”I gained 10 years of experience in a few months”
Source: DairyNews.today
Viktor Berg, Warehouse Manager at the DC in Gallin, Germany, joined DeLaval during the intense transition from Glinde to Gallin. The experience he gained during this time continues to influence his work to this day.
Before joining DeLaval in 2017, Viktor was not familiar with DeLaval – although he had heard of our sister company Tetra Pak. But when he looked into what DeLaval was doing and our vision, ‘We make sustainable food production possible’, it resonated with him.
“This vision really inspired me to join the company. I wanted to be part of a business that makes a real change in the world, guided by a clear purpose,” he says.
He started as a Group Leader in the warehouse in Glinde, Germany. In that role, he was responsible for the so-called outbound area, which is the process of loading goods onto trucks going to customers.
“It was a challenging but rewarding role, as the goods we were shipping were very diverse and required much planning to use the trucks’ full capacity. The loading of the trucks also involved a certain degree of risk management while trying to adhere to the time schedule. After eight months of working as the Group Leader, I transitioned to the role of Logistics Manager for the same area. Just over two years after joining DeLaval, I took on an additional responsibility in my then-current role. This meant that I assumed responsibility for the Process Coordination team, a warehouse administration team that works closely with the operational unit. At the same time, I was supporting my manager in many activities, which provided me with new experiences and skills that I am still using in my current role,” Viktor says.
Increased responsibilities
Today, Viktor is the Warehouse Manager in Gallin. Being the Warehouse Manager means he is directly involved with all parts of the warehouse operations. “I am overseeing the inbound and outbound processes, different picking areas, and the packaging area. In addition to this, I manage the warehouse administration. This means, among other things, that I am making sure that our customers get their orders shipped on time. To meet this goal, a lot of planning of the process leading up to the execution is required. Everything we do also needs to be done with safety, quality, delivery, costs, and sustainability in mind. We are in total around 135 people who are working on 6500 order lines per day,” he says. “I spend roughly 80% of my time on solving problems, improving procedures, and developing people in collaboration with internal and external interfaces to fulfil all internal and external expectations. The remaining 20% is spent on long-term activities, such as different projects, future processes, innovative solutions, and crisis management planning.”
Having been at DeLaval for almost eight years, Viktor is not short of experiences in which he has learned new skills or developed professionally. When he looks back at what he has been through, there is one situation that stands out from the rest. “It was during my onboarding actually, so back in 2017. DeLaval in Germany was in the middle of a big change: moving the distribution centre from Glinde to Gallin. It feels like I gained 10 years of experience in just a few months. It was a challenging time for many and I was in the middle of the action. We got great support from other departments across the world to make the change easier for us. During this period, I told myself to focus on the opportunities that lay ahead with this change. I shared that mentality with my colleagues and it was rewarding to see that it resonated with them. The teamwork that we displayed at that time was the key reason for the success of the change and getting the operation up and running.”
Working with a clear purpose
With this experience fresh in mind, Viktor shares why he thinks people should consider joining DeLaval. “If you like to move things forward and want to develop your skills in an environment that makes a difference – to make sustainable food production possible – you should join DeLaval. And that’s not all. I am given the opportunity to try stuff, and I know that is something that personifies DeLaval in general. You can have a good idea and try it! Sometimes things don’t happen as you hoped, but then you continue to the next idea. A third thing I really like about DeLaval is that the company not only operates with a focus on revenue. It is equally important to take care of our employees and ensure everything is done in a safe way.”
Going forward, Viktor is inspired to learn more about automation and its potential in future processes. “The Gallin site is situated away from the bigger cities, which results in more and more difficulties on the labour market. Therefore, I think that it is important to learn more about alternative solutions in automation and be prepared for any potential future needs.”
“This vision really inspired me to join the company. I wanted to be part of a business that makes a real change in the world, guided by a clear purpose,” he says.
He started as a Group Leader in the warehouse in Glinde, Germany. In that role, he was responsible for the so-called outbound area, which is the process of loading goods onto trucks going to customers.
“It was a challenging but rewarding role, as the goods we were shipping were very diverse and required much planning to use the trucks’ full capacity. The loading of the trucks also involved a certain degree of risk management while trying to adhere to the time schedule. After eight months of working as the Group Leader, I transitioned to the role of Logistics Manager for the same area. Just over two years after joining DeLaval, I took on an additional responsibility in my then-current role. This meant that I assumed responsibility for the Process Coordination team, a warehouse administration team that works closely with the operational unit. At the same time, I was supporting my manager in many activities, which provided me with new experiences and skills that I am still using in my current role,” Viktor says.
Increased responsibilities
Today, Viktor is the Warehouse Manager in Gallin. Being the Warehouse Manager means he is directly involved with all parts of the warehouse operations. “I am overseeing the inbound and outbound processes, different picking areas, and the packaging area. In addition to this, I manage the warehouse administration. This means, among other things, that I am making sure that our customers get their orders shipped on time. To meet this goal, a lot of planning of the process leading up to the execution is required. Everything we do also needs to be done with safety, quality, delivery, costs, and sustainability in mind. We are in total around 135 people who are working on 6500 order lines per day,” he says. “I spend roughly 80% of my time on solving problems, improving procedures, and developing people in collaboration with internal and external interfaces to fulfil all internal and external expectations. The remaining 20% is spent on long-term activities, such as different projects, future processes, innovative solutions, and crisis management planning.”
Having been at DeLaval for almost eight years, Viktor is not short of experiences in which he has learned new skills or developed professionally. When he looks back at what he has been through, there is one situation that stands out from the rest. “It was during my onboarding actually, so back in 2017. DeLaval in Germany was in the middle of a big change: moving the distribution centre from Glinde to Gallin. It feels like I gained 10 years of experience in just a few months. It was a challenging time for many and I was in the middle of the action. We got great support from other departments across the world to make the change easier for us. During this period, I told myself to focus on the opportunities that lay ahead with this change. I shared that mentality with my colleagues and it was rewarding to see that it resonated with them. The teamwork that we displayed at that time was the key reason for the success of the change and getting the operation up and running.”
Working with a clear purpose
With this experience fresh in mind, Viktor shares why he thinks people should consider joining DeLaval. “If you like to move things forward and want to develop your skills in an environment that makes a difference – to make sustainable food production possible – you should join DeLaval. And that’s not all. I am given the opportunity to try stuff, and I know that is something that personifies DeLaval in general. You can have a good idea and try it! Sometimes things don’t happen as you hoped, but then you continue to the next idea. A third thing I really like about DeLaval is that the company not only operates with a focus on revenue. It is equally important to take care of our employees and ensure everything is done in a safe way.”
Going forward, Viktor is inspired to learn more about automation and its potential in future processes. “The Gallin site is situated away from the bigger cities, which results in more and more difficulties on the labour market. Therefore, I think that it is important to learn more about alternative solutions in automation and be prepared for any potential future needs.”
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