Elevating the role of operations so it’s seen as a valued partner and revenue-adding stream of the business has been key to Simon Blanchard’s approach as General Manager of Operations at Bunzl Australia and New Zealand. Functional expertise and a relentless commitment to efficiency remain critical to meeting customers’ needs.
“Ultimately,” says Blanchard, “we want to take as much complexity as possible off our customers’ hands. Whether it’s ensuring compliance, managing carriers, or organising distribution, our role as a team is to make their business easier.”
What’s the main role of Warehouse, Operations and Inventory in a large-scale business?
SIMON: There are three core functions within the operations space that ensure the success of a business: warehouse, customer service and local purchasing. Warehouse is all about the receiving, picking, packing, and distributing aspects of operations, while customer service encompasses order management, dealing with queries and providing support.
Purchasing requires forecast demand management so we can make sure we have the right stock in the right quantity at the right time. Operational success requires a strategic focus on these three functions so the business can keep delivering positive commercial outcomes and maintain strong relationships with customers.
How many people in the ANZ team do you manage and what sorts of roles do they have?
SIMON: I’m currently managing 250 warehouse employees. The roles are split between warehouse and inventory management, and compliance; including safety, chain of responsibility, HACCP principles and handling of dangerous goods. My team and I deal with logistics, stock take and inventory management which comes in to play across:
• 14 warehouses across Australia and New Zealand ranging from 2,000 – 22,000 sqm each.
• Order pick lines are at approximately 3 million per annum and product receipt lines at approximately 620,000 per annum.
• Our Stock Keeping Units are at approximately 120,000 with approximately 90% of customer’s orders transacted digitally.
• Consignments at approximately 600,000 per annum, meaning number of customer deliveries dispatched via our freight carrier partners.
• We have approximately 75,000 pallet locations.
Essentially, there are always deadlines to meet, orders to manage, and product lines to keep moving, but as much as warehouses require a well-oiledmachine approach to operations, there must also be a level of contingency in place for unexpected operational circumstances.
Can you give us a bit of a snapshot of team requirements when it comes to the number of shifts and what skills are needed?
SIMON: When it comes to warehouse shifts, we’re running on two shifts a day – 6am-2pm and 2pm-10pm. Sydney and Perth operate on 24/5 x 3 shifts – 6am-2pm, 2pm-10pm and 10pm-6am. I’d say the minimum key skills required are Material Handling Equipment accreditation and licensure to operate high-reach forklifts, counterbalance forklifts and carry out order picking.
Why do you have a business analyst in the team?
SIMON: A BA supports across a number of areas including process design, training and compliance, business integrations, reporting and analytics, project support and management and system development. All vital for exceptional warehouse and operations management.
What role do service-level agreements play in operations?
SIMON: They’re there to ensure warehouse safety, compliance, operational efficiencies and service levels. This could include legislative requirements around, say, food control, dangerous goods or chain of responsibility. Performance metrics and KPIs help reveal where we need to focus time and effort.
How do you train, maintain and instil standards around OH&S?
SIMON: We ensure that training, certification and auditing across safety and compliance is a key focus in our strategy. When it comes to safety, this might look like training and inductions, safety audits, site-safety committees, toolbox talks, site traffic management plans (TMP), maintenance of dangerous goods storage, staging, handling and segregation, and ensuring a sound Chain of Responsibility. It’s about ensuring safety and compliance are embedded into the culture of the company.
What are today’s challenges in warehouse logistics and delivery?
SIMON: As it is across so many industries, recruiting and retaining staff is a challenge at the moment. Providing a consistent experience for our customers and driving operational efficiencies is crucial, so building capacity in our teams is a real priority. We focus on making sure our teams have the right level of support to meet those goals.
Another challenge involves always looking for opportunities to improve. This means not falling into a cycle of just constantly band-aiding issues as they come up, but rather identifying the root cause of a problem and addressing it with the best possible solution, whether that be new technology, training or adjusting the team structure.
“Talking with your CUSTOMERS TAKES AWAY THE GUESSWORK ABOUT HOW YOU CAN BEST SUPPORT THEM.”
Simon Blanchard, General Manager of Operations at Bunzl Australia and New Zealand
How do you cover demand when there are staff shortages?
SIMON: We amp up on the core function of the operational leadership team, which is labour planning and forecasting to support managing workload. We want to build resilience into the business at every level and labour planning is a critical part of that. When you have strong communication with your customers, you can be always preparing for what’s coming up and looking for opportunities to work ahead where possible. That might involve taking on temporary labour or offering overtime to your valued and highly productive permanent staff.
Have you seen big changes in customer expectations in the past one to two years?
SIMON: I’ve been in wholesale distribution for around thirty years and have always found that customers are looking for more than just a good price. But it’s an expectation that has only recently increased as customers become more sophisticated. Talking with your customers takes away the guesswork about how you can best support them. I’m reminded of this when I buy my morning coffee. Do I go to the cheapest café on the street? No. I go to the barista who knows my order and exactly how I like it. Yes, what my team does is on a much larger and more complex scale, but the principle is the same.
