Even the tiniest details are a major concern for Debra Anne Stone. To her, they determine whether she succeeds or fails on the job.

As the corporate logistics operations analyst for McKee Foods Corp., Collegedale, TN, Stone is responsible for developing and executing a logistics plan for her company's 250 tractor-trailers. And since those vehicles haul extremely perishable food products, that plan can spell the difference between profit and loss for McKee.

“We have a finite amount of time to not only make the deliveries, but also to put together a plan to guide the deliveries,” she says. “You can't leave and worry about these kinds of logistical problems the next day. But you also can't analyze the situation to death. You have to wrap the logistics plan up in the time you're given, and be at peace with the decisions you've made — because you've got to do it all over again the next day.”

Dealing with those kinds of logistics pressures helped Stone become the National Private Truck Council's top Certified Transportation Professional graduate for the Class of 2003.

“For me, becoming a CTP was a way to learn a lot about transportation very quickly,” she explains. “Here at McKee, everyone has a piece of the transportation pie. So earning a CTP has helped me understand the big transportation picture — especially at the operations level.”

Stone chairs the NPTC's Education Management Conference Planning Committee and was selected NPTC Fleet Member of the Year in 2002. She has also achieved Certified Purchasing Manager status from the National Association of Purchasing

Stone has worked at McKee for over 19 years, holding positions in logistics, distribution, purchasing, and technical services. Currently, she supervises the coordination of common carrier shipments, backhauls, and inter-plant transfers of McKee's Little Debbie snack cakes, which are produced in three different locations.

Stone has worked on the transportation side of the company for the past six years, focusing on eliminating empty miles for McKee's fleet. “We used to think of backhauls as a nice way to earn a little extra money with our fleet assets,” she says. “But with the price of diesel so high now, it's become vital that we get those backhauls.”

“The nature of our operation makes this a difficult task,” she explains. “Since we run 48-ft. trailers, our equipment is already five feet shorter than standard industry units. In addition, we use another four feet in our trailers' noses to store cardboard box cases for recycling. Timing is also an issue; since we haul perishable goods, we can't let backhauls disrupt the transportation of our primary product. These factors combine to make operations planning especially challenging.”

“At most meetings, I'm the only woman. That's really not a surprise to me, since most of the women I know didn't go to college to work in the transportation and logistics field. Most women join this industry if they are connected through family ties or marriage. I've found that once they've been exposed to it, most professional women love transportation. I think there are so few women in the industry because there's really no exposure at the college level.”

Stone's path to the transportation industry was actually rather roundabout. After earning a degree in chemistry at Vanderbilt University, she took a job in purchasing at McKee. She was then promoted to the transportation department.

Stone credits her background in chemistry for at least some of her success in the logistics field. “It taught me analytical thinking, which is valuable in both purchasing and transportation,” she explains. “That skill has helped me establish a career in logistics.”

Now, Stone hopes to take what she learned in her CTP coursework and move into a senior-level supply chain management position.

“Every detail has to be correct and problems have to be fixed on the spot,” she says. “There is no ‘tomorrow’ in this line of work. That's what makes it challenging and exciting.”