MY PATH TO LOGISTICS AND SUPPLY CHAIN MANAGEMENT

I was born in Grodno, Belarus, very close to the “border triangle” with Lithuania and Poland. Geographically, and through my father’s Lithuanian roots as well as my mother’s Belarusian roots, I had an international outlook from the very start.

FIVE DIFFERENT LANGUAGES

My native languages is Russian and Belarusian Through my parents’ many friends in Poland, and the numerous Polish radio and television programmes I grew up with, I acquired a very good knowledge of Polish almost without effort. I also tried to learn Lithuanian, but if I’m honest, I’ll never reach my grandma’s level.

English, on the other hand, is almost second nature – thanks to my parents, who invested
a lot of time and money in my English-language education. Finally, I learned German – and
now speak my“youngest” language fluently.

HIGHER EDUCATION

In 2007, I began my university studies in Minsk, at the Faculty of International Relations, fulfilling a wish that has accompanied me since childhood: To learn languages and to get to know and understand people all over the world. Unfortunately, this very world developed in a different direction. Planned semesters abroad in the USA and England fell victim to the political situation, which had become messy in the meantime. Nevertheless, I made the best of it and completed my studies in 2012.

VOLUNTARY SOCIAL YEAR

During my studies in Minsk, I had done an internship abroad with the International Federation (Internationaler Bund, or IB) in Stuttgart. After graduation, the IB invited me to participate in a voluntary social year – to improve my German skills and get to know the country and its people better.

DIVE INTO THE DEEP END

By chance, I came across a job ad from Pan Europa – a forwarding company with a focus on transports in CIS countries. It sounded interesting, very interesting. So much so that I applied immediately, jumping at the chance. Without any previous knowledge, without any experience, without any idea what I was getting myself into.

FIRST JOB IN LOGISTICS

I got the internship – and discoveredmy vocation: coordinating high-priced tours in a very competitive environment, energetic price negotiations, and all at top speed. I had found my world. From day one, I gained practical experience: from truck loading, to scheduling and dispatching, to filling out CMR waybills. I got to know the ATLAS customs system and calculated cubic and loading metres. Thanks to excellenttraining frommy department manager, I acquired the basics of forwarding and logistics in a very short time.

LOXX Pan Europa

During my internship, I applied for a newly-advertised position to support a Russian customer.LOXX Pan Europa was urgently seeking a native speaker. The very next day,I was offered a permanent position. Over the next two years, I managed the Europe-wide procurement of goods, scheduled trucks, and handled customs formalities as well as quality assurance. As much as I liked the tasks, I realised one thing: If I wanted to get ahead in logistics, I needed a deeper understanding of theoretical logistics and of supply chain management.

Part-time Master’s programme

I didn’t want to give up my job, so I decided to study part-time. The University of Applied Sciences of Central Hesse (THM) in Friedberg recognised my degree from Belarusian State University, so I was able to start my Master’s programme in 2014. In 2017, I graduated with an M.Sc. in Logistics and was ready for big tasks.

Starting out at Porsche

The Master’s degree did bring one disappointment: Pan Europa could not offer me any career prospects within the scope of my newly-acquired qualification. So I said farewell to the forwarding company that had awakened my passion for logistics.

I joined Porsche in 2017 through the recruitment agency Hays. A dream for me as a car lover. My job as a logistics specialist was to launch the Porsche Taycan – then still known as “Mission E”.

I organised the complete start-up management for all electrical components – from the smallest plug to the electric battery, from the cable harness to the on-board power supply – and thus ensured that all electrical components were in the right place at the right time. I also prepared the prototype parts lists, created delivery schedules and delivery call-offs, monitored the inventory, and was responsible for preventing both overstocks and missing parts. In addition, the entire supplier management was in my hands. In short, I was responsible for logistics-related work preparation, change management, and escalation management. I accompanied Mission E through its prototype development, up to the handover to pre-series production.

End-TO-END SCM FOR DIMLER TRUCKS POWERTRAIN

Hays placed me in my next project at Daimler Trucks Powertrain. As a sub-project manager, I coordinated six different logistics and supply-chain projects within international, cross-functional ventures. In addition to logistics and supply chains in Germany, I was in charge of the locations in Brazil, Japan, and the USA. I planned and optimised supply chains, thus ensuring smooth end-to-end supply chain management (SCM). Thanks to the top-down planning approach I chose, it was possible to include both the overall framework and the smallest details. Whether using specially-created sourcing maps, calculating costs, evaluating packaging concepts, or determining future logistics investments – from my small office in Esslingen, I coordinated worldwide logistics processes, overcame language barriers, and defied the time-zone differences. It was an extremely fulfilling project, which was also appreciated by my superiors: 4.After project completion, the opportunity for a permanent position presented itself.

NEW START-UP: INEOS GRENADIER

Then the Covid-19 pandemic broke out. As a result, Daimler Trucks Powertrain, like many other companies, was forced to cut jobs and freeze new hires. Unfortunately, this hit employees like me first.

Through Hays, however, I quickly found a new project at INEOS Automotive, a start-up of the British chemical company INEOS. However, the job was not to handle molecules and reactions, but to support development of an off-road vehicle – the INEOS Grenadier. The flat hierarchies and short decision-making paths appealed to me just as much as the actual task: independently planning and developing all logistics and supply chain processes. Particularly exciting was the chance to bring my skills – acquired at some of the largest automotive OEMs – to a dynamic start-up. For me, the best characteristics of two worlds met here.

Similar to my job at Porsche, I was the material planner responsible for start-up management during prototype construction. I was responsible for the procurement of all electrical components and the entire exterior. In this capacity, I shaped all logistics processes from the ground up: independently, proactively, and successfully. At INEOS, I really felt I had “arrived” as a logistics and supply chain expert.

ARRIVAL AND DEPARTURE: VALEO

All in all, I really enjoyed the project at INEOS. Unfortunately, it was a temporary job. Just as I was seeking my next opportunity, a head-hunter approached me with a potentially permanent offer. The French automotive supplier Valeo was looking for supportin logistics planning. Specifically, I was offered the position of logistics and supply chain planner in a greenfield project. I was asked to plan, design, and implement an entire supply chain, end-to-end. In this respect, it was the ideal next step. The interview felt great, the scope of the job was a perfect fit, and the international career opportunities immediately won me over. On 1 March 2021, I began developing, and implementing, an end-to-end supply chain for the front-end modules project. In a very short time, I was able to launch a complete just-in-sequence delivery concept for an automotive manufacturer in the Stuttgart area.

As exciting and stimulating as the technical tasks were, and despite several attempts at clarification, I unfortunately had the impression that I could not really “land” at the company or contribute my full expertise. It was with a heavy heart that I decided to go elsewhere.

LOOKING BACK, THEN MOVING AHEAD

I used the following time to become more aware of my own strengths, priorities, and expectations. In terms of content, the tasks at Valeo had been exactly what I wanted to offer and could offer. However, I had previously given little thought to my ideal work environment.

I love developing complex supply chains from scratch, as well as optimising existing ones. Efficient decision-making, independent work, and project responsibility help me complete these tasks in the best possible way.

And if national, language, and cultural borders have to be overcome: all the better. I am familiar with the specific challenges of loading a single truck as well as the economic theory behind complex logistics chains.

At the same time, I would like to contribute my experience to a young company in the long term, and accompany its development from the very beginning. I have found this opportunity at INEOSAutomotive – this time as a Supply Chain Engineer Change Specialist in a permanent position. Since 1 April 2022, I am responsible for all adjustments in the supply chain. This includes strategic aspects such as cost assessments of change requests, as well as business case calculations. But operational adjustments – for example in the event of supply bottlenecks for certain components – are another area of expertise. Here, I resolve acute supply problems and also develop process drafts to prepare for worst-case scenarios. And, last but not least, I am responsible for documenting the change processes and preparing comprehensive end-to-end assessments.