Our Supply Chain Heroes program recognizes and celebrates the hard work of LeanDNA customers who optimize inventory, reduce shortages, and empower their companies to operate more efficiently. Every hero has a story, and we’re here to tell them.
Meet supply chain hero Meagan Long, Materials Manager at Stanadyne Jacksonville, a global leader in manufacturing advanced fuel delivery systems. A champion for adoption and a leader for change management, Meagan has turned new technology into measurable, team-wide results, transforming how her planners and buyers approach inventory and shortage management.
Buried in Manual Work and Analysis Paralysis
Before implementing APEX by LeanDNA, Meagan’s team was buried in manual work. Identifying problems meant exporting data out of JDE into Excel and then spending hours trying to make sense of it. Future shortages were especially painful, with planners facing analysis paralysis as they tried to figure out what was actually critical versus what was noise. If the right information wasn’t entered into JDE, things slipped through the cracks. There was no safety net.
The team had previously tried to bridge the gap by building multiple worksheets and PowerBI reports designed to surface future shortages. But trying to capture 2,500+ part numbers was nearly impossible, especially for the lower volume parts and the highly customized pumps on Stanadyne’s High-Performance side of the business.
Turning Adoption Into Impact
Partnering with LeanDNA to implement APEX meant there was a need for smartly leading adoption of the new tool. Meagan’s approach to change management has been key to her success. Rather than rolling change down onto the team, she pulls them in early.
“I think that it helps to get the entire team involved early enough in the change process so that they feel like true stakeholders and that their voices and opinions matter.” - Meagan Long, Materials Manager at Stanadyne
That mindset has translated into both engagement and outcomes. Under Meagan’s leadership, 100% of the team is engaged in the new tool. That engagement has held week over week, not just at rollout, which is what has compounded into business impact:
- 46% reduction in shortages over the past six months
- 78% reduction in past due purchase orders over the past six months
- $2.1M in inventory actions realized in four months
- $763K of safety stock reductions utilizing the Inventory Optimization feature in four months
Beyond the headline numbers, the team has built stronger collaboration with procurement to resolve issues and meaningfully reduced the time planners spend on analysis, freeing them to focus on higher-value work.
“These values of reduction don't happen from tool usage alone - it comes from a leader who holds the team accountable not just for activity, but for outcomes. Meagan has turned adoption into impact.” - Patrick MacKenzie, Customer Success Manager at LeanDNA
Shifting From Reactive to Forward Planning
With shortages already trending down, Meagan’s next priority is moving the team from reactive execution to forward planning. The goal is to use the tools provided in APEX by LeanDNA to anticipate issues rather than chase them, and to rebalance inventory so the team consistently delivers 100% service levels to every customer.
Visual tools in APEX give Meagan and her team a daily snapshot of inventory, replacing the weekly cycle the team used to work with. Keeping planners 100% engaged in those tools means the team has more time to react when changes occur, and more capacity to focus on continuous improvement.
A Tip From the Hero
When asked what she would share with other supply chain professionals, Meagan emphasized adaptability.
“You need to be able to adapt, even a perfectly thought out plan will eventually hit a roadblock.” - Meagan Long
Meagan encourages teams to use even the most inconvenient problem, such as a stock out, as a learning opportunity for how the team can improve and prevent the issue from happening again.
For leaders weighing whether to invest in modern, intelligent supply chain tools, Meagan offers this perspective:
“Embracing the modern technologies that LeanDNA offers has helped me and my team react more quickly to future issues. It also saves time that the planners were going through data manually by providing daily real time updates and taking the guess work out of what may or may not be critical. The tools and technologies provided also helped us to quickly pinpoint set up issues that we had in our ERP system that were in turn leading to part shortages.” - Meagan Long
Through her vision, accountability, and commitment to bringing her team along on the journey, Meagan has turned adoption into outcomes that speak for themselves. Her leadership is a reminder that the right tools, in the hands of a leader who holds the team accountable for results, can reshape what a supply chain organization is capable of.
If you’d like to nominate someone for our Supply Chain Hero program or view more heroes’ stories, click here.
If Meagan’s story resonated with you and you’d like to learn more about LeanDNA, click here to schedule a demo.
