“I love to see my team members succeed”

Bethany works as a Project Manager at 4flow consulting in our Detroit office and just celebrated her three-year anniversary at 4flow. In this interview, she shares what excites her about supply chain consulting, why change management is crucial in any supply chain transformation, and her leadership style.

Why did you decide to pursue a career in supply chain consulting? 
Before transitioning into consulting, I worked as a materials manager in the manufacturing industry. My role involved many different responsibilities, which gave me a good foundation for my current position, because it’s also very dynamic. That’s what excites me about consulting. Every day presents a new challenge, no two days look the same.

When it comes to supply chain, I find the field truly fascinating. It’s amazing to design something so abstract and then watch it come to life, seeing how it operates in the real world. 

Can you share a bit about your current role at 4flow? 
I currently work at 4flow as a Project Manager, and I’m proud to have recently celebrated my three-year anniversary with the company. My work primarily focuses on topics in intralogistics and production, such as warehouse design and implementation. But I’ve also worked on network design projects with our customers. 

What supply chain trends are you observing when working with customers? 
A major trend we’re seeing is warehouse automation, which is a high priority for many companies. We collaborate with them to design tailored solutions that streamline and automate their processes. 

One crucial aspect of these projects is change management. It’s essential to involve the people most impacted by such changes, particularly the experts who will work with these new systems daily. 

That sounds interesting, can you tell us more about the role of change management in supply chain? 
Change management is fundamental during any transformation. It’s not enough to simply introduce new processes or systems; you need everyone involved to feel heard and get them onboard with the change. 

At 4flow, I’m currently developing training materials to equip my colleagues with practical tools and techniques for change management. This enables us to better support our customers as they navigate transformations. I like that at 4flow we have these opportunities for collaboration and knowledge sharing.

What excites you most about your job?
I love to see my team members succeed. I lead a team of five, and watching them grow and achieve milestones, like getting promotions, is incredibly fulfilling. It is very important to me to be a good leader to them.

Do you have any leadership best practices? 
I have three principles I always follow. First, always make 1-on-1 meetings a priority and never cancel them. Second, let the team members own the agenda of the meeting. This allows them to focus on what’s most important to them. And third, ask meaningful questions. I avoid simple yes-or-no questions. Instead I want to encourage thoughtful conversations, giving them space to share ideas and challenges.

I also make it a point to show I genuinely care about my team members, not just at work but as individuals. Understanding what motivates them outside of work makes us an even better team.

And what do you like to do in your free time? 
I love reading, especially historical and fantasy fiction. I set a goal to read one book a week this year to challenge myself – and so far, I’m on track.