“I’m as nervous as a cat in a roomful of rocking chairs.”

Barry Warren isn’t one for attention. So he was hesitant at the suggestion of an interview when he hit the huge milestone of 30 years with Lowe’s.

“I’m just low-key,” he said. “Low profile. Always have been.” 

Shy of the spotlight – maybe. But something Warren has never run away from is hard work and dedication. And he comes by it honest. 

“My grandad served in WWII in the Marine Corps, and I followed in his footsteps and served in the Marine Corps as well,” he said. “And my two sons are currently serving today in the Marine Corps and I’ve very proud of that.”

By the time he left the service in ‘91, he had taken the Marine Corps values to heart: Honor, Courage and Commitment. He was eager to bring those values to the next job; a job he had no idea would turn into his career. 

“I got home from Camp Lejeune on April 4 of ’91 and I was bored, basically,” Warren remembered with a laugh. “I stayed home for a week and a half and was bored to death. Looked in the paper and said, ‘I’ve got to do something,’ and saw there was a job opening at Lowe’s Distribution on River Road.”

The job was at the distribution center in North Wilkesboro, North Carolina; one of only two distribution centers Lowe’s had at the time. And the position came with a decent amount of manual labor.

“We had two RDCs supporting right at 700 stores,” he said. “I started out as an order selector, you just picked orders for stores. We’d pick it, shrink wrap it, palletize it and then load it onto the trailers to go to the stores.”

Thirty years later, Lowe’s now has 15 RDCs and more than 2,200 stores. And Warren? He’s still supporting Lowe’s supply chain. Only now, he’s a Supply Chain Services Senior UAT Analyst. His team oversees all the warehouse management systems (WMS) in the supply chain distribution space. They help bridge the gap between the business and IT, something that wasn’t even dreamed of three decades ago when he began. 

“The mind-blowing part is when we went from handloading everything at North Wilkes, where we packed our own trucks – to go from that in the mid-90s, to when we opened up our automated RDCs where you had these conveyer systems,” Warren explained. “It doesn’t sound like a big deal to the kids today but just to see a box go through a conveyer and it push off at the correct lane, with the correct store number, the item number and so on… to me, it was amazing.”

Growing and learning with Lowe’s is something Warren doesn’t take for granted. Not to mention, the importance and value placed on supply chain over the years. 

“To be part of that, the growth, was truly amazing,” he said. “It was an amazing opportunity for me to be on some great teams. And I don’t want any personal credit. The credit for my longevity is being with some great people who have helped me along the way, who have mentored me, who have been a part of it all. It’s all about the people.”

To stick with a company through all the ups and downs that are bound to come with a 30-year career takes a lot of loyalty – something Warren credits to his time in the military. 

As he heads into year 31, he plans to keep calling Lowe’s home and encourages job seekers to consider it for their future as well. 

“Lowe’s was good to me and my family,” he said. “[Lowe’s] is a great company to work for, I would recommend it to anyone.

“As long as I’m able, as long as I’m having fun and as long as I’m contributing, then I’ll be around. They may have to roll me out.”

Learn more about how Lowe's supports military associates or find your fit in a career with Lowe's.