Watkins selected director of eCommerce
FORT LEE, Va. – Willie Watkins, former chief of the eBusiness Division, has been selected to become director of eCommerce within the Defense Commissary Agency’s IT Group, announced Dr. Theon Danet, the group’s executive director.
As eCommerce director, Watkins is responsible for directing all activities related to internet commerce throughout DeCA’s 236-store enterprise. His selection was effective Aug. 28.
“Willie has more than demonstrated the expertise and dedication to lead our eCommerce Directorate,” Danet said. “Working as our eBusiness chief over the past several years provided him with a wealth of experience. Also, being part of the leadership team that launched the original online ordering/curbside pickup pilots nearly 10 years ago, he helped pave the way for the agency’s digital exposure today.”
Prior to his appointment as eCommerce director, Watkins wore two hats for several months, serving as the eBusiness Division chief and acting eCommerce director. During this time, he led the development and implementation of Commissary CLICK2GO, the agency’s online ordering, payment and curbside pickup service.
Now, Commissary CLICK2GO is piloting delivery at eight military installations: Scott Air Force Base, Illinois; Fort Bragg South, North Carolina; MacDill Air Force Base, Florida; Fort Belvoir and Naval Station Norfolk in Virginia; Joint Base Lewis-McChord, Washington; and Marine Corps Air Station Miramar and Naval Station San Diego, both in California. DeCA’s delivery program allows patrons within a 20-mile radius of the participating commissary to order groceries online via Commissary CLICK2GO, and have them delivered to their door.
“DeCA’s eCommerce capabilities are the gateway to reaching all 8.5 million eligible households,” Watkins said. “Just imagine online ordering and delivery to a veteran who is incapacitated because of a service-connected disability. That same veteran can take full advantage of his or her commissary benefit using eCommerce technology.
“The prospects for eCommerce are endless,” he added. “Take for instance stores that are currently participating in our delivery pilot. They have, on average, experienced a more than 40-percent increase in Commissary CLICK2GO activity – imagine that output agency wide.”
Watkins has also managed and directed the deployment of new eCommerce software to all commissaries globally that enhanced DeCA’s digital shelf, online stock assortment, and agency wide field support for eCommerce related issues and concerns.
From April 2021 to January 2022, Watkins served as an enterprise planning specialist supervisor, part of the leadership oversight that coordinated the deployment of Enterprise Business Solution (EBS) technologies that integrated and streamlined the agency’s business processes.
“I was a part of the agency director’s Vision Team in 2012, and we were tasked with exploring ideas that could launch DeCA into the 21st Century – providing our deserving patrons access to the benefit using multiple touch points, digital, social, eCommerce as well as an improved in-store experience,” Watkins said. “I’d like to think that we are on the right track to provide our customers access to their commissary benefit no matter where they are.”
Watkins served in the Air Force from 1984 to 2004. During his first 10 years in uniform he performed commissary operations and accountability duties as a subsistence operations technician in the Air Force Commissary Service (AFCOMS). He was also an enlisted recruiter from 1994 to 2004, during which time he was selected as the Enlisted Accessions Recruiter of the Year for the state of Indiana in 1995.
After retiring from the Air Force, Watkins joined DeCA’s civilian workforce and served as store manager, first at Wurzburg, Germany, and later at Langley Air Force Base, Virginia. In 2006, he began a two-year tour as a store director at the Harrison Village Commissary in Indianapolis, Indiana.
Watkins served from 2008 to 2013 as program manager for DeCA’s Guard and Reserve On-Site Sale Outreach initiative. In this position, he provided guidance, oversight and logistical support for Guard and Reserve on-site sales throughout the continental U.S., Alaska, Hawaii and Puerto Rico.
From 2013 to 2021, Watkins served as eBusiness chief for the agency’s Sales, Marketing and Policy Group, where he led the development and implementation of DeCA’s first testing of an online ordering and curbside pickup service.
As deputy area director for East and Central areas from January to April 2021, Watkins supported operational activities along the northern and southeastern United States. He managed and directed headquarters commissary management specialist staff in support of daily operational activities and field assistance that provided operational guidance, managerial support, financial analysis and human resources direction for DeCA employees at over 100 facilities.
Watkins has a bachelor’s degree in organized management from Oakland City University, Oakland City, Indiana (2002); and a master’s degree in business administration from Averett University, Danville, Virginia (2011).
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About DeCA: The Defense Commissary Agency operates a worldwide chain of commissaries providing groceries to military personnel, retirees and their families in a safe and secure shopping environment. Commissaries provide a military benefit, saving authorized patrons thousands of dollars annually on their purchases compared to similar products at commercial retailers. The discounted prices include a 5-percent surcharge, which covers the costs of building new commissaries and modernizing existing ones. A core military family support element, and a valued part of military pay and benefits, commissaries contribute to family readiness, enhance the quality of life for America’s military and their families, and help recruit and retain the best and brightest men and women to serve their country.