Joseph VanWagonerFunction head for supply chain, quality & sourcing
Systems-thinking operations leader.
I design how teams, processes, and partners fit together, so the operation runs on clear ownership and the team manages by exception.
Supply chain · Logistics · Quality · Sourcing · Organization design
About
Shop floor to supply chain leadership — same system, every level.
I started on the shop floor and worked my way through production control, planning, and operations management into leading a full supply chain function. That path shapes how I lead: I see the whole system, but I know what the work looks like at every level of it.
My pattern is consistent. I take an operation that isn't working, find the structure underneath the symptoms, and redesign it: the roles, the flow, the controls, the partners. Then I make sure it holds.
At Conservice, I was hired to run logistics and weights and measures. The function was in disarray, and we had to rebuild it while it kept delivering. Since then my scope has grown to include quality assurance and sourcing. I lead the full supply chain function for the Meters business unit—14 people and about $20M in annual spend—and report to the General Manager as part of the business unit's leadership team. I set the function's OKRs and bring strategy and org-design proposals to that group. I designed the distribution network from the ground up.
How I think
Design the system, not the workaround.
Symptoms repeat until the structure changes. I fix the structure.
Every step has an owner and a clock.
If no one owns it, it doesn't get done. If there's no deadline, it gets done late.
Separate the work from the check.
The person who verifies the numbers shouldn't be the person who moves the product.
Manage by exception.
Let the system handle the routine so people can focus on what's actually wrong.
Results at a glance
Ratios and directional outcomes — static figures from operating reviews.
- 93%
- less equipment sitting in the field
- 40%
- lower inventory on hand
- 100%
- of storage units closed
- ~95%
- less labor to plan replenishment (3 FTE → 30 min/day)
- 60% → 95%
- regulatory testing pass rate
- 78%
- smaller QA backlog
- 69%
- fewer cancellations and reschedules
- 35–62%
- shorter lead times in the top three counties
Regulatory testing pass rate60% 95%
Direct-to-site shipment share42% 79%
Static values from operating reviews; illustrative bars only.
Featured work
Six programs that redesigned how the operation runs.
Before: ~45 sitesAfter: 2 hubs
~45 storage sites → 2 warehouses
Direct-to-site 42% → 79%
Storage units closed · 3PL network
Scattered storage and trucks → centralized network; 93% less equipment in the field, 40% lower on-hand inventory.
Chronic write-downs → root cause and a control on each; 71% less monthly adjustment churn.
Right mode for every order type; direct-to-site share 42% → 79%, cancellations down 69%.
Regulatory testing pass rate about 60% → 95%; backlog down 57%; lead times down 35–62% in top counties.
In progress
Direct sourcing for key equipment — rollout in progress.
Career path
2024–present
Senior Manager, Logistics, Control & Quality · Conservice
Hired for logistics and weights and measures; scope grew to the full supply chain function, plus quality assurance and sourcing.
- Function head on the Meters business unit leadership team, reporting to the GM; owns OKRs and the supply chain cost model.
2022–2024
Supply Chain & Operations Planner → Senior Supply Chain & Operations Manager · White Knight Fluid Handling (a Graco company)
- Production output up 7.8% in 2022 and 11% in 2023, despite component shortages
- Warehouse capacity up 70%
- Additive manufacturing cut part cost 5× and on-hand inventory 100×
- Commended by the CEO of Graco Inc. for continuous improvement work
2019–2022
Indirect Spend Purchasing Analyst · O.C. Tanner
- Replaced a physical Kanban process with a digital system
- Cut annual departmental spend 10% through lean improvements
- Led a cross-functional team of three
2019
Production Control Supervisor → Material Analyst · Autoliv
2017–2019
Project Manager · WCI
- Redesigned product flow: throughput up 21%
- Production visibility software: downtime down 30%
- Standard work instructions: quality issues down 85%
Education
MBA
Weber State University, 2024
BBA, Supply Chain Management
Weber State University, 2019
President of the university supply chain club; member of CSCMP, ISM, and APICS.
Contact
Based in the Salt Lake City, Utah area.
hello@josephvanwagoner.com · (801) 200-7437 · linkedin.com/in/joseph-vanwagoner