Forrest K. Derr's Linkedin Analytics

I started my working experience by owning a small business: it was a paper route delivering papers to clients in our neighborhood. It was an interesting experience and taught me the basics of sales, purchasing, operations, finance, and customer satisfaction. I moved on from the paper route and worked for a grocery store chain where I learned warehousing and retail store inventory management and product stocking with minimums and maximums. Later as a gas station assistant manager I learned scheduling team members, inventory management, and inventory control. In 1994, I left Delaware to start a new degree at the University of Mobile where I graduated in 1998 while I was working at Office Equipment Company (OEC). After starting in the warehouse with shipping and receiving office furniture and supplies, I was able to quickly improve the organization and processes. This brief period in operations led my migration into the IT department, and I rose to IT Manager after the first year. During my 18 years at OEC, I had several roles and landed as VP of Operations for the last 8 years where I oversaw warehousing and distribution along with technology and automation. During my time at OEC, I started and sold a website development and technology consulting business called Derr Consulting. I also volunteered with two non-profits which included a Christian school where I served on the board and an established business networking group where I served as on the board as secretary, vice president, and president each for a year, and treasurer for seven years. In 2015, I left OEC to take a position at Altaworx, a smaller technology company that provided more hands-on experience in other business areas such as data-center management, finance, and marketing. I served as President of Altaworx and two other companies: AMOP and Telecom Agent Solutions. In 2023, I decided to take on a different challenge with a new visionary at Sexton Lawn & Landscape. In this role, I led an amazing team transforming our organization for the future. For 2025, it is now time for a new chapter. From requests over the last couple of years by business owners looking for help in their businesses, I decided to relaunch Derr Consulting to become a fractional COO/Integrator firm. Industry Experience: • Grocery Retail • Convenience Retail • Wholesale Warehousing Inventory, Distribution, and Installation • Technology Services • Telecommunications • SaaS • Datacenter Planning and Management • Landscaping • Non-profit