Our Industry Person of the Week is Kirsten Austin. Kirsten is
Q: How did you get started working in your field?
Kirsten: At a young age, I earned a degree in Commercial Art. I tried to work in that industry but found it to be competitive and almost insular unless you knew the right people. I attempted a few other initiatives that were not successful. So I joined forces with someone trying to get a computer business off the ground. 30 Years later we’re still in business serving manufacturing, distribution and fulfillment companies.
Q: What do you love the most about your job? What are you most proud of?
Kirsten: I love learning! When you get to be a part of your customer’s success story, you learn a lot about their industries, strengths and products. I have an entrepreneurial spirit. So do many of our clients. To actually see ideas, hard work and ingenuity come into fruition is exciting. Every product and every company has a story! Every risk taker who built a business that provides jobs and opportunities is a hero in my mind. We work with distribution, fulfillment and manufacturing companies. To see how products are built, well, it’s just a lot of fun. Honestly, I’m very proud of my customers and my team.
Q: What advice would you give to someone considering this line of work or new to the field?
Kirsten: Young people, please listen, look into trades, technology and look into manufacturing. There are an amazing amount of opportunities opening up in these fields. There is a shortage in the labor pool, We want and need our future generations to hold the course and keep building, manufacturing and innovating. People make assumptions about manufacturing that are not true. There are many positions you can grow into that include planning, design, development, technology, management, scheduling, etc.
Q: Can you talk about a project you recently worked on?
Kirsten: I just love the software we developed DCWarehouse Automation years ago. We’ve taken people from a completely manual process to an automated process through the use of bar-coding and data-collection. You’d be surprised at some of the clients that use our product. Our team continues to improve the DCWarehouse Automation Suite with extremely important supply chain, manufacturing, and distribution features. Many of these come as suggestions from our clientele. Our goal is to help our clients better compete with time savings, inventory accuracy and modern technology! Last year we took several new clients live and they are very happy. Especially now, everyone is having trouble filling warehouse and plant positions, so making efficient people more productive with technology is a positive move. We also certify each year with several popular shipping carriers in our rate shopping and shipping software. Their services are always evolving which is interesting. Many of our customers are now shipping internationally which is very fascinating. We are always working on new projects. That’s the best part!
Q: Anything else you would like to add?
Kirsten: I do love our mascot, Buddy the Bull. He’s been a lot of fun and fits right into our objectives, to take the Bull out of your warehouse or plant! That is manual processes, redundant work, and people working in silos.
Learn more about Connect with DCSC Inc on Twitter. Connect with Kirsten on LinkedIn.
THANK YOU, KIRSTEN! WE LOOK FORWARD TO KEEPING UP WITH YOU THROUGH THE #PUMPTALK COMMUNITY!
KNOW AN AMAZING PERSON WHO IS MAKING VALUABLE CONTRIBUTIONS WITHIN INDUSTRY? NOMINATE THEM TO BE AN “INDUSTRY PERSON OF THE WEEK”!
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