RISING STARS
JAKE LAZELL
Job title: Depot Supervisor Company: Rhino Building and DIY Supplies Ltd
What’s your role?
I oversee the smooth running of the yard and the shop including serving customers and buying products.
How did you get into th builders merchant industry?
I was looking for a permanent job and started working on an apprenticeship in warehousing, logistics and customer service.
What might a typical day for you at work be? I start at 7am when I am usually serving customers either in the shop or in the yard. There’s also plenty of answering the telephone for sales queries. A typical day will also include some negotiating with suppliers and placing orders with them, as well as picking goods for customers and goods to go out on delivery with our drivers.
What were you doing at work last week? I spent time buying last week with meetings with suppliers. Also due to holidays I was covering serving in the yard. I also attended training on Velux products and held a Toolbox Talk on Forklift safety.
What are your big challenges in this role? I enjoy the training I am receiving but I do find it challenging at times. There are a number of areas I have to look after and so prioritisation is key. I am still learning the best way to manage people and realise not one style suits all.
What do you love about your role? Everything! Meeting the customers, working with a great and supportive team and the variety of what I do every day, whether that be looking after a ledger of customers to unloading lorry loads of blocks.
What would you say has been your biggest achievement so far in your role? Getting promoted to my current role and gaining the respect of the other members of staff (most of whom who have been t the company longer than I have). I have also been training a guy to do the job that I used to do, who is three times my age.
What would you like to achieve next? I would like to move on to get a management role.
What advice would you give someone new to this industry?
Work hard, enjoy every day and listen.
What would you say to someone who might be thinking about a career/getting a job on the merchant industry?
The great thing about the industry is the people that you meet on a daily basis, the sheer variety of work (no two days are the same!). If you like a challenge you should try it out. There are many areas involved in working for a merchant including customer service, sales, transport, accounts, marketing, buying plenty to go at and they all involve different skill sets.
What are the changes you foresee the industry making in order to survive the future?
The skills shortage generally in the building industry means that tradesmen do not want to wait around for product and so service is key. Technology is likely to play a bigger part in the industry in the future when new tradesmen come
through and so merchants will have to adapt.. BMJ
MANAGER’S VIEW
Jake has an incredibly sunny disposition and exudes a real sense that nothing is too much trouble.
He is respected internally by the whole team, especially the drivers as he always has their deliveries picked and ready.
The customers find him a delight and always helpful. For the business, he is always looking for improvements to the way the yard operates and always thinks about the different customers, whether they be suppliers with deliveries to be offloaded, delivery drivers who need stock picked, customers who need help with products or general builders needing help to load up.
Jake has a great sense of ownership of the yard and how it is maintained and has visited many merchants, enabling him to get a real sense of best-practice. He is always looking for improvements to the yard layout and one of his improvements focussed on changing the staff car park, making the yard easier and safer for customers. He has also developed a system for more regular checks on loose aggregates, meaning the core range is always in stock.
Over time, Jake has certainly proved that he has the ability, drive and passion to work hard in all types of conditions.
Our vision is to be recognised as a market leader and our customers’ preferred ‘Partner in Wall Building’, supplying innovative, sustainable and cost-effective
May 2019
www.buildersmerchantsjournal.net
aircrete building solutions.
Our mission to supply value added aircrete solutions for any wall.
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