What do you do?
When at a party with people you haven’t met before, the question that usually breaks the ice and starts a conversation rolling is: “What do you do?” When I explain that I’m an editor of B2B trade magazines, the next question is always about the magazines and their contents.
Inevitably, as I describe FTD and start talking about supply chain management, a sort of blank look grows on the other person’s face. “Logistics?” they say. “Isn’t that something the army does?” You can almost see them wishing that I was editor of Woman’s Weekly or one of its ilk – at least the conversation wouldn’t grind to a halt.
New sales
manager for FTD
FTD welcomes John Clarke
who has replaced Alan Reid
as sales manager. Alan has
left us for hopefully a bright
future with SKY TV. Those of
you who advertise across the
Aston magazines will know
John from his involvement
with NZ Construction News,
so his voice on the telephone
will be familiar to many of
you. Give him a ring over
the coming months to
discuss your advertising
needs – as business starts
to pick up and our industry
hauls itself out of the
economic downturn, you
don’t want to be left behind.
“So what exactly do you do?” one particular guest persevered at a recent party. I went on to explain that as the editor, it’s my job to look after the contents of the magazine. Sometimes I have to write the material, but more often it’s a case of collating interesting news and views, checking the material as it comes in, tidying up the English, requesting some good images, and sorting it all into some semblance of order on the pages for the readers. “Sounds … interesting,” my new friend volunteered. And I had to agree – it is. “It’s rather like completing a 100-piece jigsaw puzzle, except that there’s 150 pieces to go in, and they all arrive over a six-week period,” I said. I didn’t add it’s always the most urgent ones that come in after deadline (sigh).
All of this set me off thinking … why not ask some leading supply chain managers exactly that uestion – “what do you do?” – and see how they define supply chain management. And so a new series was born. We kick this off with 3M’s Paul Robinson – see how his job compares to yours on page 31.
If you think your management job is different or worth a write-up, drop me a line – providing you have ‘logistics’ or ‘supply chain’ or ‘operations’ somewhere in your title, you qualify.
As I write this editorial, I’m in the process of packing my bags for another trip to Ireland to visit the manufacturing success story that is Combilift. Renowned for the development of a four-way-manoeuvrable forklift, I last visited the company in 2007 and was treated to some wonderful Irish hospitality, so am hugely looking forward to a return trip (perhaps not so much to the 27-hour fl ights at either end, but we’ll not dwell on that).
Without giving the game away, exciting things are happening there. Watch out for my report in the June/July edition.
Slán go fhoil …
Lynne Richardson, editor