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Apprentice Profile Logistics, learning and links


BIFA Apprentice of the Year runner-up Holly Herron has put her training to


excellent use, enabling Dachser’s operational teams to solve queries more efficiently


Holly Herron has spent time in all 15 of Dachser’s departments, from accounting to warehousing. She learnt about the freight business as a whole, understanding how it works and how it connects things that many people take for granted. During her time in the customer service


department, she noticed that there was frequent contact between her team and the transit terminal relating to minor tasks, and saw an opportunity to bring the transit terminal, warehouse and office teams together. “It is about basic problem solving: we were


calling the warehouse to ask their advice, but because I had been doing the apprenticeship and had been trained in the transit terminal, I was able to solve a lot of those queries,” she explained. “From there I wanted to be able to solidify this


as a function of the team – so we set up the Office to Warehouse Link (OWL) programme on my initiative. I pitched the idea to the operations manager and was handed the reins to do it. “Whilst I was in the department, we trialled the


training across both customer service teams and saw that there were opportunities to broaden the training. I wanted to reinforce the link between the office and warehouse, so we brought warehouse staff into the office so that both teams experienced one another’s challenges.”


Roll out OWL is to be rolled out across the UK soon as compulsory training for new starters at Dachser. There has been a similar crossover with the contract logistics department, Holly said. She enjoys helping to organise training. “That


is something I have always liked: learning how to do everything myself and then helping others to do it, too. Process improvement is definitely something that interests me.” Right now, Holly’s role at Dachser covers


short-distance traffic and inbound cargo, including the day-to-day running of the fleet and


September 2020


APPRENTICE OF THE YEAR AWARD SPONSOR


Following the announcement of finalists and winners in January, BIFAlink profiles the successful individuals in the Apprentice of the Year and Young Freight Forwarder categories. For your chance to shine, start thinking about your submission for the 2020 BIFA Freight Service Awards. Go to www.bifa.org/awards


coordinating delivery schedules with the warehouse team. “It definitely keeps me engaged – I like to be


busy. Plus there is a lot of learning on the job here, and with the potential changes coming up with Brexit we are all getting refreshers on various things.” Besides gaining practical knowledge, Holly


has also tested her limits on a personal level. “You learn a lot about yourself and how you handle things when you do something like an apprenticeship,” she said. “You realise that you can push through and handle all the work, even


BIFAlink


Dachser’s Office to Warehouse Link


programme was a result of Holly


Herron’s initiative


when it is challenging.” Last year, Holly participated in Dachser’s


internal Education Awards. This included a two- day workshop where she met like-minded people in similar situations from Dachser depots across Europe.


Ambitions Bearing that experience in mind, she said: “I would like to spend time in different depots and bring back what I learn to Northampton. That includes working overseas, anywhere in the Dachser network. “It would be a bit like continuing my


apprenticeship in a way, and would hopefully lead to general process improvements. Things might be done differently in different places and we could all learn from each other.” She also feels strongly that logistics is “sort of


a hidden industry” – and that needs to change. Indeed: “We need to take opportunities to advertise as an industry. Pushing awareness in schools would be good; there is a place for everyone in freight and you do not need to have a specialised qualification to get into it.”


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