You have spent over 20 years in Freight Forwarding and Logistics. What first drew you into the industry, and what has kept you passionate about it for over two decades?
In fairness my original career choice was to be a voiceover artist for cartoons, but I didn’t get the grades I needed. After spending 2 years working in a customer service department for a horology company, I decided I wanted to do something that had a different challenge every day. That led me to joining a publishing freight forwarding company, and the rest is history. Still after all this time, no two days have been the same and that’s what keeps me going.
You’ve worked extensively with commodity trading movements. What are the key logistics challenges when moving bulk commodities internationally?
The main issue I have always faced when moving bulk commodities are the carriers. As much as you can prepare and plan for everything, if the carrier decides to shut the vessel early, rolls the bookings or even has delays on route, there isn’t a thing that can be done about it. We then have to deal with the fallout from that with the customers; this can be frustrating as we as a company haven’t done anything wrong, but that’s not how it looks to them.
WasteTrade operates in a fast-moving recycling and secondary raw materials market. What excites you most about joining WasteTrade as Logistics Manager?
Being a parent, my daugthers are always reminding me that climate change is a thing. Working for WasteTrade means I can do my part for a more sustainable future; that’s what drew me in to apply for the role in the first place, and that’s also what makes it exciting for me.
From your experience, what are the most important factors in running a successful logistics operation for global commodity trade?
It’s about making sure you have everything in place to make the logistics process as smooth as possible for the clients. Providing the level of service they expect stems from having the right team, agents and processes in place to make everything as seamless as we can. This is the most important thing for the clients that use and trust us.
You have joined us at a time when WasteTrade is expanding internationally, including into markets like West Africa, North Africa, the Middle East, and beyond. How do you see logistics playing a role in scaling these types of operations?
It’s about making sure we have the right partners to handle the complexity of our movements as well as any eventuality that may come up along the way. Having the right haulage partners that can handle this gives not only WasteTrade peace of mind, but it also makes the end client happy knowing that their shipments are handled with care. This is how you turn first shipments into repeat shipments.
With your background in freight forwarding, what improvements or efficiencies do you typically look for first when reviewing an existing logistics operation?
I tend to like to review where shortfalls have happened in the past to see how a logistics operation can be improved. Maybe it was as little as the way something was worded on an email, or it could even mean potentially having to review partnerships that are in place. It could just be that a standard operating procedure (SOP) should be implemented and refined over time. Making these improvements keeps WasteTrade's clients happy and reduces the likelihood of making the same mistakes over and over again.
Away from the office, you’re a big supporter of Dagenham & Redbridge. How long have you been following the club, and do you manage to get to many matches?
For all my sins I first started going over there when I was 8 years old with my stepdad and next season will mark my 34 th season. I have a season ticket, so I get to all the home matches.
Finally, when you’re not managing shipments and supply chains, what does life look like outside work?
I am a husband and father to soon-to-be 15-year-old twin girls, which presents itself with another set of challenges. So I like to spend time with them; as they get more and more into women’s football, the whole family now has season tickets to West Ham women’s team. Other than that, my other main sporting passion is darts – whether that’s playing or watching.
