I recently had a chat with Andrew Ries, Chemical and Beverage Manager at Performance Food Service. Andrew has been in the chemical industry for around 15 years so we have a lot to learn from his both his experiences and background!
Background of Andrew Ries
Andrew’s career spans 22 years, where he first began working in a Mcdonald’s at the age of 14. By the time he was 18, he was promoted to full-time Assistant Manager. After a stint in the panelized construction industry, he moved over to the chemical industry where he eventually ended at Performance Food Group (PFG)/Performance Food Service (PFS), where he is working as a manager in the Chemical and Beverage Department.
Juggling sales and service has been challenging on Andrew and he’s had to balance the two. Sometimes he continues working through the evening to catch up on admin work. He also believes that the worst is behind him this past year, and we will all be ok as we move forward. Since our podcast together a couple of weeks ago, he and his wife have welcomed their fourth child, a healthy girl.
The Effects of Covid-19
Andrew believes that PFG/PFS has come out of the pandemic with strong business growth because of their sales team. Unfortunately, they lost about 20% of their Bev/Chem business due to business closures at the start of the pandemic like most others around the United States.
Despite these challenges, PFG/PFS has continued to grow its customer base. Their financials are a testament to their growth, as they’re outperforming their competition. This can also be attributed to their strong belief in focusing on people and embracing human interaction and connection.
The pandemic has made everyone more resilient in spite of the many setbacks so many have endured. People are starting to look past the last two years and focus on the future.
On a personal note, Andrew, like myself, was struggling internally due to the pandemic. To reconnect with himself, he registered and completed a 45-day professional sales leadership certification through NASP (National Association of Sales Professionals) as a CPSL (Certified Professional Sales Leader). As a leader, you need vision, and with vision comes performance.
The four cycles of performance are:
- Inception: you start with an idea and start to implement it. You are Unconsciously Incompetent.
- Deception: You start to doubt yourself and think it’s too hard, and you want to go back to what you did before. During this stage, it’s essential to have a support system in place to help you. You are concsciously incompetent.
- Transformation: This is where high effort sets in and endurance begins. You’re consciously competent in this stage.
- Identity: You have to become unconsciously competent to form an identity. You will also consider yourself to be the master of yourself or master of something in this stage.
While going through these four stages, you have to learn about your bad habits and create pattern interrupts. By focusing on yourself and mitigating bad habits, you become a better leader.
Looking to the Future
When asked about what he most looks forward to in 2022, Andrew mentioned food shows. It’s the diverse range of people you get to meet and learn about new innovations. He believes that moving forward, we have to embrace change and technology and accept that things will never be the same.
By embracing technology, for instance, customers will feel more educated as you spend more time giving back to them through live service reports with pictures and videos.
If you’d like to contact Andrew Ries, you can call him directly at (570) 898-0154. Alternatively, send him an email to Andrew.ries@pfgc.com or connect on LinkedIn.
My new podcast, Cleaning Processes with Jerry, was born out of the pandemic. It’s my way of staying connected with people in the same industry or like-minded people. I hope you continue with me on this journey and learn something new with each episode.
If you would like to become a guest like Andy did please reach out to me