Logistics Stories

As a lead transport manager, Elliot oversees the running of all the transport operation at Lichfield Depot, leading a team of 10 managers and circa 390 drivers/clerks to deliver grocery stock to over 600 stores every day. He is the main license holder for the depot and is responsible for the performance against all our key KPIs. The role is very varied, including tasks such as planning, people management, recruitment, training, financial performance, reviewing fleet, third party management etc.

This role required a CPC Transport Manager qualification and Elliot learned about this role Internally.

One skill that Elliot has gained is through his education, work and sports is being able to be resilient and think on the spot to solve a problem, which is definitely an attribute suited to a role in logistics.

The autonomy and empowerment to work within a structured organisation but still have the ability to set the direction for my team and lead them with my own style and decision making is something he enjoys about his role.

Elliott’s biggest achievement within his role was delivering a road to rail project – setting up a new train service that carries 120 containers of grocery stock a week, removing road miles and contributing to our carbon emissions targets.

Jack works in a fast-paced distribution environment where no day is the same.
He takes ownership of day-to-day warehouse activities by managing the operation to be safe and efficient, understands colleagues` operational needs, ensuring they are supported to do their jobs and leads a great and safe place to work with your team.

Jack’s unsure if his job requires any specific qualifications however, coming from the shop floor upwards put him in good stead for the job role.

He was promoted through the options scheme at Tesco, He started off as a warehouse operative, progressed to a co-ordinator and was then signed onto options, following a successful placement, Jack was signed off and due to no positions available at the DC he applied for a role in store.

Jack has a drive to be the best version of himself possible and naturally the next step was to become a manager. He always looks forward and try to become 1% better each day. Jack previously played football for Liverpool FC for 8 years which was an extremely fast paced environment, which is like his work life now.

“I my best to challenge and stretch myself every day, I enjoy working in a team environment and getting the best out of my peers each day.”

The highlight of Jacks career so far has been being enrolled onto the emerging talent community this year. He did not think of it as a big deal when he was first enrolled however, seeing the investment that has gone into this and how much of an opportunity that we all have is really exciting and something he is really looking forward to grasping.

Tom has been with Tesco for 12 years, working his way to the position of Night Warehouse Service Shift Manager at the Daventry site.

“I am responsible for managing a team of 13-night managers who each look after up to 30 colleagues in their respective teams.”

Starting as a loader in 2011, Tom has gradually acquired more and more skills along the way, undertaking various internal training to qualify him for the leadership role he has today. He thrives off the responsibility he has and loves the idea of ensuring that the workplace culture is progressive, inclusive and productive.

“Every day we strive to create a culture where everyone feels welcome, listened to, and recognised for the hard work they put in daily.”

Having first had the logistics industry recommended to him by his dad, who had experience working at Tesco Direct, Tom’s found that the prospects, opportunities and requirements of the job really suit him. 

“I get a real sense of purpose each day, to the point that I don’t feel like my work is a job. I’m so passionate about wanting to do my very best and make sure everyone is being looked after.”

Rob’s role is to help Tesco grow its rail network through Primary and fresh volume. Tesco Primary covers the start of our supply chain, this is collecting direct from supplier gates and delivering into our distribution centres to be sorted and moved onwards to our store. He works closely with suppliers and hauliers to divert road volume through our rail network at a financially competitive rate.

No specific degree or qualification was needed for the role Rob is currently in. The key requirements for his role were strong communication skills, team working experience with both Tesco and external colleagues and a problem-solving work ethic.

He started working for a haulier that covered jobs for Tesco straight after university and maintained a Tesco customer contract with them afterwards. This opened his eyes to the distribution world within Tesco and helped him, learn some of the ways of working here. Rob then found the actual role on the Tesco careers website.

Rob has always had a personal interest in both sustainability and logistics. Helping to develop a retailer such as Tesco’s rail network and encouraging suppliers to move from trucks to trains seemed like the perfect opportunity to combine these passions. At University, Rob studied international business, quite a broad degree, a few modules were based on operations and supply chain, but we covered a vast curriculum. He realised he was more suited to a logistics role during his placement year.

“I feel being immersed in the day-to-day fast paced business quickly taught me more than my first two years at university combined, learning the start to end, day to day operation of an off-grid LPG and heating oil delivery company! It was almost a trial and error for me, and I stumbled onto the truck planning side and felt I could connect routes as though it was a puzzle and got a buzz from it.”

Rob’s favourite things about his role can be split into two. Firstly, there is a job satisfaction that comes with growing the rail network. Every truck we can take off the road reduces our supply chains road miles and in turn is a step in the right direction to help counter climate change.

The second is that his role can be quite a creative. You are provided a problem and need to find a solution. Over Christmas some of our “festive 7” veg came from Spain, this meant Spanish truck drivers would drive from the likes of Valencia all the way to Livingston and back. We managed to source a site near our rail terminal for these trucks to cross-dock onto refrigerated rail by train. This would be saving the driver over a day of driving!

Last year Tesco won the Logistics UK award for rail business of the year. This felt so rewarding after all the hard work we as a team had put in throughout the year.

Tori’s role includes ensuring all Fresh, Ambient, and Non-Food volume is effectively and efficiently delivered into our Tesco Distribution Network. She works with our suppliers and manages our hauliers through regular reviews to ensure service targets are achieved, identifying any trends and themes, and supporting with robust plans for promotions and seasonal uplifts. Tori is responsible for a team of 16 Colleagues, managing successful business relationships and ensuring that our customers’ needs are prioritised at every stage.

For the Distribution Graduate Programme, she needed a university degree, however her current role does not require any specific qualifications.

Tori joined Tesco on their two-year rotational management programme, which included spending two weeks working in our Tesco stores learning how they operate and link to my role. She began her journey as a Warehouse Team Manager and moved into Transport as a Delivery Service Team Manager, gaining breadth of business experience, and providing her with new challenges and more responsibilities. Tori then took an opportunity to learn a different area of the business and moved into Customer Fulfilment as a Delivery Manager, before settling into her role as an Account Manager.

Interpersonal skills, problem solving, and attention to detail are all key skills for a role in logistics. Being able to communicate effectively and build trusting relationships with key stakeholders is vital to understanding the needs of customers, working well as a team, and cultivating a positive outlook.

Making prompt decisions and resolving problems are also needed to provide excellent service and retain customers. In addition to paying attention to every detail, no matter how big or small, is key to avoiding problems such as delayed deliveries.

Tori enjoys talking to and meeting people, working as part of a team, and visiting suppliers and hauliers where she has gained an insight into operations outside of Tesco.

“Each day is different with new challenges and lots of variety, and I have been lucky to find what I enjoy and what keeps me ticking!”

Tori’s roles in Tesco have shaped her leadership style and it has been rewarding to deliver service improvements whilst supporting Tesco suppliers and working together with our hauliers to make a big difference for our customers.

Brothers Paul and Simon began their careers in logistics alongside their father 30 years ago.

“Our dad also said to us when we were out with him: ‘that’s the firm you want to be working for boys, Tesco!’ We all applied for Tesco jobs, and we got them.”

Both Paul and Simon became drivers straight from school and have worked alongside each other ever since.

“We’ve progressed to driver trainers. It’s rewarding when you see the apprenticeship guys come through. It’s great to see that someone else has taken on your knowledge and put it into action.”

For both, the appeal of the job isn’t just the teaching, but the togetherness of the team.

“We love our jobs. It’s like coming to work with our family, you know? That’s what helps keep a lot of people here, the camaraderie.”

For Harry, logistics wasn’t part of the career plan, but as he began his career journey he realised that the professional experiences he’d had in other roles gave him the perfect skillset to thrive in the sector.

“To be honest I never thought I would ever be part of a logistics team. My first job leaving school was as a sheet metal worker creating and repairing Jaguar E-Types. Looking back, that role gave me the ability to find creative solutions. And then I started working for Tesco.”

That first position with Tesco was as a picker at a distribution centre, but within a year he’d become a warehouse service coordinator. This showed him the progression prospects available to him in logistics, and gave him a taste of a fast paced work environment. From there he began to hone his skills according to his interests, particularly in regards to planning technology.

“In my current role as a transport planner, I optimise the planning and execution of fresh and grocery product transportation from distribution centres to stores. I test and develop new in-house planning software and look for ways to identify and implement initiatives aimed at reducing our company’s carbon footprint.”

Harry feels that his career journey has helped him evolve as a professional and to embrace the responsibility that’s come his way.

“I feel quite privileged to be trusted to do the job I do, and get a kick out of seeing the cost and efficiency savings that my work has contributed to.”

Ben grew up with logistics in the family: his dad was initially a HGV driver before moving into transport management. So not only was he aware of the sector from a young age, but he could see the progression and prospects it brought. It was a pathway he continued to explore as he got older.

“I had a number of part time jobs working in warehouses outside of school holidays, where I really enjoyed the pace and scale of the environments. When deciding what to study at university, logistics and business management really appealed to me.”

When he graduated, he joined Tesco, specialising in the warehouse environment – quickly realising it was somewhere he could thrive. It stoked his career ambitions.

“After spending some time running a transport operation at our distribution centre in Reading, I was really keen that once I had gained more experience and developed my leadership ability, I’d be responsible for multiple sites.”

That ambition was realised, culminating in his current role overseeing six Tesco transport operations, leading the team of transport managers, managing relationships with third party providers at a further eight locations and leading on Tesco’s National Rail operations.

Ben says the best thing about his job is the fact that he’s become a key decision maker – someone on whom the business relies and trusts to be a leader.

“I feel empowered to make a real difference and that supports me in thinking creatively to problem solve. It keeps every day interesting!”

Lucy believes that the skills she gained at school and university have proven themselves to be incredibly transferable, setting her up perfectly for a career in the logistics industry.

Without the need to follow a specific educational route, or have decades of experience under her belt to make a difference, she’s excited about the skills she can continue to develop as her career within logistics progresses.

“The beauty of our industry is that it is open to all. The industry needs diverse problem solvers, and a workforce that can adapt and overcome challenges.”

Within her role as Customer Fulfilment Centre Manager for Tesco, Lucy thrives on the fact that no two days look the same. The fast-paced environment allows her to adapt to new challenges as she goes, constantly adding new strings to her bow.

The pace with which she’s been encouraged and supported to progress to her current role after just three short years with Tesco brings Lucy a lot of pride and satisfaction:

“As a young female within logistics, I’m running a customer fulfilment centre that services over 3,000 customers everyday and have the responsibility to ensure my 1,100 colleagues get home safely everyday.”

Lucy is keen to stress that her passion for her work and her drive to progress have been key to her progression: “There is huge opportunity for career growth within logistics.”