The Innovation in Operations Award recognizes organizations that build better ways of working — and make them stick. These teams move beyond standard processes, adapt early, and create lasting advantage.

This year, three finalists stood out for reimagining how their operations run.

Here's who made the shortlist.

RCP: Transforming How Operational Decisions Get Made

Most platforms wait to be queried. RCP built one that acts.

Like many organizations, RCP had visibility into its operations. Reports were available. Data existed. But everything was retrospective. Teams worked across siloed systems. Process changes depended on IT only. Decisions were based on information that was outdated by the time they reached the people who needed them.

The team consisting of Daniel Pate, Director of Database Development; Blake Taylor, Lead Developer; Michael Deveny, Developer; Shaun Wintzell, Manager of AI Innovations; and Rhett Krieger, Sales Consultant decided to solve that problem at the architectural level. They introduced continuous operational orchestration — a model where data, workflows, and decisions are tightly integrated across every function and move together in real time. Business users adapt processes independently without waiting on IT. Work moves forward automatically. The platform shifted from something that recorded the past to something that drives the present.

Getting there took real conviction. The team worked through change fatigue and cross-functional alignment challenges. They built momentum by starting with high-impact areas, demonstrating quick wins, and expanding from there with strong executive support.

The lag between insight and action is gone. The platform scales without adding headcount. And because the model compounds over time, the advantage RCP has built becomes stronger and more distinctive with every passing month. Peers in their space are beginning to follow their lead.

HD Supply: Cutting Contractor Invoice Processing from 70 Days to 2

HD Supply's contractor operations spanned onboarding, dispatch, field execution, compliance, and invoicing, with each stage running on emails, spreadsheets, and disconnected tools. Every handoff required manual effort, building up to an invoice process that took 70 days.

The problem was not the work. It was everything between the work.

Rich Phelan, Contractor Relations Specialist, and Jerry Swanner, Sr. Manager - Installation Compliance, decided to do something different. They eliminated that in-between entirely. They faced resistance to replacing familiar tools, complex compliance requirements, and integration challenges. They moved forward by embedding compliance directly into workflows, simplifying the experience for contractors, and letting faster payments make the case.

What they built is a fully automated, closed-loop field operations model. Work orders are dispatched automatically. Field crews capture data in real time through mobile tools. Compliance is enforced inside the workflow as work happens. The moment a job completes, invoicing, and every downstream process triggers automatically with zero manual input. The handoff as a category of work no longer exists.

Contractor invoices are now processed in approximately 2 days. The system handles 11,000 to 12,000 installs annually with built-in auditability and significantly reduced compliance risk. HD Supply has made this model the internal blueprint for the entire business and continues expanding it into additional programs.

Harder Mechanical Contractors: Scaling with Control

Governance is usually what organizations manage around. Harder Mechanical Contractors built their entire operating model on top of it and proved that when you govern infrastructure deliberately, a small team can operate at a scale most organizations need entire departments to match.

Patrick Wenger, Project Controls Director and Development Team Lead, and Jim Harrison, Sr. Developer, built highly customized, internally governed systems using a lean DevOps model and custom development. The goal was complete centralization, automation, and control with no room for system sprawl. They faced resistance from those who preferred familiar spreadsheet-based workflows. Wegner and Harrison made their case through results, building a dedicated DevOps function and proving value through faster resolution and continuous improvement.

They built a centralized Quickbase ticketing system that acts as the single intake and governance layer for every request, workflow change, and system improvement. It integrates with existing data, automates workflows, generates documentation, and provides a single pane of glass across all support, changes, and improvements.

The system processes approximately 3,6000 tickets annually. One person manages all support requests. The team delivers over 1,000 feature improvements every year. Response times are faster, duplication is down, and user satisfaction continues to grow. Most organizations add headcounts to scale. Harder added governance.

Jim Harrison also shares this approach at Qrew meetups, helping other Quickbase users adopt similar governance and system design practices.

Three finalists. One winner, announced at Empower

RCP, HD Supply, and Harder Mechanical Contractors are this year's finalists for the Innovation in Operations Award. The winner will be announced live during the Day 2 keynote on May 20 at Empower 2026 in Houston, TX.

Haven't registered yet? Visit the Empower 2026 website for all the details.

Can't make it to Houston? Sign up for free access to the keynote livestreams here.