Posted: Friday, 31 March 2023
Q. First things first, what’s your name and job title?
My name is Ian Williams and I'm the Dispatch Manager.
Q. And how long have you been working for Alpha-Cure?
I joined the company just over five years ago.
Q. So, what is your typical day like? What are your main objectives and what do you need to get done?
My focus is prioritising the goods coming in from our production site through to the dispatch of customer orders, making sure we meet deadlines to keep our customers and the sales team happy. I also make sure packing materials are kept to the optimum levels and alongside our suppliers, look at ways to improve our packaging.
Stock control is also key to the smooth running of the department with almost 50,000 lamps in our warehouse, it`s important we keep on top of this. I have a fantastic team of seven that make my job a lot easier and having everyone working as a team is key to our success.
Each customer is different and managing their expectations is a challenge I enjoy.
Q. Did your previous experience provide a good grounding for the role here?
Massively, I have worked in warehousing for 30 years in many different sites and roles, learning from some good people along the way, I`m still learning now and that’s one of the things I enjoy about it.
Q. What else do you enjoy about working here?
The people firstly, the company has a family feel, there are some very talented and one or two funny people, and there are plenty of challenges too, some I enjoy more than others! 😉
Q. Let’s find out more about you… what’s your idea of a perfect day?
I love visiting new places, whether it home or abroad, places with a bit of history, I`m a bit of a history geek. Oh, and anything motorsport although I don’t get to see this as much as I used too.
Q. Are you a coffee or tea person?
Neither… what's wrong with you people?
Q. How do you rate the music choices being played in the factory / office?
Those who have been in the warehouse will know it`s very loud in here, with two or three people playing their own music at the same time, when I first started here, I liked what was being played but five years on they need to update their playlist! 😉
Q. Final question – what’s your main focus or piece of work to smash out of the park over the coming months?
We moved into our new warehouse last month so we are still settling in, but our focus is transferring over to the new in-house computer system, we have already started with this and hopefully will have everything transferred over as we move through the year... no pressure on the IT team! I'm also looking at ways we can be more environmentally friendly with our packaging.
Whew, plenty going on then Ian. We'd best leave you and team to it as you continue to work hard at getting some more lamps out to our customers.