Ever wondered what a logistics project manager does? Meet Tienne, who fast-tracked her supply chain career with a NOVUS degree!
Tienne Oates is a logistics project manager with supply chain partner Wincanton. She’s a manager at only 23, and the reason she’s got to where she is today is by doing a NOVUS degree course while at uni. Fast work, Tienne!
To help you understand what her job as a logistics project manager is all about, Tienne got out her phone camera and filmed herself during her working day.
The day starts at the office.
Tienne starts by coming into the office. The first thing she sees on opening the door is a ‘little’ poster she created. “It’s great to have the opportunity to be creative,” says Tienne.
First up? Check emails!
Tienne hotdesks, which means she has a laptop and can sit anywhere she likes in the office during her day, because there’s internet connection everywhere. The very first thing she does is log on and then “make sure no chaos has been caused overnight”. Chaos is a strong word, but the world of supply chain – or getting products from A to B – is fast-paced and varied, so Tienne never knows what emails she’ll get from her colleagues at the start of a working day. You never know – every day could start with a surprise!
First task: help a supplier
The emails reveal that a supplier hasn’t got what they wanted, so Tienne’s first task of the day is to find out why. This kind of task requires sending emails and making phone calls, and the supplier’s problem is resolved.
The world of supply chain is exactly that – a chain. Every link in the chain needs to be working for products to get from factories to storage depots and warehouses to where they’re finally meant to go (which might be the warehouse of a giant superstore). With the power of email and voice calls, Tienne can figure out why the supplier’s product isn’t where it’s meant to be, and how to make sure it gets there.
Lunch time!
Tienne gets lots of variety and healthy options in the canteen where she works. But she’s being honest with you in this video – sometimes, all you really want is a chocolate pudding. It’s allowed.
HANG ON A MOMENT – is that a fitness tracker on Tienne’s wrist? With all the hotdesking and going to meetings she does, her step count will be quite high. She may be doing an office job but she can still enjoy an active lifestyle.
As a logistics project manager, you can work where you want.
“One thing that’s really good about the logistics professiona is that you can work anywhere,” says Tienne. She started off the day in the office so she could catch up with team mates. After lunch, she’s happy to catch some sun working outside in the recreation area. Or she can sit at a different desk in the office if she wants to.
All she really needs for her job is a laptop, notebook and mobile phone. With these three supertools, she can do everything she needs to do.
Time to go to a meeting…
Tienne’s got a meeting coming up after lunch. Many of these can be done on video conferencing software, but everyone likes doing face to face meetings so you can get to see co-workers and other people you don’t often see. Sometimes you can get to travel across the country for these meetings, too. Talk about variety!
Tienne’s meeting will be a business update that will cover all sorts of things including finance, retail, and home delivery. “It’s going to be pretty interesting,” says Tienne. Like so many of us, she likes feeling involved in lots of different aspects of a business, seeing projects from all kinds of different angles. It keeps things fresh. This variety is something that happens a lot with logistics.
Time for a catchup with coworkers?
It’s been a busy day with emails, phone calls, meetings – and, okay, chocolate pudding for lunch. But it’s not all work. One thing that Tienne likes about logistics is you can visit people’s desks and chat with them. You can have official meetings with them, but you can also have a go on the spinning office chairs if you want to. “Gotta love spinny chairs,” says Tienne.
Hometime!
By the time Tienne leaves the office to go home, there are lots more people in the office… but her working day is DONE.
