to keep the people of the entire world safe. I mean, what do you think people were reaching for when right when they were cleaning? Right. So just an awesome responsibility and incredible uptick in demand because of that. Great. What do I wanna say? Like popup factory innovations and things like that. I imagine, I imagine Clorox trucks rolling into town, like a revivals got right. <laugh> and, and all of a sudden there’s a factory there, but you know, I think that, I think that the thing that people need to recognize is that this is one of the companies, not the people with products, not that people wanted.

Greg White (42:19):

Right. But that people had to have, and they, they were able to deliver on that. And that is incredibly valuable. I mean, you and Linda and all of the rest of your team are not as famous as you should be, even as famous as are. You’re not as famous as you should be for doing that because I just think about, you know, what were we talking about? If you’re gonna go back to the office, if you’re gonna go to anywhere it has to be cleaned. Right. Right. And yeah, I just, so you know, I can’t, can’t, I, it’s hard to overstate the value of that. It’s remarkable. <inaudible> really,

Scott Luton (42:51):

It’s like a supply chain, bedtime story, right? The uplifts inspires and challenges. Folks who do better, Hey, really quick, Rick, you know, people clearly gonna be a big theme to the conversation. We know we’ve seen it time and time again, that’s one of the favorite parts of what you do is, is recognizing people, especially all of them. But you know, you have a lot of tenured team members at Clorox, and I’ll never forget. One of my favorite aspects of our, of one of our previous, uh, conversations was around a team member. I think he was based out in one of your California plants. He’s been interviewed. I believe it was NBC news. And yeah, I’m a paraphrase here, but this is the height of the pandemic. And the gentleman said, you know, when I go into work, now we’re on a mission. We’re on a mission. And that goodness gracious. If, could you imagine if, if, if Greg, if to hear someone that works for your team to say that and be committed, Rick, speak to that, if you would.

Rick McDonald (43:48):

Well, it’s, it’s a, it was a really great segment with Lester hold. And, uh, we were honored to be able to participate in that. And we had several associates who were interviewed for, for that segment and they spoke the, the hearts and minds of the rest of us, which was, we were on a mission. And we were really after making sure that we were protecting millions and millions of people and, and families around the world, whether it was a medical center or a hospital or individuals in their homes, or maybe if they were going to work. And we, we, we took that mission very, very seriously. And you could hear it in the voices of those who were, who were interviewed. We didn’t really do a whole lot of coaching with them at all. It was just, you know, talk about what you’re experiencing and, and what you’re feeling as you come to work every day.

Rick McDonald (44:31):

And they did just a fantastic job of representing the rest of us. And it it’s carried through to today. We realize we have some very important products in people’s lives. And, you know, not only are disinfecting products, but our products like Kingsford charcoal, hidden valley ranch and glad, and Brita, birds, bees, they make people’s lives better. And while we’re a health and wellness company, we recognize these other brands also are very predominant in people’s lives in helping them live a more fulfilled life. And the purpose of the brands really gets played out in people’s homes day after day and week after week.

Scott Luton (45:02):

Yep. Greg you’re

Greg White (45:03):

I can tell you Kingsford Hary chunks, they make my life better unquestionably.

Rick McDonald (45:07):

Right? Excellent. Yeah, they’re great. They’re great.

Scott Luton (45:10):

We, Hey, and, and to further that point, we just got a, one of these electric smokers and I picked up a bag of Kingsford apple chips and Hickory chips. Holy cow made some chicken drumsticks, made some baby back ribs and family was just falling out. It was great game

Rick McDonald (45:24):

Changer. Game changer though. Yeah. Thank you for that.

Scott Luton (45:27):

Oh, you bet. All right. So Greg, Rick, look, I’ve got a Rick McDonald tattoo. I’m very, you know, I, I wear my feelings on my sleeves. We’ve had the opportunity to see and engage with Rick and his team behind the scenes. And we do some of the stuff in front of the camera, but you see what you hear is what you get very authentic leader, very authentic company. But Greg, what was been your favorite part at last? He was just talking about his team and getting interviewed. And I mean, your response to what Rick was just sharing there.

Greg White (45:55):

So I think if I remember this correctly, Rick, you had either spoken to one of those people or maybe even worked in plant or visited their plant of one of the people that got interviewed on, on that. And, and that’s the thing that, that’s one of the things that really cements the culture of Rick and the, and the Clorox company is he’s out there in the field. He’s done it still doing it. I think, I think one aspect you haven’t really shared here is you really like being in the plant, you like meeting the team, you like seeing the operations go and it, it Fe it’s kind of like, it feels like at times it’s kind of your happy place or one of ’em. And I think having an op a strategic leader who has such a passion for the operations of the organization is really incredibly valuable. And it bridges that gap between culture and operations performance and, and, you know, higher purpose. So I, I think that’s, you know, that’s, what’s so encouraging about what they do.

Rick McDonald (46:58):

I agree. I appreciate those. Yeah. I appreciate those kind words, Greg and you’re right. I do love being in the operations, you know, these days in my role, it’s, it’s a little bit less about like, how are things going day to day, week to week? It’s more about what are the barriers in the roadblocks that somebody is put in front of the team, that’s keeping them from getting to their objectives and how can I help them solve that? So that’s, that’s a thing that I’m going to, when I, when I go into our operations that I’m listening for the most, how can I help? It’s also a great chance. And we did this several times through the pandemic, although not as much as we wanted to, but it’s a great chance to get in. Just say, thank you to people for all they contribute every day. But certainly what they’ve contributed over the past couple of years, you know, we had volume on somes skews. That was 500% of our normal demand. We were running 24 7. We did as much as we could to produce as much product as possible. Right. And you know, that, that, that was, that was a result of people just having the will to keep showing up day after day after day and grind it out. And we’re really grateful that they, they did that for

Scott Luton (47:55):

Us. Absolutely. The, the global community is all right, I’m gonna share a couple last comments, and then we’re gonna make sure folks on to connect with Rick and the Clorox company. Shahi going back to the word. Resilience says that the, the word from the dictionary was reinvented during COVID, which was the talk of the town across all the boardrooms continue still is right. So important to, to realize that in a, in a meaningful operational way, Dr. Ronda, Rick, that’s incredible. Congrats on keeping those 6,000 team members safe. Pulley’s talking about growing green product, man. We’ll have to circle back on that perhaps, uh, Julio, there’s a whole line of products. That’s right. Chlor. That’s right. Greenworks right. Is green work Greenworks yeah. Yeah. I think that, that think that’s right. Savannah was talking about the sustainable supply chain. Of course we’re we’re that is front in mind for so many people, Dr.

Scott Luton (48:43):

Rhonda, get this says, she’s curing <laugh>. She is cursing. I’m a bigger fan of the brand now healthy workplace company with perspectives and a culture that is living in a way that values humanity thankful for listen in today and hello, ALO wall only. Great to see you here today via LinkedIn, let us know where you’re tuned in from. Okay. So I think we have, we’ve added Greg to our Rick McDonald fan club. We’ve added to the membership roster. I feel like today, which was part of my purpose, but I really mean I’m kidding aside, you know, we’re big fans and, and, and all earnestness and being genuine about it. I admire, I look, I admire real leaders that practice deeds, not words. And mm-hmm <affirmative>, and, and you can see do the right thing, even if it’s painful at times, time and time again, that that’s, I always be, be big fans of those types of leaders. And Rick, I appreciate how you embody that, but how can folks connect with Rick? How can they learn more about the Clorox company?

Rick McDonald (49:42):

Yeah. You know, the best way to do it a couple different ways. First of all, you can find me and the Clorox company on LinkedIn. And then if you wanna look at our company, learn more about us, learn more about our brands, our brand purpose, and look for career opportunities. You can do that@thecloroxcompany.com and, uh, we invite everybody who’s, uh, who’s interested to come in, come and join us. We, uh, we think a lot of our ignite strategy, and we think that, uh, joining the company, you could ignite your career if you’re, if you’re interested in doing so, we’d love to have you

Scott Luton (50:12):

Outstanding, outstanding. Well, Rick McDonald on behalf, our entire team, thank you for spending another hour with us here. We know how busy you are, but Greg, we mean it. Rick brings it each and every time he’s like a, he’s like, Dan’s be Swanson here lately. Huh? <laugh>

Greg White (50:27):

You know, I feel, I feel like one of those people in the front row, a concert going, ER, right. But I mean, it’s true. I mean, from the very first time we met Rick in a professional setting and and you could see we, should I talk about, should we swish him out so I can talk about

Rick McDonald (50:41):

Him? Let’s do that.

Greg White (50:41):

I would talk about you to your face, Rick, in very first time, we could, you know, we could see the, the genuine authenticity of, of your leadership style and how effective it had been and, and continues to be. And we didn’t even know what the potential was until pandemic hit and the some ASCA of keeping 6,000 people safe during that time and helping all the rest of us be safe is, is so incredible. And, and, and that, it’s such a huge part of the culture of the company. It’s, it’s just exciting. I think companies like Clorox leaders, like Rick and Linda and, and the rest of the leadership team at Clorox, they will have a better time of it as they try to add to their rosters. Right. For, you know, for whether they be supply chain or sales or other roles, because the, the culture of the company is so evident and so genuine that it’s just undeniable. Right?

Rick McDonald (51:41):

You guys. Yeah. I mean, just don’t know what to say. Thank you so much for the kind words. I’m very appreciative of that. I also wanna acknowledge, my two has stayed together through all this nobody’s given up the rope nobody’s left. We’ve just all, all been grinding away and it’s a Testament to them as to what we’ve been able to accomplish. And, uh, I thank you a lot for the time that we had today and the chance to get to talk with you guys again, really enjoyed it.

Scott Luton (52:02):

Wonderful. Yeah. Our pleasure. I have so much more to cover fascinating hour with you. I really appreciate all you shared in a very transparent manner. And we’ll see you again here really soon. Rick McDonald, senior vice president and chief supply chain officer with the Clorox company. Thanks Rick man. Okay. Folks, we told you that’s all. That’s all I know to say, Rick Greg is, we told you, he is, he is, you know, much like, and Greg, as I think about it, you know, we’ve had a chance of course, to sit back down with Rick. We’ve had a chance to sit down with Tony Jackson, chief delivery officer with Lex mark LA last week. For the second time, I mentioned the shaker, not a run Ron John, which we’re publishing in probably next week or so the approachability and the down to earth keeping it real while changing in many ways, changing the current state in some cases changing industry. And that that’s, that is a common theme amongst, you know, these three senior leaders that’s extremely valuable.

Greg White (52:56):

Yeah. I think you, when you, you know, when you talk to leaders of, of really powerful companies, they’re gonna be really powerful leaders and, and what seems, and they treat very much like second nature or ho hum. It’s just my job, right? The more they treat it like that, it seems like the better they are, they don’t, you know, they don’t have to repeat it, but, but you’re right. I mean, we have had, we’ve had a, a number of leaders as we’ve kind of started to expose more and more of these supply chain practitioners had had a number of these leaders who are clearly authentic and properly focused and equipped to, you know, to do fantastic things for their people, for their companies and for their customers. So it’s yeah, it’s inspirational. That’s right. It’s in a good week and a half, right?

Scott Luton (53:44):

I mean a great week, great week and a half. Great great year, you know, have these conversations. Cause it really, they are taking our industry to a whole new place while persevering old and new challenges and ways that, that, you know, we’ve never seen before. So folks, thanks for tuning in. Thanks for all the great comments as Shahi. I appreciate your feedback. Thanks for your earlier comments. SIA. Great to have you back here today. Dr. Rhonda. Wow. In the, in the elevated mood now people like Rick did this. Wow, man, Rhonda might be a bigger fan than me. I don’t know. People like Rick make our planet a wonderful place to live and work in together. Thanks Scott and Greg for having this segment today. Well, Hey, just

Greg White (54:23):

Think about that. She’s listening to this being elevated while she’s standing at one of the most beautiful places on the planet. Right? Right. So that’s Sylvia. I can’t even imagine that feeling.

Scott Luton (54:33):

That’s right. Sylvia was with us on Monday. She says staying true and humble. Very well said. Agreed. Okay. Gotta leave it there. Folks. Thanks for joining us here today. Big, thanks to Rick McDonald and Molly and the rest of the Clorox company team for all their facilitation. Big thanks to our production team. Chantel Amanda, Catherine Clay. You name it for helping to make the show happen here today. Thanks for everybody that showed up and brought it as always Greg, always a pleasure to do these conversations and do these shows.

Greg White (54:59):

I

Scott Luton (55:01):

But folks, it’s time to act. There’s no time like they’re present. So Scott LT and our team challenging you to do good to give forward and to be the change that’s needed to be like Rick McDonald, the world will be a better place. You’ll have a great time. We’ll see you next time. Right here. Won’t supply you now.

Intro/Outro (55:16):

Thanks for being a part of our supply chain. Now community check out all of our programming@supplychainnow.com and make sure you subscribe to supply chain. Now anywhere you listen to podcasts and follow us on Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, and Instagram. See you next time on supply chain. Now.