A day in the life of…Kim Staires, E-commerce Site Operations Manager

With more than 20 years of experience in logistics and fulfilment, Kim Staires shares what her job entails, why she loves working in the industry and what she likes doing outside of work.

Q What did you do before joining Fullers Fulfilment?

A I spent 22 years working for a global logistics company learning all aspects of the business. I began as an administrator and worked my way up with inventory roles, Operations Manager, Stock & Systems Manager and Contract Manager before becoming General Manager across multiple sites, gaining essential skills and experience across the business and working with clients across all industries like aerospace, printing & imaging, consumer electronics, food and retail. I then moved to a storage and records management services company on the warehousing & logistics side, before coming to Fullers.

Q What does a typical day look like?

A I start the morning looking at volumes for the day and working with teams to determine an operational plan for day. Then onto reviewing data from the previous day in terms of volume, resource levels, finance, etc. There will also be calls with different clients, working on process improvements or onboarding new clients. It’s a real mix of day-to-day operations and strategic planning, like looking at future plans, how we support both our and our clients growth strategies or operational improvements.

Part of my day also includes looking at staff training requirements, and health and safety needs. Today, in fact, we’ve been looking at efficiency improvements.

Q Why do you like working at Fullers?

A I really like the culture at Fullers and the people I work with. There’s great teamwork here, we’re a close-knit group, all of us working to a common goal. There is also great camaraderie across sites.

I also enjoy the challenge of the role because no two days are the same and I’m making good use of the skills I’ve developed over my career, helping the business grow and improving our service offering.

Also from an industry point of view, I like working in this field because of the variety, the challenges, the pressure to think on your feet!

Q What three characteristics do you think are vital for your job?

A Resilience. Attention to detail. Adaptability.

With logistics and fulfilment you do encounter challenges, which is part of why I like working in the industry, where you have to find solutions. The key thing is that you must keep going! In some instances, based on your experience you need to proactively plan around those challenges and put plans in place to mitigate any risk and avoid them from happening. On the other hand, which is where adaptability comes in, you also need be reactive, to demand, for example, while still being sensible from a cost exposure point of view.  

Q What advice would you give to someone considering a career in fulfilment?

A So I think you need to be open to learning a variety of skills. In operational management, you need good all-round knowledge because you’re working across the entire business – from HR and health and safety, to operations and IT – and you have to learn those skills and perfect them.

Q When you’re not working, what do you like to do?

A I like spending time with my family, whether that’s watching my son play football, going for walks or eating out. I also enjoy anything fitness related and love reading.

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