Age: 38
Senior Operations Manager
Sunrise Logistics Inc.
Ephrata, PA
Since joining the Four Seasons Family of Companies in 2008, Jones has provided effective leadership and management in supply chain solutions to 3PL customers of Sunrise Logistics. Customers rely on her expertise in developing effective solutions to overcome complex supply chain challenges and she is a trusted leader to multiple account management teams. She also served as a subject matter expert (SME) to plan and implement a complex enterprise resource planning (ERP) technology solution.
Jones began her career at Four Seasons during her final year of college with a part-time job as an administrative assistant in the transportation department. In that role, she was introduced to third party logistics services the company was building. When she finished college, Sunrise Logistics (a Four Seasons subsidiary) was formed and she was offered a position as a logistics account representative in 2006. In 2007, she left Sunrise to pursue an opportunity with Bozzuto’s Inc. to support the set up of 3PL services from its Allentown, PA, facility. A few years later, she returned to Sunrise Logistics as a logistics account representative. In 2017, she was promoted to logistics account manager at Sunrise. In 2018, she was promoted to logistics operations manager. In 2019, she took on her current role as senior operations manager. She now manages four teams, each consisting of an account manager, logistics specialist and several logistics coordinators. She successfully was graduated from the Leadership Lancaster program, which has a mission to develop outstanding community leadership to support the needs of Lancaster County. Additionally, Jones has coordinated several events as a volunteer at Circles USA – an organization with the mission to end poverty by creating thriving families and thriving communities.
Hobbies: Golf, Exercise, Shopping, Spending time with family
Personal/Community: Married, five kids
Motto in life: “Live the life you love!”
Q: How did you begin working in the produce industry?
I always thought I wanted to be a CPA. I started college working towards a business degree with a focus on accounting. After taking my first marketing class, I changed my concentration to marketing. Learning about consumers’ buying habits and why consumers make the choices they do sparked an interest for me. During my final year of college, I started a part-time job at Four Seasons Produce. The idea of working for a produce company was interesting.
Q: What aspect of the business challenged you the most early on?
I had no understanding of the produce industry when I started. It was challenging to learn all the different commodities and brands. In addition to learning a new industry, I had to learn the logistics part of the industry. Logistics in the produce industry is one of the most demanding due to the short shelf life on the product. There is very little to no margin of delay.
Q: What industry improvements would you like to see?
More automation. I’ve seen several ways information has been automated through the years. In the logistics world, we’re constantly relying on our customers to send us information to enter in our system. One example is a truck manifest. Automation of the information listed on the bill of lading such as quantities and pallet ID tags once it ships from the loading point to our system would be amazing to see.
Q: What was the “aha” moment when you knew the produce industry was the best choice for you?
The first time I walked through the produce aisle at the grocery store and realized the product I was looking at came from our warehouse. There’s a huge sense of pride when you can look at the product and understand the amount of time and effort it took to get on the store shelf to look so pretty.
