Zac Leslie CMILT

I started my Transport and Logistics journey 13 years ago, as is often the case, by chance. I joined a start-up and found a role in planning routes and dispatching drivers (and wearing all the other hats too). Serendipitously I found I enjoyed the puzzle of logistics/route planning, especially the troubleshooting. Rerouting drivers and deliveries to somehow make it all come together despite the impending doom of the end of the customer delivery windows.

Now over a decade later and thanks to CILT, I find myself with a chartership in the industry, which I thought were only for accountants. I never used to view my job or skills through the lens of the Transport and Logistics industry, I was just doing what I needed to do to help grow the company and hopefully get paid. But now that I understand these skills are transferrable and route planning, driver issues and time windows are a universal language, I love learning more and more about the industry.

I have now mentored through the CILT mentorship programme, two amazing people from supply chain management industry, one at the start of their journey and one well in to their career already. Sharing my knowledge, and learning from their experiences is rewarding, it’s funny to think that they may find what I have to say useful.

I still like to think of myself in the early stages of my career (though it’s getting harder and harder to argue this) but over the past 13 or so years, I have observed a significant change in the way people operate and the job market.

Three changes in the industry that I have observed in my “short” time:

1) When I started Google Maps and smart phones were fairly new, Tom-Toms ruled

2) Pre-brexit- it was definitely much easier to hire drivers

3) Pre-Covid- working from home was something your boss said when they were tired

Lastly, I would like to take this opportunity to thank the CILT for granting me with the post nominals CMILT and helping me and others hunt for logistical excellence.