Steve Place

Sustainability & Waste Reduction

• Implemented the plant’s first recycling program, generating $114K/year savings and achieving 90% landfill-free operations.
• Reduced total waste cost by $670K YoY, delivering the largest CPC improvement across all plants.
• Installed waste-tracking sensors and shifted to weekly reporting adopted by other facilities.

Bottling & Digital Tools

• Built a digital OT sign-up and supervisor dashboard, eliminating ~1,092 hours/year of manual work.

Inventory Management

• Standardized material locations and implemented IM system to eliminate searching and lost items, enhancing operational efficiency.
• Saved ~1,560 hours/year by reducing retrieval time by 30 minutes per job.
• Optimized floor space and enhanced accuracy of material counts through systematic organization.

Processing Leadership

Served as the sole 3rd-shift supervisor, making staffing, batching, and scheduling decisions.

• Developed Processing Training Matrix to define competencies, assign trainers, and track readiness, fostering skill development.

• Consolidated five apps into one unified platform, integrating MyPerks into the main Grocery app to boost loyalty usage.
• Removed low-value features and redesigned navigation to simplify the user experience.
• Evaluated and recommended Simbe Robotics for aisle-location and inventory count, leading to store rollout for real‑time inventory accuracy.
• Increased own-brand visibility by prioritizing Giant Eagle and Market District products in search results.

• Updated safety stock and reorder points, building a Power BI dashboard for real-time visibility.
• Optimized minimum order quantities for high-value items to reduce cost and excess inventory.
• Improved supplier lead times for critical components supporting customer orders.
• Onboarded a new corrugate supplier, reducing material cost and improving shipping speed.