Barbara Henry
Information Services Manager
Alliance Parts Warehouse
Barbara Henry started her career in the automotive aftermarket a decade ago as a purchasing and accounting assistant with Alliance Parts Warehouse (APW). “During the journey, I became aware of how much I enjoyed finding ways to make other people’s jobs easier and more efficient,” Henry says.
Today, as information services manager for APW, part of the Aftermarket Auto Parts Alliance, Henry has found her niche.
“For me, information technology is kind of the hub of the wheel in terms of the business,” she says. “In my role, I get to research and work on the development of processes that streamline workflows, make transactions flow smoothly and help lighten the load for others. And I get to play a part in keeping the hub and the entire wheel rolling smoothly.”
Her role took on added importance when the pandemic hit. Prior to 2020, APW already had begun shifting to paperless processing. Those efforts accelerated during the pandemic, and Henry couldn’t be prouder of the company’s agility and resilience. “As one of the facilitators of this project, I am so proud of how the processes have not only made things easier, but also more accurate and safer. It allows us to have everything we need at the click of a few buttons, rather than a manual shuffling of paper between people working remotely and at the warehouse.
And these changes have streamlined everything so much that they will last well-beyond the end of COVID-19 and into our future.”