3.45 AM

The alarm goes off.

I take a cold shower to wake up properly, followed by a hot coffee. Now I am ready for the drive to the Forest Lake Distribution Centre.

5.00 AM

When I walk through the front doors, one of the first things I do is greet the team; I believe this is very important as a simple hello and handshake can go a long way.

5.30 AM

I log on to my computer, so I can gauge what position the DC is in from the previous day, and how much the volumes have fluctuated. This is generally the busiest time of the day. Slow reaction time will lead to a domino effect later in the afternoon and impact how we service the stores.

7.00 AM

A quick meeting with the Senior Leadership team of the DC. This meeting is short and sharp where the plan is communicated and key messages that need to be cascaded to the team are delivered.

7.30 AM

Time for me to grab a coffee and some breakfast, catch up on my emails and follow up on any outstanding items.

8.30 AM

I check the previous day’s service to check if there were any late deliveries and if so, I need to contact the necessary Store Managers.  I prepare an action plan for the day to ensure we provide an excellent service to stores.

11.00 AM

I attend a high-level meeting with Sydney DC; they act as a cross-dock facility for Sydney stock to Queensland stores. We highlight next day volumes, potential late deliveries and key issues from our transport providers.

11.30 AM

Time for our planning meeting, which is where we determine our labour requirements for the week based on volumes.  In a DC that employs more than 700 Team Members and distributes more than 1.5 million cartons to more than 200 stores each week, accurate planning is essential. This is a key time to plan for events coming up or forecasted, such as the potential risk for flooding, and how this could affect our distribution to stores. 

12.30 PM

Time to grab a bite to eat and catch up with a few colleagues.

1.00 PM

By this time the DC has almost finished its largest shift, now is a good time to touch base with the despatch and transport teams to determine what position the afternoon shift will be in and what plans need to be made to prevent any negative impact to store services.

2.30 PM

This is the shift handover. A high-level meeting takes place where the AM team will communicate to the PM team regarding volume levels, a number of truckloads remaining and any other key call outs. This is also the time for me to prepare my end of shift report which gets sent to the Senior Leadership team.

Now that the busiest portion of the day is over, it is a good time to read emails and address any other ad hoc projects or actions that need to be completed. 

3.30 PM

Home time.