"Job is a logistics manager, but actually much more than that," was the verdict of the jury at the election Logistics Manager of the Year. Job Sonke,Manager European Distribution Centerat Hollister Inc. walked away with the win last week. His achievements? Besides setting up a European DC and relocating the logistics operation, Sonke was particularly praised for his attention to staff.
Job Sonke convinced the jury with a case that lasted no less than 12 years. In 2007, he was commissioned by Hollister Inc, US medical device manufacturer, to centralise the company's European distribution in West Brabant. "I started out on my own, holding job interviews from the office of one of our consultancy partners," Sonke told the finals day. In recent years, he led that European location of Hollister, which now employs 100 FTEs.
Relocation of European operations
Another extensive operation followed in 2016. The US company started looking for a larger location for its European operations. Once again, the choice fell on the Netherlands. A great honour, Sonke calls it. "To once again gain the trust of the parent company after all these years. They could also have chosen a cheaper Eastern European location."
'Staff have logistics sense'
Sonke explained in an earlier interview with LogistiekProfs that the Dutch staff played a role in this. "People here have logistics sense. With that, we create efficient logistics chains. We don't go for the cheapest staff and short employment contracts. We want committed people who fit the culture of the company." For a company that produces medical devices, dedicated staff is very important. "Surely a quality controller or order picker has to know what he is doing it for in order to remain accurate."
Ambitious move
Within a year, all employees, equipment and products moved to new 30,000-square-metre premises in Oud Gastel. "This was done in a very ambitious time frame. The building was completed in December 2017 and within three months we moved all products, without our customers noticing anything."
During the final day, Sonke more than once touched on how important involved staff are in such an operation, and the logistics manager creates that involvement by treating employees as stakeholders. "For example, the best location of our premises is the canteen. It is not a stuffy place, as you often see in companies." When the new building was built, staff were taken to the empty lot so they could see for themselves where they were going to work. That had a positive effect; all staff moved with the new European distribution centre.
'Manager must bridge differences'
Another of Sonke's achievements is shuttling between the American performance culture and the Dutch consultation culture. For instance, an OR, which is used in the Netherlands, was an unknown concept to the US parent company. It was up to Sonke to make that clear: "A manager has to bridge differences above all. I have to show understanding for both local sentiments. That's going well for me."
The above performance ultimately led to a win in the election Logistics Manager of the Year. The jury praised the logistics manager for his ability to get people on board. "Job set up a whole new distribution centre and moved the entire operation a few years later," said jury chairman Sander de Leeuw at the announcement. "In doing so, he always had an eye for the human factor. All the staff moved with him to the new location. The premises are only a few kilometres away, but if you consider that companies like Primark also placed their distribution centres in Oud-Gastel around that time, that is really an achievement."
