• Guest: Ivan Martinez, COO
• Industry: Automotive Parts Distribution / Supply Chain
• Company: Second-largest collision parts distributor in the U.S.
• Scale: 45 locations, 800+ employees
• Tech Stack: Power BI, Python, ERP integrations, ChatGPT

✅ Ivan shares how his team scaled from 25 to 45 locations and doubled headcount, all while modernizing warehouse and delivery operations.

✅ He discusses the difference between managing and predicting—a Deming-inspired philosophy that drives his leadership style.

✅ Ivan reveals how he retrained himself through Harvard’s Business Analytics Program, bringing coding, forecasting, and deep BI dashboards into every layer of the business.

✅ From Python to ChatGPT, Ivan shows how AI and analytics help automate decisions, guide hiring, and even manage building leases.

✅ A candid take on leadership, mentorship, and how to keep both feet planted in data and daily operations.

In this episode of The Innovator’s Impact, Darnell Perkins sits down with Ivan Martinez, Chief Operating Officer of the second-largest distributor of collision parts in the U.S. With over 800 employees and 45 warehouses, Ivan has led the company through rapid growth—powered by tech, data, and a hands-on management style.

Ivan shares how he shifted from manual spreadsheets to Power BI and Python, becoming a predictive operations leader who can see trends before they become bottlenecks. From warehouse layout optimization to managing container overflow, his approach blends data precision with field-level awareness.

This episode is packed with actionable insights on AI adoption, re-skilling leadership teams, and building a scalable workforce culture. Ivan also opens up about using ChatGPT daily—not just for data science, but even to support communication for his multilingual team.

Q: What does leadership mean to you in operations?

A: It means making decisions based on data—and teaching your team to read and act on it intuitively.

Q: How do you integrate technology into your role as COO?

A: From dashboards to predictive models, I use tools like Power BI and Python to track performance and forecast outcomes—daily.

Q: What’s the biggest lesson from scaling fast?

A: Distribution issues hit harder than development. Dashboards saved us from being blindsided by space and inventory issues.

Q: How do you approach training?

A: I trained myself in data analytics through Harvard, and now I mentor others—including my 14-year-old daughter—to embrace Python and AI.

Q: Where are you on the AI adoption curve?

A: All in. From writing code to analyzing leases to improving emails—ChatGPT is part of my workflow every day.

00:00 – Intro & Meet Ivan Martinez

01:00 – Collision Parts, Supply Chain & Scale

02:00 – Last-Mile Logistics and Data Precision

04:00 – Leadership and Data-Driven Hiring

06:00 – Managing Warehouse Defects with Analytics

08:00 – From Excel to Power BI & Python

09:30 – Harvard’s Business Analytics Program

10:30 – Why “Management is Prediction”

12:00 – AI in the Day-to-Day Workflow

14:00 – Onsite vs. Hybrid Teams

16:00 – Real-Time Dashboards & Forecasting Tools

18:00 – Lessons from Inventory Overflow

21:00 – Retooling the Workforce with Modern Tech

23:00 – ChatGPT for Code, Contracts &...