Generation Logistics Case Study

After studying engineering at University (a Mechanical Engineering (BEng Hons) degree at University of Nottingham), I went travelling for a year and then secured a place on the Bass Brewers engineering graduate scheme.

I worked though several engineering roles, before taking on an Operations Manager role, which was production focussed. This eventually led to me being the General Manager of Tennent’s Brewery (Glasgow), Budweiser Brewery (London) and Magor Brewery (South Wales).

The move from engineering to operations opened a lot more doors as I moved from being a specialist to generalist. The people and process skills that learned through that journey were key to me being confident about switching industries from brewing to logistics.

In my current role, having an engineering degree is definitely advantageous, although not essential. Since joining Asda 12 years ago, I have had three permanent roles and one secondment, and my first role at Asda came from contact with someone I used to work with in the brewing industry.

My current role started as being the senior manager for business-as-usual activities for automation and engineering. This focussed on supplier contract manager as all our engineering teams are outsourced.  We have seven engineering teams of around 160 full time engineering heads.

My role has expanded twice over the last 24 months. In 2023, I was asked to take on responsibility for all MHE (Material Handling Equipment – forklifts) in logistics and at the end of 2024, I took on responsibility for automation projects and development, equipment and returns logistics (including nine returns/recycling centres).

The initial attraction to my current role was to get back to engineering from production/operational roles.

In 2016, Asda opened a brand-new automated food distribution centre in Warrington, which was a £100m investment.  I was very interested to see the site and its automation as it felt aligned to my experience and knowledge built from working in the highly-automated brewing industry.  

In 2016, I offered to travel to the site to give some support. I wrote a report with recommendations based on spending a few days on site. Consequently, I was offered a secondment as dual general manager to support the engineering on site.

I really enjoyed linking the automation and warehouse operations. It felt like the direction that the sector was moving in, so I thought I had a lot to offer in this space.

The best thing about my role is that every day is different. I have the opportunity and autonomy to look for ways to improve all the areas within my responsibility.  

I have a great team who I enjoy working with and are very dedicated. My career highlight to date is being part of the team at Warrington distribution cantre that took the depot from having real challenges with the automation, to delivering the highest warehouse productivity in the whole of Walmart.

Published On: 17/04/2025 14:27:26

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