Page 34 - ATR 5 2020 digital

terms of their culture and where they
wanted to take their organization,” he
said. “I was particularly interested in
the private fleet part of that, so I made
the decision to go to work for Walmart
in March 1991.”
During the first four years of his
“WE DO NOT WORK IN SILOS. WHAT WE REALLY tenure with Walmart, Hammonds
WANT MORE THAN ANYTHING IS HARMONY ACROSS moved around a good bit, spending
THE SUPPLY CHAIN SO THAT WE’RE WORKING IN A time in Texas, Florida, South Carolina,
and Mississippi, working for Walmart’s
VERY CROSS-FUNCTIONAL WAY.” private fleet. In 1994, after a series of
promotions in the field, Hammonds
—JEFF HAMMONDS, VICE PRESIDENT was offered a regional manager posi-
FOR FLEET OPERATIONS AT WALMART tion in Bentonville. Following two years
of community college, Hammonds
completed his degree at Arkansas Tech
University once he moved to Arkansas.
With a combination of commuting and
online education, “it made for a full
week, between work and education.”
But it paid off. In 2002, Hammonds was
“Growing up in a small rural com- patching one day, booking freight the promoted to his current role.
munity can limit your perspectives,” he next day, and on the road hiring drivers Hammonds leads the western half
said. “I didn’t really know what I wanted the following week,” he said. “You got of the United States, while his colleague
to do.” Though he and his family have exposure to a lot of different aspects of Ryan McDaniel oversees the eastern
called Bentonville home for 25 years, the business. That’s probably what fed half.
Hammonds grew up in south Alabama my interest in trucking early on, and it “Ryan and I both have
in the town of Evergreen, about an hour stuck.” responsibility for the oversight of the
north of Mobile on Interstate 65. Walmart private fleet, and we also have
“There weren’t a lot of opportuni- THE IMPROMPTU INTERVIEW responsibility for the performance of
ties in that community if you weren’t in THAT LED TO A CAREER carriers who are delivering freight from
the lumber or timber business.” In 1991, Poole began a series of our grocery distribution centers to our
Hammonds’ father and grandfather downsizing operations, and Hammonds’ stores,” he said.
were both truck drivers for Poole Truck job was impacted. With eight years of Walmart’s transportation model
Line, a local trucking company that was experience under his belt, he still want- is unique among retailers. It has one of
growing and prosperous in the 1960s ed to stay in trucking, so he traveled to the largest private fleets in the industry,
and 1970s. northwest Arkansas to interview with which moves most of the company’s
“Early on, I had an interest in what some other carriers. general merchandise and dry grocery
my father did and was influenced a lot With a day to kill before he had to items. It also engages a network of
by that,” he said. “That led to me want- be in Louisiana for another job inter- select carriers who deliver a lot of the
ing to go to work for the company he view, Hammonds had an impromptu perishable grocery and the balance of
worked for.” interview with Walmart. dry grocery.
In 1982, Hammonds went to work “I didn’t know much about their “As we flow product from suppliers
at Poole fresh out of school. It was a trucking operation, but I got a chance into our distribution center networks,
good opportunity to learn a breadth of to see what it was like the day that I was the private fleet does a good portion of
responsibility. He started in the mainte- there,” he said. “I just really thought that work, alongside many other car-
nance department, where he managed that it was a special place.” rier partners that are awarded specific
the parts inventory, before moving into A few weeks later, Hammonds had lanes of the inbound business”, he said.
operations, where he began dispatching three offers to consider. Walmart’s “For product flowing from distribution
and booking freight with customers. intrigued him the most. centers to stores, that typically goes on
“That’s where I really learned to “At that time, as an organization, private fleet trucks and a portfolio of
wear a lot of hats. In a small company it was growing so fast. I just felt good
like that, you could find yourself dis- about what they had shared with me in 

34 Issue 5 2020 | ARKANSAS TRUCKING REPORT