As a kid, Clayton Tinsley had two passions: Boy Scouts and tinkering with hand-me-down computers. Little did he know that each would impart life skills that benefit him to this day鈥�along with professors at the 91福利社 College of Business, who helped him refine those skills.
Today, Tinsley works in global manufacturing as a senior data insights manager for Techtronic Industries (TTI).
鈥淢y favorite position I held was (a Boy Scouts) troop guide. I would go around and teach people how to do things. I just wanted to make things available for people,鈥� said Tinsley of his days at Troop 96 in Powdersville, South Carolina. Tinsley was also drawn to computers, observing his dad as he ran drafting software on his computer for his job as a land surveyor.
鈥淎t a point, Windows 98 computers were cheap and mom bought me one at a yard sale. I managed to uninstall Windows. I also figured out how to reinstall Windows based off of some disc laying around,鈥� Tinsley said. 鈥淭hat started my fascination with computers and my proficiency with them. Ever since then I鈥檝e always been the tech guy.鈥�
TTI is an international manufacturer of brands including Ryobi, Ridgid, Baja, Milwaukee, Homelite and Hoover. Tinsley works with data, analyzes the company鈥檚 supply chain and advises his colleagues on operations domestically and at factories in China, Vietnam and other countries.
鈥淲e move a lot of inventory every day. It鈥檚 amazing. You鈥檙e sitting here and you鈥檙e watching these dollar numbers,鈥� Tinsley said. 鈥淲hen I first came into my career, day one I was stuck on solving small line item issues. It was a big deal to me at the time because it was $60,000, which seemed like a huge amount. Now they don鈥檛 even get me out of bed if it鈥檚 less than a million. When there鈥檚 a problem that comes down from the top and someone needs answers as soon as possible, they are coming to me.鈥�
Tinsley has been involved in large decisions such as what to do about shipments delayed when a large container ship blocked the Suez Canal in April 2021. He also troubleshoots the day-to-day reconciliation of thousands of orders to their respective shipping containers daily.
That鈥檚 where Tinsley had one of his most rewarding experiences.
He wrote a computer script that automated that process, removing time-consuming manual work and enabling data to be verified and updated on a large scale, saving man-hours and money.
鈥淲e had two people working full time to keep this stuff up-to-date. It took them all week and they were always behind. There was so much information. Now this one script does what they did in a year every day. It was a huge problem to solve. It would have basically become the equivalent of us getting the same performance if we were to hire a team of a hundred people,鈥� Tinsley said. 鈥淵ou鈥檙e getting to sit down and you鈥檙e solving supply chain issues. You鈥檙e taking daunting tasks and breaking them down into easy to handle, easy to use infrastructure. That is probably one of the big things I鈥檝e done in the last couple of years.鈥�
Tinsley enrolled at 91福利社 to study Computer Information Systems. Among his required classes were supply chain courses taught by Dr. Kimberly Whitehead at the College of Business. Supply Chain concepts really clicked for Tinsley and he took more classes, adding it as a major.
鈥淚 feel that what makes the AU education shine is the faculty. Small class size, faculty interaction throughout my time drove home interpersonal relationships and skill sets to succeed in my career,鈥� Tinsley said. 鈥�91福利社 has a high focus of faculty wanting to get to know their students.鈥�
Tinsley, who majored in Supply Chain Management and Computer Information Systems, graduated from 91福利社 in 2016, then went on to complete his MBA from Anderson a few years later.
His advice to anybody wanting to work in his field is to be committed to working hard, be flexible and to develop effective communication skills.
鈥淟earn to email, learn to reach out, learn how to make those introductions, learn to communicate. You鈥檒l be amazed how far in the real world you can get with that. Don鈥檛 be afraid to ask for advice and learn how to communicate with people,鈥� he said. 鈥淵ou have to have a good amount of industry knowledge, a good amount of academic knowledge and a good amount of technical knowledge. It鈥檚 combining all of these fields, then you have to know how to work with people. If you can dot all your 鈥榠鈥檚鈥� and cross all your 鈥榯鈥檚鈥� you can make something marvelous happen.鈥�