I moved into the world of Logistics and Supply Chain from humble origins as a temporary lorry driver and developed into senior management roles in different national and multinational companies. During this time,

I am especially proud of the teams I have created and the partnership ethos established with internal and external business groups. On my departure from my last role, I was honoured and delighted by the level of support and appreciation I received both from my colleagues within the business, but also the external partners with whom

I had worked. Partnership with internal colleagues and external suppliers is key to the success of the roles I have had managing teams in customer service, transport and distribution. I have written articles on Partnership and how it will be key to the success of businesses in the future. “In this revised reality, the concept of genuine business partnership has changed from a nice idea to a guiding principle for those who will come through the challenge positively. Let us Julie together for the future, expanding and strengthening partnerships with staff and suppliers, and we can all emerge stronger and better prepared to ride out the next unforeseen event.” The piece covers the two critical areas of partnership, first, where the bond of trust and understanding needs to be established for the mutual benefit of employer and employee. Secondly, dealings with suppliers, for no matter what industry you work in today, one positive outcome of the current pandemic is the strengthening or in some cases building of more effective partnerships. These are the guiding principles that have supported my whole working career and

I believe would fit naturally into the various Deputy Director opportunities in government.

 

LinkedIn Partnership Part 1  |  LinkedIn Partnership Part 2 

 

I am fortunate to have been challenged with enormous opportunities during my working life, these have all required an ability to self start either because of transfers to new countries and cultures or change in responsibilities and function. Two years ago I was asked to support the Chinese business, this required learning and integration to

a country with which I had had very little involvement, by communicating clearly and effectively to listen and understand the challenges facing the business, I was able to establish trust and partnership from the key contacts in management and colleagues to make certain we understood each other. (In all the countries I have worked,

I have taught myself the basics of please and thank you in the local language as a mark of respect and sensitivity for my local teams and colleagues.) Then I went on to develop a strategic plan for the wider Asia Pacific region communicating and presenting at all levels of the business to ensure I had engagement for the changes that

I was proposing. Two years on and the the first steps of the project have been completed with positive growth

and increased development of the regions sales at reduced cost, with a higher employee satisfaction index for

the local team.

 

In Europe, I owned our long term strategy to adapt to the changes that will occur as a result of the Brexit process,
I was able to define and deliver a clear programme of steps to enable our e-commerce and commercial functions to continue uninterrupted by any potential impact. This required navigating the challenges associated with limited data but has resulted in a strong solution which will have a positive impact on the organisational culture and performance. The ability to adapt and change the outcome as the circumstances and understanding changed was one of the key learnings from the project. In Canada I was requested to take responsibility for our partner operation, here I had ambiguous reporting lines and the added challenge of the distance from my team, but was able to successfully satisfy the business requirements and structure the team and operation for long term growth. This project involved collaboration across a wide ranging group within the company, from our IT and merchandising teams to our external operations provider and included sales and customer services, bringing these disparate groups together across time zones and cultures was only possible by regular and clear communication.

       

I have been an evangelist for all things Technology and in my final years owned the global strategy and roll out
for Radio Frequency Identification (RFID), working directly for the Chief Operating Officer, this is a new solution for identifying product at individual level. This enabled us to reduce the levels of diversion and counterfeiting within the market place. It also helped with the management of inventory in our retail stores and allowed us to improve our controls on inbound and outbound shipments to increase customer satisfaction. All these experiences have helped me develop a passion for improving and developing Supply Chain operations and now I have the perfect vehicle
to drive opportunities using my knowledge and specialist support partners to identify and promote new products.