Gerald ‘JJ’ Creadon of Jabil On How To Use Digital Transformation To Take Your Company To The Next Level

Embrace a Servant Leadership Mindset. Companies with a clear understanding of how to serve the people who serve their customers have fewer debates and disagreements about corporate priorities. Having a customer-focused approach is part of Jabil’s DNA, so front-line employees are important stakeholders in the digital transformation process. Often, these individuals are responsible for improving manufacturing processes that have a direct impact on products manufactured on behalf of customers, so they are encouraged to speak up, make recommendations and report problems that could impact quality, costs or time-to-market.

As part of our series about “How To Use Digital Transformation To Take Your Company To The Next Level”, we had the pleasure of interviewing Gerald “JJ” Creadon, Executive Vice President of Operations at Jabil.

Gerald “JJ” Creadon was promoted to executive vice president, operations, for Jabil in March 2022. Since joining the company in 1995, he has risen through the ranks to become an accomplished leader in the high-tech global manufacturing services industry. In his current role he is responsible for the operational performance of Jabil’s 250,000-plus employees at 100 locations in 30 countries with responsibility for $33.5 Billion in revenue.

Thank you so much for joining us in this interview series. Before we dive in, our readers would love to “get to know you” a bit better. Can you tell us a bit about your ‘backstory’ and how you got started?

While I have been employed by Jabil for 28 years, my affiliation with the organization dates back much earlier. Jabil is headquartered in St. Petersburg, Fla., which happens to be my hometown. My mom worked on a production line as a repair specialist for 23 years and after my dad retired from the military, he too spent more than two decades as a Jabil employee. After years of exposure to the world of manufacturing and countless dinner conversations about factory-floor processes, you might say I was raised to be an Operations Manager.

My parents made sure that I had an overall appreciation for how each and every employee can contribute to operational excellence. Among the many valuable lessons they taught me, I fully embrace the value of listening to and learning from the people around you. Embodying this principle has greatly influenced my career trajectory and longevity.

At age 20, while completing my undergraduate degree, I joined my folks on the Jabil production floor in St. Pete, marking the start of my career with Jabil. Over the next few years, I took on various roles with ever-increasing responsibilities relating to shop floor, production line and local operations. With aspirations to become a global manufacturing operations leader, I relocated my family to Mexico to work at two larger manufacturing facilities. I spent four years, first as the assistant operations manager at a large Jabil facility in Guadalajara, Mexico, before stepping up as the operations manager at a major factory in Chihuahua, Mexico.

While there, I had direct responsibility for more than 4,000 employees serving a swath of top customers across automotive, computing, communications and networking, consumer, energy, industrial, medical, telecommunications and storage sectors. Next, my family and I moved to Houston, to be closer to an international airport as my role expanded to run Jabil operations in Latin America, which encompassed additional facilities and more than 10,000 employees.

Additional stints took us to Silicon Valley where I gained valuable experience on the business development side as I nurtured and sustained critical customer relationships. The ability to anticipate customer demands along with what employees need to meet — even exceed — those expectations has proven essential over the years. As my operational oversight expanded, I led operations for multi-customer, multi-regional factories across the U.S., Mexico, Brazil, Hungary, Malaysia, and China, representing 20,000 employees.

Taking on the role of SVP, Global Operations for Jabil’s EMS sector marked a return to headquarters and an opportunity to support Jabil’s Electronics Manufacturing Services (EMS) division, encompassing more than 70,000 people, hundreds of manufacturing processes and 28 factories responsible for generating $17B in revenue. Approximately a year ago, I became EVP of operations for Jabil, which spans the entire organization, more than 250,000 people across 100 locations in 30 countries with responsibility for $33.5 billion in revenue.

Can you share a story about the funniest mistake you made when you were first starting? Can you tell us what lessons or ‘take aways’ you learned from that?

The mistake that comes to mind is amusing in the sense that I didn’t expect the outcome, which resulted in a major lesson that still resonates. During my time working in Mexico, I often was brought into high-level customer meetings to help address and expedite solutions to manufacturing problems. During one particularly challenging, multi-day meeting where we couldn’t seem to meet eye-to-eye, I expressed pent-up frustration by slapping the table and leaving the meeting abruptly.

As I walked down a very long corridor to get to the factory floor, I immediately regretted my outburst. Fortunately, the SVP of worldwide operations for the customer met me on the floor and commended my show of passion for the situation. He was more interested in seeing someone show that level of intent to fix the problem, as it gave him confidence in our commitment to finding the proper resolution. While I don’t advocate outbursts in meetings, I realize customers — and employees, for that matter — want to feel important and worthy of your energy and commitment. Show them you care and they’ll listen to what you have to say.

None of us are able to achieve success without some help along the way. Is there a particular person who you are grateful towards who helped get you to where you are? Can you share a story?

As my career at Jabil nears three decades, there are countless individuals who have mentored and guided my path, starting with my parents. They instilled in me the belief that you need to put your people first in order to deliver on your customer promises. Their broad perspective was hugely helpful in giving me a sounding board I could trust unconditionally.

Special appreciation also must be extended to Mark Mondello, Jabil CEO and Executive Chairman of the Board. Throughout my career, Mark has provided crucial guidance and advice. In fact, he pushed me to get my MBA, and after it was completed, suggested I spend time in business development to gain a fuller understanding of the business from the customers’ point of view. I spent a total of seven years in business development roles, which proved essential in earning credibility with major customers as well as other Jabil business leaders.

Most important, the opportunity to close gaps between different departments and operating units in any company starts and ends with a mutual understanding and alignment of goals and desired outcomes. The time I spent working with people from various cultures and parts of the world much different from where I grew up offered a unique and extremely valuable perspective in terms of what people want and need to hear from their leaders.

Thanks to visionary leaders like Mark Mondello, I learned to share insights on how different parts of Jabil’s massive organization works with global operations teams. As a result, we can approach processes and best practices holistically with the entire organization in mind.

Is there a particular book, podcast, or film that made a significant impact on you? Can you share a story or explain why it resonated with you so much?

Cosmos: A Spacetime Odyssey stands out as it opens your mind to a totally different world that’s out there and the possibilities that come with that realization. The 2014 American science documentary television series, presented by astrophysicist Neil deGrasse Tyson, is a follow-up to the 1980 series, Cosmo: A Personal Voyage presented by Carl Sagan.

Watching this series ignites my natural curiosity about science, physics, astronomy, history, chemistry and other topics that make you sit back and think. Having watched parts of the original, I also realized how much of what I learned early on is outdated now that we have discovered more about the universe, and as technology has matured to provide the tools for deeper learning.

I’ve probably watched this series four or five times and have encouraged my kids to watch it as well. Each time I learn something new. As a continuous learner, I’m perpetually curious and open to new ideas, For me, nothing sparks the imagination better than contemplating the cosmos.

Extensive research suggests that “purpose-driven businesses” are more successful in many areas. When your company started, what was its vision, what was its purpose?

Jabil’s founding vision was formed around a kitchen table in Michigan 57 years ago when a group of entrepreneurs led by William E. Morean and James Golden started assembling circuit boards for the likes of Control Data Corporation, Burroughs and General Automation. From the inception, the company was focused on finding new ways to add value to customers. This customer-focused mentality drives Jabil’s mission to become the most technologically advanced and trusted manufacturing solutions provider in the world.

To achieve that milestone, company leaders have long recognized that Jabil’s biggest differentiator is the collective strength of more than 250,000 people around the globe. The opportunity to embrace Jabil’s culture of ingenuity and thrive in an environment of innovation attracts a team of dedicated employees. Many of my peers have come up through the organization alongside me and the low attrition rates at management and executive levels demonstrate a company-wide commitment to each other, our diverse and talented employees and Jabil’s loyal customers around the world.

Are you working on any new, exciting projects now? How do you think that might help people?

A major tenet of our operating model is to continuously seek opportunities to improve efficiencies through process innovation that manifests itself in different ways. In some cases, innovation may involve the deployment of advanced automation and analytics to deliver real-time visibility and actionable business insights. In other cases, innovation may involve simplifying previously complex processes so they can be scaled seamlessly and used easily by others.

In May 2019, our team initiated a massive digital transformation effort encompassing more than 70,000 people, hundreds of manufacturing processes and 28 factories responsible for generating $17 billion in revenue across Jabil’s Electronics Manufacturing Services (EMS) division. The overarching goal of this initiative was to become aggregators of site innovation so the benefits of one factory’s innovation could be felt by all Jabil factories around the world.

To accomplish this, we created a global network of Subject Matter Experts (SMEs) from different disciplines, regions and individual sites worldwide. These experts collaborated with our Centers of Excellence (COEs) specializing in materials, manufacturing engineering and Industry 4.0 advancements.

Together, we examined Jabil’s entire value chain of services for opportunities to improve operations through automation, artificial intelligence, machine learning, advanced analytics, as well as augmented and virtual reality. A common process architecture for the enterprise was created, also known as Jabil’s Integrated Blueprint Management System (IBPM), which provided a digitalized view of end-to-end processes while cataloging best practices for deploying additional capabilities to other locations with speed and agility.

Let’s now turn to the main focus of our discussion about Digital Transformation. For the benefit of our readers, can you help explain what exactly Digital Transformation means? On a practical level what does it look like to engage in a Digital Transformation?

In the broadest sense, digital transformation can be defined as the use of technology to improve business results. For the global operations team at Jabil, digital transformation refers to the adoption of digital tools, technologies and processes capable of taking operational efficiencies and productivity to the next level. On a practical level, we wanted to create a more predictable, self-correcting production environment that would increase manufacturing uptime, reliability and quality. In turn, this would enable us to reduce production costs, materials shortages and time-to-market for customers.

With the help of our global SME network and Centers of Excellence, we standardized essential operations to the lowest common denominator. In doing so, we optimized scaling while better addressing unique requirements based on specific market, customer or product needs. This enabled us to systematically find opportunities to apply digital and automation technologies that would deliver greater visibility into crucial end-to-end processes spanning production-line data, systems and hardware.

Our approach was pragmatic and consensus-driven, making it possible to simplify, standardize and optimize specific procedures while unifying baselines and key performance indicators (KPIs) for measuring operational productivity and efficiency. This straight-forward methodology for digital transformation enables continuous value creation, which is measured by double-digit improvements across all operational KPIs. To that end, Jabil has dramatically simplified its operating environment while achieving increased productivity, safety, efficiency and product quality.

Which companies can most benefit from a Digital Transformation?

Every company across every industry can benefit from digital transformation. We’re constantly learning about new ideas, processes and technologies from our customers, partners and other businesses. While we lean heavily on organic efforts to spark innovation throughout Jabil, we are eager to benefit from discrete digitalization processes that have been proven elsewhere.

Whenever possible, it’s important to become a “fast follower” when encountering an organization with a strong track record managing large, complex data sets and solutions in environments where quality is paramount. Jabil’s success in scaling production volumes at mega-sites and highly specialized facilities worldwide depends on our ability to create, extract and localize standardized data. Greater access to real-time data and actionable business insights empowers us to identify production failures and anticipate materials shortages much faster, accelerating corrective measures on behalf of customers.

For that reason and countless others, we relish the opportunity to learn how other companies have leveraged automation, AI, predictive analytics, digital twins and machine learning to improve product quality and operational efficiency. Ensuring the highest levels of employee safety across our factories is an overarching priority, so digitalizing our safety environment is a major corporate imperative. Standardizing on the most efficient, effective and safest practices possible is an overarching benefit to be realized from effective digital transformation.

We’d love to hear about your experiences helping others with Digital Transformation. In your experience, how has Digital Transformation helped improve operations, processes and customer experiences? We’d love to hear some stories if possible.

Our initial experiences with digital transformation have been rewarding on several levels. First and foremost, digitalization has enabled us to fortify our existing foundation of embedded operational excellence. Through advanced automation, predictive analytics, AR/VR and AI, we are reimagining our operating model and ways of working to achieve significant productivity, efficiency and quality gains, along with cost savings, improved asset utilization, and faster time to market for customers.

As part of our initial efforts on behalf of the EMS division, we consolidated 296 disparate processes into 13 standard operating procedures (SOPs) with clear visibility, traceability and accountability. We also developed 63 unified metrics and standard baselines for measuring performance, depicted in 163 dashboards that qualify and quantify cost savings, speed and customer value-add across six regions and 25 sites worldwide.

This initial foray in digital transformation has set the foundation for a more predictable, self-correcting environment to reduce costs and deliver bottom-line results by an order of magnitude.

As a result, Jabil global operations embarked on a company-wide effort in September 2022 to expand digitalization globally to benefit more than 250,000 people across 100 facilities in 30 countries generating over $33.5 billion in annual revenues.

Has integrating Digital Transformation been a challenging process for some companies? What are the challenges? How do you help resolve them?

When digital transformation projects fail, it’s usually because of a communications disconnect or data gaps that prevent organizations from reaching common ground on overall objectives, discrete processes and projected results. It’s essential to take everyone along on the journey so they feel empowered to contribute and participate. It’s key to remember, you’re not just innovating for the sake of deploying the latest and greatest digital technologies. Rather, the goal is to embrace digitalization to help sustain continuous improvements through digitalized best practices.

After all, customers will always have new requests, and emerging challenges. You need to “bake in” ample flexibility to expand or customize proven processes without losing sight of the lowest common denominators. There always will be those special requests that could catch you off guard, but you will become more adept at discerning which ones are needed for specific use cases versus new processes that should be added to baseline best practices.

Jabil’s strategic decision to create a common process architecture was key to both our understanding and enablement strategy. We invested the time and effort to identify our data and process gaps, so we could determine how best to close them. Once you have identified your core competencies as well as areas where you might be lacking in data, processes and skillsets, you then are positioned to decide the appropriate “buy, build or partner” strategies to rectify the deficiencies.

Perhaps most important, however, is determining which digital transformation projects can be deployed and redeployed as part of an unbroken chain across the organization. While this might be the hardest hurdle to clear, the ability to aggregate innovations from individual sites to regions and then companywide will produce the greatest value and biggest impact to employees, customers, partners and the business.

Here is the primary question of our discussion. Based on your experience and success, what are “Five Ways a Company Can Use Digital Transformation To Take It To The Next Level”? Please share a story or an example for each.

One: Adopt a Closed-Loop Operating Model. To realize the greatest levels of success from your digital transformation, determine how to capture and clone best practices and processes so they can be redeployed with ease and effectiveness throughout your organization. At Jabil, our integrated blueprint management system offers a digitalized view of end-to-end processes and provides a roadmap for how to deploy digital capabilities and solutions to other locations using standard operating procedures and KPIs for measuring results. This ensures process consistency, cohesive deployment strategies and constant collaboration to fuel continuous improvement.

Two: Create a Culture of Transparency. Digital transformation requires much more than just getting everyone on the same page. It’s crucial to give people authority to surface problems quickly and seek expedient resolutions. Equally important is holding people accountable to achieve desired results. Jabil’s Subject Matter Expert network comprises regional and global specialists representing different functional disciplines and process areas across the organization. This network functions as a collaborative team to determine which ideas, digital tools and innovative technologies become global baselines.

This unified group has the freedom and flexibility to experiment and investigate options, which has led to creative solutions and enabled us to scale improvements in weeks versus months. They also have identified game-changing ideas, such as a flexible, modular automation platform that has been used hundreds of times to reconfigure and redeploy production lines following the end-of-life for a manufactured product. Through strong partnerships and collaboration, the team infused greater levels of automation throughout Jabil’s production environment, saving millions of dollars in labor cost avoidance while accelerating production readiness by as much as 50%.

Three: Communicate a Shared Vision and Plan. When it comes to digital transformation, there really is no such thing as overcommunicating! It’s crucial to look beyond cross-functional silos and find common ground for deploying corporate-wide digital transformation in a systematic manner. Consistent communications in the form of formal and impromptu communications can keep everyone in lockstep, while identifying and resolving problems before they become roadblocks. At Jabil, a series of town-hall meetings, newsletters, factory visits and other forms of communications proved instrumental, especially as various project phases took place during Covid-related factory shutdowns and remote work transitions.

Four: Align with Data Governance. Digitalization begins and ends with data, so it’s critical to engage in ongoing conversations about the role of data and in our case, to align operations with Information Technology to ensure proper data governance and data stewardship. Given the sheer size and scope of Jabil’s organization, we involved IT and data governance early on, and made sure stakeholders on all sides of the data equation had full visibility into critical data while operating from a single source of truth to access 60 unified metrics across all regions and sites.

Five: Embrace a Servant Leadership Mindset. Companies with a clear understanding of how to serve the people who serve their customers have fewer debates and disagreements about corporate priorities. Having a customer-focused approach is part of Jabil’s DNA, so front-line employees are important stakeholders in the digital transformation process. Often, these individuals are responsible for improving manufacturing processes that have a direct impact on products manufactured on behalf of customers, so they are encouraged to speak up, make recommendations and report problems that could impact quality, costs or time-to-market. These vital problem solvers are integral to the overall success of specific digital transformation projects as well as the long-term collaboration with valued customers.

In your opinion, how can companies best create a “culture of innovation” in order to create new competitive advantages?

It’s important to cultivate an environment of entrepreneurship to ignite “outside-the-box” thinking and risk-taking when it comes to devising breakthrough ideas that can create new competitive advantages. The kernel of the “big idea” can come from literally anywhere , so foster an environment where everyone is seen as a problem solver and contributor to the company’s enduring success. Equally important is recognizing and celebrating success — whether it’s the completion of a major project or a creative solution to a persistent problem. Every employee wants to feel like they are making a meaningful difference, so foster an environment where they can speak up, be heard and feel empowered to make things better because they can see the impacts their recommendations can have on the organization.

At Jabil, each role in the end-to-end manufacturing ecosystem plays a part in digital transformation, which is why it is so important to solicit insights, opinions and ideas from all corners of the organization. Viewing digital processes and data integrations across the entire value chain of a company’s capabilities is the most direct path to success.

Can you please give us your favorite “Life Lesson Quote”? Can you share how that was relevant to you in your life?

“Only by knowing yourself can you become an effective leader.” — Vince Lombardi

This quote from the great football coach Vince Lombardi is especially relevant as it reinforces my belief that effective leaders apply their life experiences — including lessons learned along the way — to inspire and guide others. I was fortunate to grow up with parents who shared their own experiences freely and understood the value of teamwork in unifying people around a common sense of purpose.

My parents and mentors have all contributed to my fundamental understanding that everyone should have an opportunity to speak — and be heard — when it comes to articulating how individual contributions can drive team success. I realized early on that effective leaders are great listeners who encourage creative problem solving and empower the execution of big ideas.

The ability to maintain a people-first focus is a highly effective strategy for remaining humble in a leadership role, which is a trait embodied by all of Jabil’s senior executives and a core company principle. Throughout my career, I have been lucky to work alongside people with different skills and areas of expertise who have been generous with their time and contributions. I also continually learn from our customers. My time in business development has helped me better understand their problems and perspectives, which has proven essential to everything we do, including Jabil’s approach to digital transformation.

How can our readers further follow your work?

https://www.linkedin.com/in/gerald-creadon-462995b/

Thank you so much for sharing these important insights. We wish you continued success and good health!