Every week is different
Two years ago I joined Picnic as a Distribution Area Manager. Picnic is a fast, innovative, and energetic company, which you will definitely experience in the Distribution Area Manager role. Different from my previous employer, Picnic changes every day, and new processes are implemented continuously. Decision-making is fast and everyone in the company is dedicated to building the best milkman on earth, together.
A Distribution Area Manager is responsible for multiple Hubs. A Hub is a cross-dock location from where our vehicles depart to customers. Your main job is to support the Hubs and Hub Managers in operations and leadership. The Distribution Area Manager and Hub Manager form a team; together you are responsible for the happiness of our customers and the happiness of the people at Picnic. Picnic gives you actual responsibilities and ownership and so I experience a lot of freedom. You are in the middle of the operations with hundreds of vehicles and Runners on the road every day. A day could be perfectly planned, but external factors as COVID-19 or extreme weather conditions might require you to be flexible and to step up to make sure all customers get their groceries safely and on time. The job demands coordination, quick decision-making, and proper communication. During the last two years at Picnic my learning curve has been extremely steep. I learned a lot about managing a team, standard operating procedures, and working efficiently in a continuously changing environment.
What I love most about my job is that every week is different. You are on the road for several days a week to visit your locations, where you observe and listen to what is going on and how we can improve by nurturing your teams. I also really like to see people grow and help them to grow even further. You translate business plans into concrete actions together with the Hub Managers and their teams, so that reaching goals becomes a team effort. Last, as a Distribution Area Manager you also keep a helicopter view and coordinate with different teams in the organization; business analysts, growth, customer success, fulfillment, and so on. This combination of content and working together with different people makes the job fun, challenging and diverse.
- Manouk Lohuis, Distribution Area Manager