Logistics Stories

Growing up with a parent who worked in logistics, Elise felt she already had the base of knowledge needed to seek out her own career within the industry.

And while she appreciated the abundance of opportunity and a diverse range of roles to explore, she also saw logistics as a heavily male-dominated industry, with a strict 9-5 schedule, limited freedom and a long list of rules to follow.

Since joining CEVA, that perception has changed: “I am pleased to say that the industry is moving away from being male-dominated and is becoming much more flexible. In my role I am free to go into the office as I please and have the opportunity to travel abroad for business, meaning no two days at work feel the same.”

Embracing this flexibility has proved important to Elise. “There are plenty of opportunities to develop your career in any way you wish, and to participate in projects outside of your day-to-day role. There are so many opportunities to network around the business which allow me to learn what other roles involve.”

When it comes to encouraging others to take the leap into logistics, Elise doesn’t hold back: “I would say go for it! There are plenty of roles open for all experience levels and opportunities to work your way up or to enroll on a number of different courses covering a wide range of topics, ranging from short courses of just 4 weeks all the way to degree apprenticeships.”

As Head of Marketing for CEVA, Lydia manages all UKI Marketing activity, working broadly to oversee the entire marketing mix rather than specialising in just one aspect.

Lydia holds an undergraduate degree in marketing, as well as a further qualification from The Chartered Institute of Marketing, and was approached by a recruiter for the job at CEVA. She hadn’t worked in logistics before, but didn’t consider that to be an obstacle to applying:

“Marketing skills are very transferable across industries. I have good theoretical and practical marketing knowledge, plus people management skills, and therefore a move into a new industry was appealing as I could apply my existing skill set.”

Having picked up knowledge of the industry quickly through the variety of projects she gets to focus on with her team, Lydia loves that she has the ability to work across departments with so many different people on a regular basis.

She counts seeing radio, TV and outdoor ads go live as particularly proud moments in her work to date.

For the past four months, Fraser has been heading up the digital sales role for UK&I as well as working closely with the European Director of Digital Sales – he has grown the platform for MyCeva by 180% in his first four months, doubling quoting and booking figures month on month. He has presented to some of the largest automotive and retail customers worldwide, both in person and digitally.

Fraser has recently moved to a new role, Junior Business Development Manager for the Paris 2024 Olympics! This will involve finding and winning new business.

He needed three A-Levels or the equivalent, such as a BTEC, and then also needed Maths and English at GCSE level for his role. Fraser found it helpful having studied business and a language as well, as it’s a great talking point in interviews. He found his role through networking on LinkedIn, which allowed him to gain two weeks work experience at CEVA before he had the opportunity to speak to the Director of Sales for UK&I and introduce himself.

The two best things about his role are the respect he is given by his coworkers and the networking his role requires, not only in the company but in the whole sector. The thing he learned very quickly was that, in logistics, everyone is different; you will never find two of the exact same people as everybody has a different skill set, which is what makes the sector tick!

“It’s super important, especially in sales, to be able to bounce things off each other, as well being able to offer your area of expertise and no matter how old you are or how much experience you have. If you are confident and understand your area, in my experience, you are respected and given the same platform as everyone else to express your quality.”

To date, Fraser’s career highlight was  being given the responsibility and confidence from his co-workers to be able to present MyCeva in front of a leading global company only six months into his role.

Chris is the Product Leader for Contract Logistics in Europe at CEVA Logistics, and he is responsible for 19,000 colleagues, across 34 countries in the European region.

For his role, people skills are the biggest attribute required. Working with diverse colleagues from different cultures is exciting although can also be challenging, and understanding different cultures and ways of working is important. One of the best things about Chris’s role is the diverse variation of people he interacts with. Commercial awareness and general leadership skills are also key to enable us to drive and shape our overall business strategy.

Chris started his career in logistics when he took a sandwich placement year with TNT Logistics, which later became CEVA Logistics. After finishing his degree at university, he then returned and has now been with CEVA for over 20 years.

During this time, Chris has held various roles within the business from Warehouse Manager and General Manager, through to senior level positions including Managing Director for the UK, Ireland, and Nordics, before transitioning to his European role in 2023

When Chris joined the logistics industry, he actually wasn’t sure what to expect! Since joining the sector, he has found it to be fast-paced and extremely varied. The business continues to be rewarding for everyone who decides to start a career in logistics as there are a multitude of roles available!