Supply Chain Planner and
Logistics Operations Specialist
Supply Chain Planner
Team Supply Chain Planning Network
Works in Utrecht and from home
Lives in Nieuwegein
Works at VodafoneZiggo since 2018
Logistics Operations Specialist
Team Supply Chain Logistics
Works in Utrecht and from home
Lives in Breda
Works at VodafoneZiggo since 2016
Getting the right materials to the right people and places - engineers, customers and shops - as quickly, cheaply and reliably as possible, within quality and registration requirements: that's the challenge to VodafoneZiggo's logistics professionals. Ilona de Kuijer and Bob Hekking, both concerned with the fixed network, explain how they rise to that challenge. "New technologies help; social skills are crucial.
Ilona: "From cables to tie-rips to connectors - as a Supply Chain Planner, I order whatever materials we need from our suppliers and they send it directly to our central warehouse facility, whereby monitoring the timely delivery of my orders is very important." Bob: "So Ilona and her colleagues order the products and as soon as they arrive here at the warehouse, my operations colleagues and I make sure that our transport partners deliver them to the right contractors, engineers, shops or customers."
Ilona: "We always want to have enough in stock. That way, customers get what they need far quicker than if we were to order on demand. At the same time, of course, you don't want too much in stock: stock can become obsolete and that would remain on the balance sheet as working capital with little promise of a return on investment. We apply the Goldilocks principle, basically, trying always to maintain our inventory levels so that they are 'just right'."
Bob: "Getting the supply chain to perform as efficiently and cost-effectively as possible is a challenge that requires everybody involved to be on the same page. To ensure they are, we have established short lines of communication with the relevant people in departments throughout the organisation. In a large company like VodafoneZiggo, it is all the more essential to take the time and invest in those relationships; social skills are crucial."
Ilona: "Ideally, we know well in advance what network materials need to be ordered. To make sure that we do, our Sales & Operations Planning Lead provides us with forecasts based on information he obtains from all the various departments on their current and ongoing projects and the materials and equipment involved." Bob: "The predictability of demand is key to our logistics processes. But replacing old technologies with new, better ones is something VodafoneZiggo does well, too. We've migrated to a new Enterprise Resource Planner (ERP), for instance, and the standalone Oracle R12 is being replaced by Oracle Fusion Cloud. These systems make our lives significantly easier, giving us a far greater grip on the huge amounts of data on orders and returns."
Ilona: "It makes me happy to see such innovation all around me. It means we can do an even better job. The same is true of our new planning tool, Slim4. It performs very fast, comprehensive analyses of our historic data, identifies logistical trends and suggests when we should order what. It's still up to us to confirm that any materials do indeed need to be ordered, but it saves us so much work." Bob: "I'm also very enthusiastic about Oracle Fusion Cloud - about all innovation, actually. It's great to see how technology is developing and that incredibly powerful machines fit into increasingly smaller boxes. I keep a close eye on the new products VodafoneZiggo launches, too - modems, wifi routers, TV services - as very often employees are allowed to test them. I'm always first in line to volunteer!
Ilona: "Innovative technology, a good salary and benefits and great colleagues are among the important reasons I work here. But most important of all are the opportunities for self-development. Everybody at VodafoneZiggo has access to our Unlimited Learning platform, which contains courses and tutorials in any subject imaginable. Most of what I do professionally, I've learned on the job, in practice. Now, I can do an official course that will not only make me better at my job, but also land me a certificate as proof of my competence."
Bob: "I did a course in project management, but we're stimulated to learn in several ways, being taught to work independently and ask for help where needed, and to try things out, make mistakes and take lessons from that. Moreover, we're encouraged to share what we know with our colleagues. "We work towards clear objectives, but are also given plenty of freedom and shown that the company has faith in us. VodafoneZiggo creates a safe, open and supportive atmosphere in which to work and in so doing, gets the very best out of people."
