The following is a Linked-in post from Parker Teshima, a Senior Merchant at Walmart and 2015 graduate from the BYU Global Supply Chain Management program…
“5 years ago, I was the buyer for multiple categories in the Hardware department at Walmart including the generator category. With news of Hurricane Fiona hitting Puerto Rico and again causing havoc on the island, I have been reflecting on Hurricane Maria, the storm that made landfall 5 years ago tomorrow as a Category 4 storm. Hurricane Maria brought 40 inches of rainfall to Puerto Rico, and is to blame for roughly 3,000 deaths, and causing devastating damage to the infrastructure across the island.
In 2017, as the devastation became more obvious, the lasting impacts of the storm made the situation more dire. The Puerto Rico Walmart team reached out to me asking for as many generators as I could find and because of the mass power outages, they needed them immediately. The number of generators they requested was as many generators as we sold in ALL 4,000 Walmart US stores in a YEAR!
Over the coming days, I called every supplier we had and any new supplier or manufacturer I could get a hold of. I cold-called suppliers Walmart had never done business with before and told them I wanted all the generators they had. Through the process, I was able to secure twice the number of generators the Puerto Rico team requested.
As the shipments would arrive on island, people in Puerto Rico would wait in line all day for the generators to be unloaded in stores. Family members would trade off with each other part way through the day to hold their place in line in the hopes of securing a generator. The Puerto Ricans were desperately needing generators for life saving measures, such as storing temperature-sensitive medicine, and other day-to-day necessities that we take for granted. The sustained need for generators lasted months as the power grid was unavailable.
A few months ago, I was able to catch up with Yamil Segarra who is part of the Walmart Puerto Rico team. We worked closely during the process of getting generators on island. I was honored that when he came to Bentonville, he wanted to meet up, and almost five years later continues to thank me for the work we did to help the people of Puerto Rico.
As I reflect on that significant event, I continue to realize the impact that you can have as a Walmart Buyer. We do not just buy product for stores; we truly have the ability to save lives through the work that we do.”