David McCleary has been Operations Manager at our Queenslie depot for the last 3 years. Before then, his career has taken many turns, so we asked him more about his role and how his career unfolded from his early beginnings as a Driver’s Mate.
Tell us about your career to date…
I’ve always been in the transport industry having become a Driver’s Mate when I left school. This industry is in my blood – my Dad was a lorry driver and a couple of other relatives worked in this sector, so that definitely influenced my career choice.
From Driver’s Mate I moved into the warehouse, carried out pick and packing and then took on an office role. I joined ARR Craib 25 years ago and have played my part in pretty much every role!
What does a typical day look like?
I start at 6am every day to ensure all the loads are loaded ready for the drivers. Once that is done, I’m back in the office, supporting our customers and ensuring our operation runs as effectively and profitably as possible.
What do you enjoy most about your role?
Getting products shifted around the country sounds easy, but, as many of us know, it really isn’t! There are so many variable factors, each of which can impact service levels and profitability. Everyone here works so hard to make this happen, so when we receive compliments from our customers, it feels really good.
What are the most challenging parts of your role?
Other than the above, it’s about our drivers. We need to ensure we have the right skill base to deliver for our customers so I’m very focused on ensuring we recruit the right people.
When talking about your job outside of work, what surprises people most?
If they aren’t from the logistics industry, they are surprised how much firefighting takes place. It’s a fast-paced world in which we have to make real-time decisions to resolve unexpected issues.
What keeps you coming to work each day?
Weirdly, the challenges! Logistics is like a giant puzzle – every day brings new challenges. I’d like to think I’m a pretty good problem solver, so I enjoy supporting our people and finding the solutions to ensure we keep delivering for our customers.
Can you remember your first day with us?
Yes. I joined as a Warehouse Operative learning how to pick and pack drinks and sweets. When I look back now, I consider myself really lucky to have been able to do so many roles and it’s taught me, and continues to teach me, a lot about myself. That’s the joy of this industry, there is always more to learn and, with a business of our scale, always someone to learn from. I consider it a real privilege to work for such a prestigious company.
What advice would you give to someone considering this role as a career?
To succeed you’ll need to be curious, adaptable, and willing to listen. Whilst this industry moves quickly, you will also need to pause once in a while. Things will go wrong and when they do, it’s important to take a step back, learn what could be done differently, make those tweaks and then move forward.
You’ll also need to remember that, for an operation to work effectively, we have to operate as one big team. Our drivers are the backbone of our industry. They are the ones who have to deal with many of the issues first hand. Whether we’ve missed a delivery window or there was a routing error – we are all human. We need to treat each blip as a chance to improve and show respect and empathy to each other at all times. If we do, it pays dividends in both morale and performance.
Many congratulations to David for reaching his 25 year milestone and thank you to him for sharing his journey and learnings with us.
If you think his job sounds like it would suit you, have a look at our current vacancies to find the perfect role.
