Ackerman’s Role in Plexus’ growth towards becoming a Billion Dollar Company
As the President of Plexus Worldwide, I wanted to share some backstory on how important the Ackerman community has been to our company’s growth and success.
Back in 2010, Ackerman resident Debra Lawson and her husband Jerry became some of the first Ambassadors for Plexus. At the time, the company had around $1 million in annual sales and fewer than 1,000 Ambassadors (Independent Sales Representatives) across the U.S. For the Lawsons, it was a leap of faith that grew stronger with every friend and neighbor who saw Plexus products aid in weight loss and improved health.
In the beginning, Plexus shipped cases of product directly to Debra, who would store it at her home. She tracked sales by hand. Plexus’ CEO, Tarl Robinson, would fly into Mississippi and the Lawsons would pick him up for a road trip to surrounding cities and states to meet people face to face.
As Plexus continued to grow, the Lawson’s home practically became a warehouse and pick-up location for the local community. Within a few years, Debra was so busy we agreed it was unfair to treat her home as a Plexus’ storage facility, so we opened a satellite warehouse and pick-up location in Ackerman that Debra still runs.
This system worked initially, as many of our customers and Ambassadors were in the Ackerman area. But by 2016, Plexus had grown from $1 million in annual sales to more than $500 million. We continue to win awards for our rapid growth, and Plexus is among the 40 largest direct selling companies in the world with expectations we will move even further up that list this year.
In most of the country, Plexus customers and Ambassadors receive their products by mail a few days after ordering out of the company’s massive warehouse and distribution center in Arizona. With demand growing, Plexus decided to open a second major warehouse facility to better service the South and Southeastern U.S. This facility recently opened in Atlanta and is providing 1-2 day delivery times. This move allows us to better track product, exceed regulatory guidelines, and more efficiently manage inventory and distribution.
As such, we’ve decided to close our satellite warehouse in Ackerman as of March 31st.
We are sad to close the satellite facility. It’s an amazing reminder of how far we’ve come and the role that people like the Lawson’s have and are playing in our company’s past and its future. But from an efficiency perspective, we know it’s the right business decision as Plexus continues to grow within the U.S. and expand into new international locations such as Canada and overseas.
In less than 10 years, we’ve come a long way from road trips through the South. The Lawsons and the Ackerman community will continue to hold a special place in our hearts and will remain a major foundation of what Plexus has become and will continue to be.
Regards,
Alec Clark, President of Plexus Worldwide
