Resource Center

Through her years at Harbor, Ashley has worked in different roles within the Warehouse and eventually transitioned to her current role as an Accounts Payable Clerk. Q: How did you make the transition from where you started to where you are now? A: I felt like my transition was natural within the company, I knew I couldn’t jump straight into an office role when I had no experience about the company or about food distribution in general. My only work experience was retail and being a barista. When looking to advance, I looked for positions I believed I was qualified for while achieving what I was looking for. My time working in the warehouse has certainly helped me in my office positions as I know the process of the outflow of product as well as the incoming. I am able to share my knowledge with my teams and help answer questions when the come up. Q: How long have you been with Harbor? A: I have been with Harbor for 5.5 years, I started in April of 2017 when I was 19! Q: What roles have you held at Harbor? A: I started in the Warehouse printing Tags as well as being an Order Selector. From there I moved to an inventory role on the PM shift, followed by a change to the AM Receiving Team. From there I decided I would like to be in an office role so I moved to a Customer Service Position. I then transitioned to a position as the Accounting Admin Assistant and my most recent position is an Accounts Payable Clerk. Q: What do you think is the most important quality to have to get your career started at Harbor? A: I think the most important quality to have is the desire to learn and try new things. I love learning and am always willing to take on more work if I am able to. Harbor has changed so much in the short amount of time that I have been here, I have loved getting to work with new people in different department and seeing how other positions relate to each other as I continue to progress within the company.

How did your internship experience at Harbor prepare you for your professional career? As an intern here at Harbor I was fortunate enough to work on the implementation of a new Warehouse Management System. Working on a project that is so impactful to the daily operations at Harbor I had the opportunity collaborate with several different departments to understand how each department and every individual at Harbor work together to achieve their goals. After school I was unsure on the direction I wanted to take my career, my time as Intern gave me the opportunity to explore my options for a career path and go in the direction that I found best for me. I have been with Harbor for 5 years now and they have been great about allowing individuals to take control of their career path and goals. What was the most important thing you learned from your time interning? As an intern I was very excited to work and collaborate with so many different people in the company. During my internship I quickly learned the importance of communication and working together as a team to achieve our goals. What roles have you’ve held at Harbor? -Information Technology/Logistics Intern -Business Analyst -Enterprise Systems Analyst -Software Developer What is the most important piece of advice for having a successful career at Harbor? Be accepting and excited about change, to be a successful business you go through a lot of change and improvements over time. Harbor has grown a ton over the years, and it has been fun to be a part of the growth and work with so many people that have years of knowledge and experience. Being prepared to take on the challenges of growth will set you up for a successful career at Harbor.

How did your internship experience at Harbor prepare you for your professional career? The internship experience helped me learn the importance of building an effective report that everyone can understand. I learned that it’s not about how much data you have, but rather it’s about how can you make the data accessible to everyone. Having numbers is a great tool to have but unless you are able to break it down for others to use then it will not be useful. In my current role I am always building and maintaining reports that are used across multiple departments. Each time I build a new report I always pull from my past experiences as an intern. What was the most important thing you learned from your time interning? The most valuable thing I learned was how each department fits within the operation. The internship program allowed me to meet with many people in different roles in the business. I spoke and learned from people in just about every department. Understanding how every department worked helped me see the entire picture of the operation. What roles have you held at Harbor? Order Selector pick mods for two summersOperations InternQuality Assurance CoordinatorQuality Assurance and Safety Coordinator (Same position as above, but just added workplace safety to my role) What is the most important piece of advice for having a successful career at Harbor? The most important piece of advice that I can give someone would be to never be afraid of making a mistake. Harbor is a great working environment that will allow you to used missed opportunities as a chance to grow and learn in your career.

How did your internship experience at Harbor prepare you for your professional career? My internship at Harbor allowed me to have a hands-on experience applying the knowledge from both what I had learned in school, along with new knowledge I gained during the internship. Collaborating with different departments gave me the chance to ask questions and learn about different roles and responsibilities within the company. An important component of an internship is to learn from others around you and everyone at Harbor is willing to put their current "to do's" down to talk or let you shadow them if you are interested. Harbor puts you in a position to grow both your hard and soft skills through different day-to-day tasks, projects, and activities that will help build a foundation for your career. What was the most important thing you learned from your time interning? I was able to increase my comprehension of the supply chain and get a more in-depth understanding of all the components. Throughout my internship, I learned how vital each role is to get the right product to the customer at the right place, the right price, the right time, and the right quantity. What roles you've held at Harbor? Procurement InternReplenishment BuyerItem and Pricing SpecialistLogistics Manager What is the most important piece of advice for having a successful career at Harbor? Always be willing to take on a challenge. Many opportunities will arise as Harbor continues to grow that will allow you to improve not only yourself but the company as well. Do not be afraid to take something on that is asked of you even if you don't know the answer right away. Reach out to those around you to piece together a solution as there are many talented people within the Harbor family with years of industry experience.

Hunter started at Harbor in 2018 as an Order Selector. Through his passion of learning new things and hard work, he transitioned to his current role of Operations Manager in PDC. Hunter shared some thoughts on his path of progress during his time at Harbor. Q: How did you make the transition from where you started to where you are now? H: My first role at Harbor was as an Order Selector, but I was given the opportunity to work in different departments throughout the warehouse. I also went out on routes with the Drivers for a week. With the cross-training that I had received I was able to float between different departments and help out where needed. After working for a few months I was offered the role of Order Selection Trainer. In this role I was partially responsible for the onboarding of new hires and helping them get acclimated to the flow of work in the warehouse. This position also helped me practice my leadership skills and begin to learn even more about the company. In addition to training new hires I was able to help Supervisors with some of their day-to-day tasks and learn more about what specifically went in to their job. Management was very supportive of my desire to learn more about the company and to develop my leadership skills. The support from Operations leadership and my desire to learn more about Harbor is what allowed me to reach my current position. Q: How long have you been with Harbor? H: I have been with Harbor since 11/08/2018. Q: Any advice for advancing your career at Harbor? H: My advice for advancing your career at Harbor is to adhere to the company values of genuine, motivated, resourceful, and friendly. Q: What roles have you held at Harbor? H: I have been an Order Selector in various departments, an Order Selection Trainer, Freezer/Cooler Supervisor, and my present role as the Operations Manager. Q: What do you think is the most important quality to have to get your career started at Harbor? H:  I think the most important quality to have is the desire to learn new things about Harbor and how it operates.

Joy started at Harbor in 2015 as a Credit Clerk. Through her years at Harbor, she’s worked in different roles within Customer Service eventually transitioning to her current role of Customer Service & Sales Support Lead. Q: How did you make the transition from where you started to where you are now? J: I made the effort to become an authority in my roles at Harbor. I learned everything I could about how the Customer Service Department works and how we interacted with other departments across the company. I want to be the best at what I do, and I never stopped learning. I made sure my supervisor was aware that I wanted more and was willing to put in the time and effort it would take to move forward. Q: How long have you been with Harbor? J: It will be 7 years in July Q: Any advice for advancing your career at Harbor? J: Be open to every opportunity that comes your way. You also have to take responsibility for your own growth. Don’t be afraid to ask questions. Don’t be afraid to approach your supervisor about ideas, and never stop asking what else you can do. If you are willing to put in the effort you will get so much out of working here at Harbor. Q: What roles have you held at Harbor? J: I started as a Credit Clerk, then promoted to Customer Service Rep, then to Sales Support Admin, and finally I am now the Customer Service and Sales Support Lead Q: What do you think is the most important quality to have to get your career started at Harbor? J: Perseverance. Do the best you can every day. If you are showing that you want what is best for the company and you are growing, it will be noticed. It will not happen overnight, but Harbor is growing. I firmly believe that if you want it and work hard you will get there.

Zachary works in RDC as an Assistant Warehouse Manager. During his time at Harbor he has worked a few different roles, and had some great thoughts to share about getting your career started at Harbor. Q: What roles have you held at Harbor? Z: Utility/I have picked everywhere/Stamped Cigs/Consolidated/Inventory Control/PM Warehouse Supervisor/ Assistant Warehouse Manager Q: How did you make the transition from where you started to where you are now? Z: Aaron hired me into a PM utility position. I picked up boxes for a couple of months and then moved into eaches as an order selector. While working in eaches I was crossed trained on just about every PM position. After about a year, a position opened up In the freezer. I did that for another year or so. From there I moved into Inventory control. I learned a lot about how the AM shift worked while in that position, as well as learning a lot about the company in general. I did that for I believe close to 2 years. Then, Chris Ritter and Leon Dillon approached me with a promotion into a PM supervisor role. I gladly accepted! Now, I am an Assistant Warehouse Manager. Q: How long have you been with Harbor? Z: 9 ½ years. Q: Any advice for advancing your career at Harbor? Z: For me, a willingness to work and a willingness to learn, has worked pretty well. Don’t be afraid to take on a big or important task. Q: What do you think is the most important quality to have to get your career started at Harbor? Z: I don’t know if I could say just 1 quality that is most important. Everybody is different, and no 2 people will take the same path within the company. I think being genuine, motivated, resourceful, & friendly are all good qualities to have! 😊 Just be you, and be willing to learn and teach and your positive qualities will come out through that. This will be recognized by not only your supervisors and managers, but also your peers.

Dylan is currently the Director of Sales. When he began at Harbor he started in a very different role. Q: What roles have you held at Harbor? D: Territory Sales Manager, Regional Sales Manager, General Sales Manager, and now Director of Sales Q: How did you make the transition from where you started to where you are now? D: My introduction to this industry started 9 years before I had heard of Harbor Wholesale Foods. In 1995 I started loading box trucks with retail and foodservice items. My responsibilities increased from Truck loader to Order Selector to Dairy and Produce Buyer to Stocking Manager and finally, Director of Operations. My previous employer was acquired by Harbor on April 19, 2004. I started a very new role for me, Territory Sales Manager. Q: How long have you been with Harbor? D: Almost 14 years. Q: And advice for advancing your career at Harbor? D: Perform your job to the best of your abilities, help others when you can and have your employers best interest in mind. It will pay off. Q: What do you think is the most important quality to get your career started at Harbor? D: A desire to serve your customer. Your customer is the person your work impacts. A Truck Loader’s customer is the Delivery Driver. A Stocker’s customer is the Order Selector. Your customers are the people you work with every day to make your department and company a success.