The value of logistics engineers: ‘Greater insight can deliver savings’
24 September 2024Business engineer, logistics engineer. Whatever the function is called, more and more logistics service providers are employing someone who gets completely into the skin of the consignor and is his logistics enquirer. What qualities do they have? What do they bring to the company? And what do they need to remain relevant in the future? Sjoerd Rijs; logistics engineer at KLG Europe shares his experience. Sjoerd Rijs' salary slip at KLG Europe reads “operational excellence engineer”. Quite a mouthful, but it turns out to be just a designation. In conversation with the customer, he works on better logistics processes. He does this based on data and experience with optimisation processes.
Rijs (25) has been working in this position for about three years now. He started at KLG while studying Logistics Management at Fontys Venlo. He was already offered a contract during his internship and, in his own words, has no regrets about staying here while he actually wanted to pursue another master's degree. ‘I feel right at home here,’ he says.
What does your average working week look like?
‘That is very different. My job consists of three things. First, there are the projects. For this, one person is always the project leader and around this a team is put together. This is where I spend most of my time. Secondly, we carry out analyses with PowerBI, among others, for internal advice. Where opportunities lie, for instance, or how costs or rates are developing. Thirdly, my colleagues and I are the link between IT and operations. It is difficult for these departments to communicate with each other, because the difference in professional knowledge is so big. We use our basic knowledge of both departments to help with EDI or customer implementations, for example, so that the right information is shared back and forth.’ You can have a lot of data without context or a lot of context without data. You don't get anywhere with both’.
What do you need - besides data - to do your job well?
As a logistics engineer, you have basic knowledge of each department, but projects require deeper knowledge. So someone from that department needs to be involved in the project to arrive at the ideal solution together. How easy that is varies from person to person. With one colleague you have to give practical examples, and with another you have to think very innovatively. Some people are more open to change than others, so you have to see how you can get them on board. That is sometimes challenging, especially because they see you as this young new colleague, but it is also nice about this job. You get to know your colleagues very well. You have to build a bond to eventually get the desired change done.’
Is there enough attention to this during training?
‘’At Fontys, there was no course on change management. If I have to convince a colleague of the usefulness of a change, I make sure I go into the conversation 100 per cent prepared. If you have a vision and are open to change, it is necessary to hire someone for that. At KLG, there are three of us now.’ ‘But even if you don't necessarily want to change yourself, a logistics engineer is necessary. The market demands it. Customers want insight into their data. You have to offer more than just the cheapest or fastest transport. I see that especially smaller companies, for instance transporters from Eastern Europe, do not employ a logistics engineer. They don't see the importance of it or don't have sufficient financial resources for it. In the Netherlands, you increasingly see that they do have an eye for innovation.’
Does the course further connect well with the market?
‘I especially benefited a lot from the international involvement. It is very useful to also look at logistics issues with German or other international students. You also get a better understanding of the region, of the role of logistics companies in the border area. Other than that, the course has been too theoretical as far as I'm concerned and I would have preferred more practical experience.’
‘It helps a lot when there is commitment from the operation. If you want to change as an organisation, every department has to participate and be open to it. Often individuals want the benefits of the change, but don't feel like putting in the time and providing data. If the management shows that there is a need for change, if they have a vision for it, then it is easier to get colleagues on board. With us, management now includes operational goals in annual presentations, alongside the financial part.’ Why is it important for logistics service providers to hire a logistics engineer? ‘The market is constantly changing. So if you don't employ a logistics engineer, you don't have anyone in the company working full-time on innovation and optimisation. At KLG, the position was created three years ago.
Before that, innovation projects came to the managers, who already work more than 40 hours a week. That doesn't work. As I said: as a logistics engineer, you have basic knowledge of every department, but the other person sometimes has forty years of experience in his field, so then you have to let it be known that you know about it.
Even so, you often run into a wall of resistance. People have a certain way of working. They have to start seeing the benefits, otherwise you're not going to change the way you work.’ A logistics engineer has basic knowledge of every department, but the other sometimes has forty years of experience’
Which project are you most proud of so far?
‘My final project for a Lean Six Sigma course was about reducing lead time on crossdock. The aim is for a pallet to be there for less than 24 hours on average. The average was just above that, but thanks to our project, the lead time is now 20 hours per pallet. The gains were mainly on the pallets that were there overnight, by talking to customers and transporters. Furthermore, we achieved nice digitisation results in the crossdock, where we were still working with whiteboards and many unnecessary scans.’
What do you need to be able to do to remain relevant in the future?
‘In the future, knowledge of BI will be increasingly important. You have to give insight on the whole supply chain. The customer is, what Lucy just said, asking more and more about things like CO2 emissions and is going to expand their demand more and more. You have to be able to go along with that and be proactive in that. In addition, you need to link up with the customer as much as possible, to be able to communicate more directly and get the right insights together. Thirdly, you have to continue to optimise and digitise the organisation internally, so that less and less manual work is carried out.’
