5/3/2018 0 Comments women in logisticsFor most people, the first impression of logistics is sweaty men in safety shoes. Suffering from an overly masculine image, the industry doesn’t exactly appear on the top of a little girl’s wish list of “what I want to be when I grow up”. On one hand, the industry still needs sweaty men for some of the heavy lifting especially in places where machines haven’t yet replaced human labour. But on the other, technology and the maturing of the industry has allowed for a wider variety of jobs in which women perform better, due to innate qualities like attention to details, a different approach to project management and in some cases, mothering– i.e. supply chain planning & management, marketing and IT solutions to name a few.
In celebration of International Women’s Day on March 8, we salute the outstanding women in logistics for showing that having female team players is an advantage and let’s press for progress today and every day.
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15/1/2018 0 Comments getting the right basics, rightThe creative façade of a Japanese restaurant triggered my muse as I was thinking about how the company was shaping up in the new year. Using the simplest of items to create an eye catching storefront and interior design, it gave me inspiration on how to put into words what the Alien team was going through in order to maintain our promise of providing service that’s out of this world in an ever-challenging environment. It was about getting the basics right. It was about knowing what the basics are, in order to get them right in the first place. Give me an “R” for readyAs no-brainer as being ready is, getting ready the right way is harder than one can imagine. I like it when I get a reply to my enquiry that’s professional, knowledgeable and practical. This sort of customer experience gives me confidence with the company I’m dealing with and makes me want to go to their Facebook page and “Like” them so badly.
So what does being ready entail?Our mise en place for 2018 has been going on since our Mothership decided that unparalleled service would be our key differentiator. A new customer is taken on only when we have the skills, capacity and network to enable us to competently provide advice, service and competitive rates so that they in turn are able to stand out in their chosen field of business. If one of the legs are shaky, we have the strength to say “Not yet” because we want to be able to maintain the service levels that our existing customers are accustomed to when they first joined us; and when we take on a new customer, those who supported us through the years should be treated even better as time goes on. That means that we have to be ready to take on new customers, and ready to serve those who believed in us enough to stand by us through time. And so, our team is always encouraged to look inwards for outward progression – skills are sharpened, capacity is balanced out, staff morale is buoyed up and wider foundations are grounded. We’ve taken out the Big Boss on Level 2017, and we are smokin’ hot ready to take on the coming year. C’mon, 2018… show us what you’re made of!
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