Paul Robinson at 3M

FTD talks to New Zealand’s supply chain managers about their jobs.

My official job title is supply chain operations manager and I have overall responsibility for the supply chain and operations team at 3M New Zealand. This includes the customer services, materials management, warehousing and distribution, customs, IT and regulatory functions.

The supply chain operations team has approximately 60 staff employed directly by 3M or indirectly though our outsourced arehousing
and distribution operation at DHL. My key goal is to provide world-class supply chain service to our customers and support for the 3M business teams.

My job has many components and one day is rarely the same as the next. In any given day I can be doing a number of different things, ranging from facilitating or participating in process improvement activity, to investigating
customer issues, to staff selection and development, and a multitude of items in between.

FTD: Define ‘supply chain management’

I think a good way of looking at supply chain management as it relates to my role is to provide a picture of the scope of the supply chain we manage in NZ. This includes demand supply and order placement on our suppliers (mostly 3M manufacturing subsidiaries), and international transportation inbound to our 3PL warehousing and distribution operation. From there we have order processing picking and dispatch to our customers. A further key aspect of the supply chain is providing world-class customer support and systems via our customer service team. Supply chain management for me is managing and simplifying the complexity of all these key components of the supply chain to ensure we support both our
businesses and our customers by having the right product in the right place at the right time, in the right quantity and at the right price!

FTD: Why have you chosen to work in supply chain management? How did you get started?

I am at heart a guy who likes process and structure. The supply chain in all its forms and manifestations appeals to me as it is in essence a large (if complex) process, which if managed and structured correctly can add significant value to an organisation.

I got my first job in supply chain management working for Email Appliances, managing their warehousing and distribution operation many moons ago. This was after a stint in the Christchurch Electric Range plant in production planning – my first real job.

I started in 3M in materials management, and then, after a brief break, took up a planning role in the adhesive foil tape manufacturing plant here in Auckland. From there I took on more supply chain responsibility for the plant, and progressed to an operations manager’s role within the plant. This role had overall supply chain and operations focus, and also
some business development responsibility.

I took quite a step away from the supply chain altogether, taking up the responsibility for
managing our transition to our new head-office facility based in Auckland before moving into my current role.

FTD: Which roles/responsibilities have specifically helped prepare you for your current one?

I think they have all helped in some way or another. I am a firm believer that you can learn from everything and anything that you do. I think my role prior to this one –managing our transition to the new facility – was probably a key role. This was a huge and complex undertaking and taught me a couple of key skills: firstly, the ability to plan and execute without necessarily having a prescribed road map. A lot of what we were doing was not clear at the start and I was forced to define the way ahead. Secondly, there’s the ability to be able to manage ambiguity and uncertainty. Being able to work comfortably in this ‘grey space’ helped significantly throughout this role. I’ve learnt that nothing but change is constant – and you need to be very aware of this and able to continually adapt and be flexible.

FTD: What training/ qualifications/experience have you needed? And what personal skills/qualities have you needed on top of this?

Training and qualifications for this type of role vary dramatically from person to person – I don’t know if you could easily define a fixed qualification. Definitely a variety of supply chain functional experience is important, coupled with a supply chain or operations-based qualification.

With respect to personal skills, I think the ability to focus both on the big picture but not lose sight of the detail is a must. Supply chain is all about providing support and service for an organisation, and one must have a passion for delivering quality here.

FTD: Have you had anyone help guide you along your career path? Any particular mentors?

I have been lucky enough throughout my 3M career to have had several people who have
helped and guided me. This is one of the key benefits of working at 3M as we have a great culture which fosters this type of support. In particular, I’d like to mention Jim Nicoll and Terry Roper – these two gave me a break and my first role at 3M. Neil Kench is another who helped me significantly in my manufacturing roles, and then Mark Laithwaite in a Lean Six Sigma role I held a while back.

FTD: What are the job’s main challenges? What’s the most rewarding part?

The supply chain and operations team and my role in it is a complex one, and managing this complexity I see as the main challenge of my role. Juggling customer, corporate and business team needs provides another challenge. I focus on prioritising these needs, removing barriers, and maximising our resources to help us succeed.

Simplifying a complex process, and then seeing the flow-on benefits that our customers can actually realise, gives me the most reward, as does succeeding in what we set out to do and seeing others grow and succeed too.