Contributed by Nichole Batts, Purchasing Manager, 7 Years 

The most important career advice I can offer, which has proven true again and again, is to simply be open. Whether you’re a student trying to figure out your career path or already doing exactly what you planned, being open to new directions and opportunities can lead to surprising results. 

My Path to Industrial Distribution

My professional journey began at Texas A&M University’s engineering program with the goal of becoming an engineer. I liked math, science and thinking about processes, so it made sense. The first year of the program introduced students to a range of fields, including chemical, petroleum, civil and industrial distribution. While I liked industrial distribution, I thought petroleum engineering sounded exciting, especially because it involved travel. 

Then I took my first chemistry class, and it turned me off so completely that I wanted to switch my major to business. My advisor suggested I investigate industrial distribution because it combines engineering and business. So, I talked to a couple of professors and attended a seminar. I learned that industrial distribution majors typically go into sales or operations. I liked both routes. After my first industrial distribution classes in my sophomore year, I found I really enjoyed it. It challenged me in the ways I wanted to be challenged. 

An internship with a large compressor company let me see operations and inside and outside sales in the real world. I worked on projects with the operations manager and rode along with outside sales reps. I really liked sales and thought that was what I wanted to do after graduation. 

Taking a Chance 

The first time I heard of R.S. Hughes was during a career fair in the fall of 2018. A professor pulled me over to the R.S. Hughes booth because there weren’t any students there. It happened so fast that I didn’t have a chance to Google them. 

At the booth were Sales Manager Mike Levine as well as Craig Legleiter, now Strategic Marketing Director. The first thing they asked was whether I was familiar with R.S. Hughes. I said I wasn’t, which made me feel small. Some recruiters might ding you for that, but they were warm and friendly. We ended up talking for about 45 minutes while they explained what R.S. Hughes did. They made me feel relaxed.  

When you’re a student, it can be intimidating to talk to company representatives at career fairs. I didn’t feel that way with R.S. Hughes. 

They were showing me different tapes and adhesives, and I could tell they both loved the company and working there. I thought, “well, if they both love their company and have worked there for a long time, that says a lot about R.S. Hughes”.  

They invited me to tour the Dallas-Fort Worth facility, where I had an informal interview with Craig and Thomas Stockton, who was the Operations Manager at the time. We talked about e-commerce and the challenges and opportunities that brings to the outside sales team and company. Thomas even asked, “If you could be any animal, what would it be?” I thought, okay, we can be lighthearted here. 

Everyone seemed to enjoy working there. I could hear people laughing, joking and talking. It felt like an office I could easily see myself in. After talking with Mike, Craig, Thomas and others in the DFW office, I felt really good about R.S. Hughes. Not long after, they made me an offer to start just a few weeks after graduation. 

Opportunities to Make a Difference 

One thing I loved after joining R.S. Hughes was how quickly I was able to jump into the business. In those first few months, you’re trying to learn the system and how R.S. Hughes operates. I started in the Dallas warehouse picking and shipping orders, learning inside sales and riding along with outside sales representatives.

I trained with Stockton, who showed me how much of a difference you can make in operations. I could save on margin and freight, work on credits, return material and help the company grow margins in practical ways. 

Thomas was a great mentor. I kept telling him, “I’m ready. Teach me returns. Give me buys. These buys aren’t hard enough. I want more difficult lines.” Every time I asked for more, he gave me more to learn.

The further I got into it, the more I realized that operations was where I wanted to be, rather than sales. Before long, I was buying for multiple branches, processing orders, helping fill gaps wherever needed, managing some national accounts and taking on more responsibility. 

About six months later, Thomas asked if I’d be interested in a full-time purchasing role. I was hesitant because while I liked the purchasing tasks I was doing, I also liked working with customers and having variety in my day. I was worried I’d feel stuck if I didn’t like the new role. Thomas made it easy to say yes because he had my back. He said, “Give it a shot. If you don’t like it, we’ll find the right place for you.” That gave me the confidence to step fully into the role. 

I’ve had a really good experience in purchasing because it lets me focus on supply chain, inventory and making a difference. I like the challenge of minimizing costs and freight and making smart decisions about what we bring in. 

I saw that play out in real ways when I started buying for Tulsa, Houston, Dallas and Austin. I created centralized weekly pallets through Dallas to save money. In Austin, there were a couple of months when freight costs were down $10,000 to $12,000. I wasn’t the only one impacting that, but it felt good to know I was making a difference. It just made me want to do more. 

Every challenge my supervisor, Marty Gaynor, gave me was an opportunity to see what I could improve. One example was working with sales reps on slow-moving inventory, helping return material, recover business and make things happen as a team. Together, we found opportunities to win business back that they didn’t realize we had lost.

In the past year, I’ve been taking a deeper dive into supply chain issues to understand the bigger picture. Where can supply chain go? Where is our team struggling? What processes or changes can we put in place to support the growth R.S. Hughes wants? Training team members one-on-one on different processes and looking at things differently has been very interesting. 

Staying Open 

I’m very much a team player, so wherever I’m needed, I’m open to going.  

Throughout my nearly seven years at R.S. Hughes, I’ve had great managers and worked with great team members. That makes it easy to stay open. My positive experience speaks to R.S. Hughes’ values and what we represent. The people who have been here for a long time have all had an impact on me in one way or another. Whether it’s work ethic, where I want to go or what I want to do in this company, they’ve helped guide me. I’ve been very fortunate. 

My advice to students or anyone just starting out is simple: be open. I wasn’t open to industrial distribution at first. I disregarded it and wanted to go a totally different route. But because I stayed open, I found a degree I really enjoyed. I thought I wanted to go into sales, but I was open to learning about operations and realized that’s what I was really passionate about. The same thing happened with purchasing. 

Be open and take opportunities as they come. You never know where they might lead. You’re not necessarily going to find your passion if you stay in one small lane and try to force your way forward.