Name: Paul Smith
Job title: Supply planning manager
Tell us a bit about yourself
I’m originally from Oldbury (in the black country) but in the last year I’ve moved to Shifnal. It’s a little village in Shropshire so a bit different to what I’m used to (very quiet, dark nights and a lot of tractors) but I definitely like the country life. I’ve been married five years to Sarah who grew up in Shifnal so she has all the inside knowledge. We don’t have any kids but we’ve just got a rescue greyhound called Ben. I like running (nothing too fancy, the occasional 10k) and football (I do as much as my knees allow me to) and I support the mighty Aston Villa!
Describe your job to a five-year-old
I manage a team that orders stock and solves problems.
What do you like most about your job?
Although some parts can be repetitive and task orientated (it’s the nature of any supply chain), every day there will be a new challenge to overcome which I see as a chance to learn something new or even teach or show someone something they haven’t seen before, which I find very rewarding.
How did you get here?
I studied fine art but somehow found my way into logistics! After a few random jobs I got a job at the Wednesbury IKEA (just filling shelves, booking in trailers, stock loss etc etc) that is where I got the logistics bug and it was the first time I saw something as a career and not just a job. So three different stores, two global projects, a stint in sales, three years in London at the head office and 20 years later it was time for a change. After IKEA I joined Ceva logistics who had an Amazon contract. Unfortunately I was only there for eight months until they closed the site but that is when I spotted a role at Ideal Standard for a supply planning manager which I was lucky enough to secure.
What motivates you?
Doing a good job, being part of something, supporting my team, seeing my team do well, my family, friends, my little home, my wife, my dog.
If you could swap jobs with anyone, who would it be?
Maybe a travel or food writer, where I would get paid to travel the globe, eat fine foods and drink!
Your favourite song lyric or line from a film
Anything from Bowie, probably from Starman. Starman was our first dance, we both loved the song but also the film The Martian was the first movie we went to see together and it was in that.
Your favourite app?
I do like a good Pinterest!
Biggest facepalm moment at work?
I think anyone who has worked in supply planning has an “over order” story. I was working at the Coventry Ikea (I was still relatively new to IKEA and the world of supply, I think I was about three years into my IKEA career) and I was ordering some plastic boxes for a promotion and I may have accidently added a zero somewhere! So instead of five pallets we received five trailers. Lesson learnt. ????