Richard Lebron: Leveraging Data to Make Smart Decisions for Clients

Over the past 14 years, Richard Lebron has held many different seats at FIDELITONE. He currently works as Lead Developer of Web and Reporting. Richard’s knowledge of how to leverage data and technology to improve client processes has helped him stand out as a team member. Below, he shares how technology sets FIDELITONE apart and offers advice for those looking to break into the industry.

Please describe your role at FIDELITONE.

My team and I are responsible for all public-facing websites including FIDELITONE.com and the Partner Portal, a client-facing website that provides real-time visibility to the activity we manage. I am also responsible for web services and sites that are used internally across the company and intranet. Finally, I am in charge of all reporting that is made available to our partners.

What does a typical day look like for you?

The first thing I do when I come in is to review the health and stability of our mission-critical sites and services. Then, I take appropriate actions to ensure our sites are up and running during the day. As the day goes on, I review priorities and communicate them to my team. I provide feedback to various departments and their Project Managers. After that, I go about daily activities – meetings, writing code, reviewing code. There is no typical day. Each day brings its own challenges.

What do you enjoy most about working at FIDELITONE?

There’s very little monotony. Work never gets stale since we’re working with different technologies and with different groups in the company. My role allows me to use new skills and try new things.

How did you get your start at FIDELITONE?

I got my start at FIDELITONE as a Buyer in our purchasing department. I was in that role for about a year before I was promoted to Data Analyst. I was using my background in IT to automate and simplify tasks in that role. As time went by, my managers caught wind of that. Next, I moved into Programming.

How did you go from data analysis to programming?

FIDELITONE provides inventory forecasting services for some clients. As a Data Analyst, I was working on our forecast model and I kept pointing out discrepancies. That led me to rebuild the forecast from the ground up and my boss took notice of it. The next step was, “Now that we’ve got this data, what can we do with it?”

What about the future of logistics and technology excites you the most?

Leveraging data and analytics – specifically machine learning – to do predictive things like daily demand. We can remove complexity, automate decisions, and predict orders. We’re taking data that we’ve been analyzing for years and using it to make smart decisions.

What technology have you developed that sets FIDELITONE apart?

The My ETA Tool. It gives our clients real-time visibility into an order or collection of orders. Clients are able to get more information if they need it, such as images and notes from customer service departments.

This tool gives our clients the ability to answer “WISMO” (where is my order?). Clients and their sales team can log in and get the answer regardless of where the merchandise is in the life of the order. What makes our tool unique is that clients have visibility into the order whether FIDELITONE or another carrier is delivering it. Often times you need multiple systems to see each carrier. Our system shows everything in one place. Just type the order number onto the screen to get the answer.

What are your interests/hobbies outside of work?

I like golfing, fishing, and traveling.

What else sets FIDELITONE apart from the competition?

The people. From the top down, we all do what we can to serve each customer’s unique needs. Our team is also very curious with technology. From our ERP to our delivery management system – we regularly look for ways to maximize our technology for a better customer experience.

How do you work to create customer loyalty?

I do whatever it takes to make sure we provide our partners with the level of service they expect. What would the customer think is a regular question we ask as a team to ensure we are exceeding expectations.

Can you share an example?

Just a week ago, one of our clients had made a change on one of their production systems that caused one of our applications to break. This is an application that saves the customer service team hours to do more important tasks. Even though I had a full slate of things to do that day, I had to make sure the interruption ended as quickly as possible.

When it comes to IT, a collaborative approach is important. We spend a lot of time with clients to avoid these rare scenarios. We are able to take information out of our applications and post them in our client’s applications to avoid breakage.

What would you recommend for someone who wants to start a career in supply chain?

We’re hiring! If you’re a problem-solver, a team player and like working in a fast-paced environment, then this might be the type of career that will suit you. I learned web development in college. I got my foot in the door at FIDELITONE as a Buyer then moved into a role that utilizes my technology skill set.

Richard excelled in his various roles at FIDELITONE because of his core knowledge of how technology can help business. FIDELITONE uses technology to produce great customer experiences for our clients. We analyze customer experience data to help our clients make informed decisions. 

What are the latest trends in IT and coding languages if someone wanted to improve their skill set?

In IT, there are a thousand ways of doing something. We’re predominantly a Microsoft shop. C# is the backend programming language we use on all of our websites. Some of the basic languages that you’ll never get away from are HTML, CSS, and Javascript. We also regularly evaluate other applications that can bolt-on to our existing systems to deliver a better customer experience.

Technology changes quickly. How do you keep your skill set up-to-date?

Learn by doing. When you get a new project, take that opportunity to use the latest framework. Go to conferences to meet other people in the IT industry and trade thoughts. Take that knowledge and introduce it in your process.

Driven and innovative team members such as Richard are the reason why FIDELITONE is a great place to work. We truly appreciate their hard work and dedication to providing outstanding client experiences.

Are you interested in joining the FIDELITONE team? Learn more about career opportunities.