Laura L. Brewer

Lecturer

  • B.S. & M.B.A. - Appalachian State University

Mrs. Brewer was a Supply Chain Data Analytics Analyst as Lowe's Hardware in Mooresville. In this position, she was responsible for the safety stock optimization in over 1700 retail locations and 75 distribution centers. She managed inventory optimization exceptions as well as collaborated with Supply Chain planning teams to optimize outputs that aligned with inventory needs.


Mrs. Brewer also held an International Transportation Specialist at Lowe's Hardware. She was responsible for the implementation and management of Lowe's 3rd Party Logistics Partners, specifically in the North China region. Mrs. Brewer compiled and analyzed data to evaluate KPI points, ensuring on-time delivery, reducing excess inventory, and saving over a million dollars through an evaluation of estimated landing costs. Mrs. Brewer collaborated with diverse groups of partners overseas to direct and provided leadership towards identifying and resolving the root cause of complex supply chain issues affecting Lowe's international business units. Issues included data integrity problems, tariff topics, purchase order issues, and other common anomalies. Mrs. Brewer started with Lowe's Hardware in May of 2016.


Before beginning her career at Lowe's Hardware, Mrs. Brewer worked at Merchant's Distributors Inc., located in Hickory, NC. During her 20 years there, she worked in almost every department, with 13 years in domestic transportation. She performed systems analysis, the implementation, execution, and training for over 300 truck drivers on a new software enterprise management system, as recommended by her analysis.

 

Mrs. Brewer is an Appalachian Alum and holds a master's degree in Business Administration with a concentration in Data Analytics as well as a Bachelor of Science Business Administration majoring in Computer Information Systems. She also minored in Supply Chain Management. She obtained her graduate certificate of Supply Chain Management at UNC-Greensboro and is currently ABD (all but dissertation) for Doctoral Degree in Business Administration at The University of North Carolina at Charlotte. Her area of research includes supply chain resiliency and disruptions and the severity of those disruptions on a global and domestic level.


In Mrs. Brewer's spare time, she enjoys playing with her rescue dogs, Vegas and Fiona. She also plays in a rock-n-roll band named Home Brewed, with her husband, Matt and other longtime friends. She also enjoys spending time with her family, completing a multitude of Do-It-Yourself projects, and working on her small farm! She resides in Lenoir, NC.


Teaching

Supply Chain Management Production & Operation Management, Strategy & Procurement Global Sourcing, and Global Logistics.

Title: Assistant Professor
Department: Marketing & Supply Chain Mgt.

Email address: Email me

Phone: (828) 262-6665

Office address
4053 Peacock Hall