Tony J.
About me
| Tony J. | |
| Physics | |
| Astrophysics | |
| Undergraduate | |
| Alcuin | |
| 1997 | |
| United Kingdom |
My employment
| Head of Business Process & Support | |
| GXO Logistics (Drinks) | |
| United Kingdom | |
| Transport and logistics | |
| Large business (250+ employees) | |
| 2000 |
More about Tony
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A day in the life of a Head of Business Process & Support in the United Kingdom
Talk to anyone on equal terms, you never know what they might teach you.
Briefly describe the organisation you work for
GXO Drinks Logistics. One of the UK’s largest Hospitality & Drinks delivery companies, and GXO is now the 2nd largest contract logistics company in the world
What do you do?
I manage a wide ranging team of teams of over 30 colleagues. Each team is responsible for the UK wide management of 1)Demand and Supply of £700m p.a. of Drinks stock from 150+ suppliers into 15 warehouses, 2)System masterdata to control the flow of materials and customers into the systems. 3)Management information reporting and analytics, 4)Business Process, Audit, and Training, 5)new business and system development and on boarding.
Reflecting upon your past employment and education, what led you to your current career choice?
Accident. I graduated in 1997. Wanted to stay in York to continue to play with friends (and future wife) who hadn’t graduated yet. Got a ‘Christmas job’ working for NEXT to afford my house share bills, and within a few weeks I’d rearranged their whole stock room using my data skills, and realised that stock and logistics was a reasonably good career, and a £700 per year ‘clothing allowance’ was a brucie-bonus. After the millennium I applied for a Graduate Role with Scottish and Newcastle, where my NEXT stock experience paid dividends. The rest is history, and a lot of beer…having built systems and warehouses and processes for most of the UK’s biggest brewers and drinks producers
Is your current job sector different from what you thought you would enter when you graduated?
Yes. I assumed I’d stay in ‘science’ but ended up in data-science and business process and system development via brewery logistics and hanging t-shirts on coat hangers in NEXT…
Describe your most memorable day at work
In NEXT - opening the Monks Cross NEXT store using a ‘dark warehouse’ process I created where all stock was pre-picked and wrapped according to store layout so it was all moved and set up in a single night. In GXO - having system solutions I designed still being used as the company standard 20 years later because they can’t be improved.
Are there any challenges associated with your job?
Travelling; coming up with solutions on the fly; resolving systems and process issues to ensure the beer keeps flowing; dealing with executives and local operations teams on any single day, and needing to be trusted by both.
What’s your work environment and culture like?
I have always worked to maintain a flat structure in my teams, as formal hierarchy doesn’t drive innovation; so irrespective of your position or grade, your opinion has the ability to influence wider strategy as well as fix the immediate problems. Some of the things I proposed when I was a newbie are still in place now because my best managers treated my opinion with the same respect as experienced opinions. Flexible team working comes as standard.
What extracurricular activities did you undertake at university and what transferable skills did you develop through these?
DJ’ing - parties, JCRC head of events 98-99 (yes, after I graduated)… i.e. if you want to do something the rules won’t allow…just re-imagine the rules, then do such a good job that the rule clearly didn’t matter….then your new rule becomes the new normal….
What would you like to do next with your career?
I’m already doing it - currently designing a new system for our business which will enable any part of the global business to plug straight in to access Demand and Supply and logistics services
What top tips do you have for York students preparing for today’s job market and life after graduation?
Develop Practical skills and maintain them - I’ve never managed a team where I couldn’t still perform the roles and tasks the team have to, your team will respect you for it. Learn to cook (your future partner will love you for it) Learn to debate (your future career will likely benefit from it). Talk to anyone on equal terms, you never know what they might teach you. Learn to present. (your future interview will require it) Read….you will never have more time to read than those free afternoons at university…
What topics from students are you happy to answer questions on?
Anything.
Is there anything else you’d like to tell us?
First member of my family to go to university.
Next steps...
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