Ryan Barnes started his career in the healthcare industry, providing technology solutions for children and adults in the mental health field. He then transitioned to the State of Nevada, working in critical technology for public safety. Later, his career journey brought him back to Michigan, integrating technology into students’ everyday lives at schools in the Metro Detroit area. He found his way to MJS Packaging through a colleague’s recommendation to work with Ken Weir, our Chief Information Officer. We were glad to welcome him to the team as IT Manager in 2015. Ryan was promoted to Director of IT in 2022.
MISSION CRITICAL
When you walk into your office, don’t you just kind of expect that your equipment will function correctly? Here at MJS Packaging, we recognize that Ryan and the IT team provide critical service to our daily operations. They work extremely hard to ensure the highest level of uptime while continuing to improve our technological footprint. That upholds our team to provide the highest level of service to our customers.
“Technology is a pillar of success at MJS Packaging, and we will continue to deliver innovative, reliable and agile technology to drive success. Our vision is to provide best-in-class technology and support to empower MJS Packaging to achieve more.”
Ryan knows there can be daily dynamic challenges involved with IT infrastructure. He enjoys using creative problem-solving on the job and continually searches for process improvements.
MAKING AN IMPACT
Ryan’s expertise has benefited a diverse array of projects with both internal and external impact. His work in the IT department has helped with unified communications, warehouse management, proprietary sourcing and line sheet software, eCommerce builds, sales forecasting modules, inventory optimization, on-time delivery, process documentation, business intelligence analytics and IT security. Technological advancements from our IT team allow us make improvements for our customers in user experience, sourcing and quick and accurate delivery.
“Analytics has changed the way we evaluate and integrate our business. We utilize analytics to quickly make robust reporting and dashboard solutions. I continue to spend a significant amount of time enhancing our data analysis to help drive the organization.”
Regarding the future of IT, Ryan states that advances in AI (artificial intelligence) and VR (virtual reality) will continue. Companies will need to adapt and find ways to embrace these changes. At MJS Packaging we will be using IoT (internet of things) devices to allow for greater automation, increase data-driven decision-making and improve real-time monitoring.
We are glad to have Ryan as a guiding member of our Leadership team. In this role, he works closely with our Executive team, helping to define our overall vision, priorities, and annual goals. As an MJS Packaging leader, Ryan communicates priorities and ensures alignment on major policies and procedures. He supports our Executive team with information, ideas and suggestions to help us grow and operate efficiently.
MORE ABOUT RYAN
Ryan enjoys working at MJS Packaging because of the people here. He says that the family-owned atmosphere and social events make this a great place to work.
“I define my personal success by the success of my team members at work and the success of my wife and kids at home. I strive to provide the resources and coaching to empower others to achieve their goals.”
Ryan believes that “great moments are born from great opportunity” as quoted by Coach Herb Brooks of the gold medal-winning 1980 U.S. Olympic ice hockey team. In fact, Ryan has been playing hockey since the age of five and continues to play today. He loves coaching youth hockey and currently sits on his hockey association’s board of directors.
MJS PACKAGING IS YOUR PARTNER
The biggest takeaway Ryan had when he first joined the packaging industry was the dedicated time and effort put into preparing packaging for our customers. We empower our employees with the resources they need to be successful and that enables us to achieve success for our customers. It’s a total team effort.
“We have some incredibly gifted team members at MJS Packaging that provide truly creative packaging solutions to our customers. It has been exciting to witness how packaging continues to evolve.”
