Podcast Summary

Supply Chain Now

Episode Title: From Store Shelves to Community Impact: Tony Zuazo’s Journey
Host: Scott Luton
Guest: Tony Zuazo, Interim CEO of Community Resource Center, former EVP of Global Supply Chain at Dollar General
Date: March 11, 2026

Episode Overview

This episode centers on Tony Zuazo’s extensive journey from executive retail supply chain leadership (notably at Dollar General) to his current role as Interim CEO at the Community Resource Center (CRC) in Middle Tennessee. With humor, warmth, and candor, Tony discusses the evolution of the retail supply chain landscape, the critical importance of adaptability and decision-making, and how industry expertise is being leveraged for community good. Key themes include the integration of people, process, and technology, the necessity of forward planning in fast-growing environments, and the ongoing mission to address hygiene insecurity and period poverty through CRC.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

Personal Passions and Leadership Foundations (03:39–07:03)

• Coaching Basketball: Tony highlights the triumph of coaching a co-ed third-grade team to an undefeated season.

  "The team I had, we had a great season, went undefeated, won the championship...young boys and girls came together and put it together for the title." — Tony Zuazo (04:10)

• Car Restoration: Shares pride in restoring a 1983 Porsche 911 SC, a personal and enduring project.

  "I'm a YouTube mechanic... my favorite project, and I still have this car. It's a 1983 Porsche 911 SC that I've kind of restored and put a lot of time and energy into it." — Tony Zuazo (05:09)

• Family Time: Describes the joy of blending family traditions with sports fandom during Bay Area trips.
• Core Values: Throughout, Tony emphasizes loyalty, team-building, and passing on values to the next generation.

Retail Supply Chain Evolution (08:16–16:47)

What’s Changed Since 2010

• Automation Advances:
  • Explosion in adoption and cost reduction, not just within e-commerce but across retail.

  • "The first [change] would be around automation, the material growth that's occurred outside of the E-commerce space... adoption rates have increased and so I think that'll be a continuing trend." — Tony Zuazo (08:23)

• AI & Machine Learning:
  • Increasing prevalence and new use cases.

  • "AI machine learning...is part of everyday supply chain lives and becoming more valuable every day." — Tony Zuazo (08:59)

What Hasn’t Changed

• Managing Uncertainty:
  • Constant global pressures require adaptability.

    "There's a constant pressure on supply chains globally and the ability to adapt and support that is critical to be successful in this space." — Tony Zuazo (10:33)

• Micro Decisions & Complexity:
  • The real challenge is the volume and diversity of daily problem-solving, not just big-ticket decisions.

  • "You could be having a conversation about a transportation issue...then about a warehouse space issue...then about inventory constraints...supply chain folks have started to get more value and been able to elevate into CEO roles as an example." — Tony Zuazo (12:15)

Dollar General: Non-Negotiables for Supply Chain Performance (14:17–16:17)

• Forward Planning:
  • Instituted a rolling five-year plan covering logistics, staffing, and tech investment.

  • "You have to plan for the future today because the growth is coming...having that rolling perspective also helped inform the financial plans of which supply chains are huge consumers." — Tony Zuazo (14:17)

The “Waffle House Index” Analogy (16:17–16:47)

• Supply Chain as Community Lifeline:
  • Dollar General and Waffle House as reliability benchmarks in rural or disaster-prone areas.

  • "If the Waffle House and DG are closed, you're right, I mean there's going to be some problems in that town." — Tony Zuazo (16:47)

Overengineering vs. Oversimplifying & the Role of Technology (17:18–20:17)

• Technology Pitfalls:
  • Danger in customizing software beyond practicality.

    "A lot of times over-engineering occurs in: 'let's customize this, let's add extra code'... try to stay on the base platform as much as you can." — Tony Zuazo (17:18)

• Change Management:
  • Undervaluing change management is a frequent, risky oversimplification.

  • "Don't oversimplify [change management]. Make the investment...especially when you're doing large scale initiatives." — Tony Zuazo (19:04)

  • Importance of overcommunication during change.

    "You can never hurt yourself by over communicating." — Tony Zuazo (20:12)

Community Resource Center: Nonprofit Supply Chain in Action (20:46–26:33)

Joining CRC & Implementing Supply Chain Solutions (20:46–23:07)

• Transition from Paper to Process:
  • Helped lead CRC’s adoption of a warehouse and inventory management system.

  • "All that...was not able to be done quickly and effectively in the past. And now we have great information that tells us where we are with each product, what stage it's in...which helps achieve better equilibrium on product supply." — Tony Zuazo (22:01)

Mission & Impact (23:36–24:33)

• Hygiene Poverty & Community Partnerships:
  • CRC supports 75+ partners (serving 420+ local sites), offering hygiene essentials and supporting schools, nonprofits, and libraries.
  • Disaster response (e.g., Winter Storm Fern) another critical function.

Sustainability & Leadership Succession (25:38–26:18)

• Sustaining CRC:
  • Tony focuses on development (fundraising, partnerships), bridging to a future permanent CEO.

  • "I'm learning how to be a development person. And development in the nonprofit space means raising money...so when the permanent CEO is here, they can hit the ground running." — Tony Zuazo (25:38)

How Listeners Can Help CRC (26:33–30:05)

• Ways to Contribute:
  • Financial or in-kind donations (product, supplies, shipping materials).
  • Donating overstock, imperfect, near-expiry, or discontinued inventory.
  • Corporate hygiene drives, virtual or physical, packaging events, onsite volunteering.

    "We're an avid recipient of [surplus and imperfect goods]... we are built for repackaging and redistribution... we're also able to collect goods from anywhere in the US." — Tony Zuazo (26:48)

• Learn More or Get Involved:
  • Visit crcmidtn.org
  • Corporate visits, ideation sessions, and tailored volunteer opportunities available.

The “Big Three”: People, Process, Technology Framework (30:54–34:35)

• People First:

  > "*Organizations and leaders that are putting people at the center...are winning and will continue to win.*" — Tony Zuazo (30:54)
  

• Process Engineering:
  • Process redesigns, even without tech, are vital.

  • "Don't underestimate the value of process engineering projects that don't necessarily have technology...be hard on the process and easy on the people, at least to start." — Tony Zuazo

• Technology as Enabler:
  • There's no "silver bullet." Use tech to empower, not define, operations.

The Standardization Debate (32:41–34:35)

• Balancing efficient standardization with space for creativity and flexibility.

  > "*There could be certain things that you're going to standardize and other things you're going to give choice to... a happy medium of debate and conversation, but being open to...some standardization and then there's some flexibility.*" — Tony Zuazo (33:36)
  

Leadership Style & Personal Reflections (35:09–35:28)

• Tony is often told he’s “cool, calm,” but likens himself to a duck—serene on the surface, paddling furiously underneath.

Closing Challenge & Call to Action

• Celebrate Giving Forward:
  • Scott invites the audience to donate/support CRC and promises future celebration and deeper features for supporters.

  • "If you are able and in position to support the Community Resource Center...let us know what you did and I promise you I’ll find a way to celebrate that giving forward." — Scott Luton (36:28)

• Find CRC & Tony Zuazo:
  • LinkedIn: Tony Zuazo
  • crcmidtn.org
  • Facebook, Instagram (Community Resource Center)
• Contact CRC for volunteering, donations, and corporate partnerships.

Memorable Quotes & Moments

• “People are always going to be the driving force and they're always going to be where innovation is born. And so making sure that you take care of that and you develop it, you foster it, and you position it accordingly...is critical.” — Tony Zuazo (00:00, 30:54)

• “You can never hurt yourself by over communicating.” — Tony Zuazo (20:12)

• “We're an avid recipient of [surplus and imperfect goods]... we are built for repackaging and redistribution... we're also able to collect goods from anywhere in the US.” — Tony Zuazo (26:48)

• “I'm learning how to be a development person. And development in the nonprofit space means raising money.” — Tony Zuazo (25:38)

• Host’s challenge:
  “Do good, give forward, be the change that's needed. Be like Tony. Because the world be a much, much better place.” — Scott Luton (37:54)

Notable Timestamps

• 03:39 — Tony’s personal passions: basketball, cars, family.
• 08:16 — Fundamental changes in retail supply chain (technology, automation, AI).
• 10:33 — What’s stayed the same: global pressure, adaptability required.
• 12:15 — The real work: constant, diverse, micro-decision-making.
• 14:17 — Key to Dollar General's performance: forward planning.
• 16:47 — The “Waffle House/Dollar General” disaster index.
• 17:18 — Pitfalls in overengineering technology.
• 19:04 — Importance of real change management investment.
• 22:01 — Leap from manual processes to systematized supply chain at CRC.
• 23:36 — CRC’s mission and scope.
• 25:38 — Sustaining CRC through development (fundraising and organizing).
• 26:48 — Call to support CRC: donations, corporate partnerships, volunteering.
• 30:54 — The “Big Three” framework: people, process, technology.
• 32:41 — Value (and limits) of standardization and flexibility.
• 35:09 — Leadership style: the “calm duck.”
• 36:28 — Challenge to the audience—celebrate giving forward.

Further Information

• Get involved or learn more: crcmidtn.org
• Tony Zuazo on LinkedIn
• Podcast host/contact: Scott Luton, Supply Chain Now

This episode is rich with actionable insights for supply chain professionals on navigating technological change, sustaining operational excellence, and giving back to the community—delivered with the humility and wisdom of a leader who bridges corporate and nonprofit sectors.