Exceptionally steep learning curve
After obtaining my Master’s degree in Industrial Engineering, I started searching for a challenging job in my study field. I experienced a few more traditional companies already and I was sure that I wanted to try a more dynamic and younger company. I wanted to join a team of ambitious and skilled people! I quickly found out about Picnic as I read about it in the news and saw the job openings online.
I chose to apply for Picnic’s Fast track to Leadership – Supply Chain & Operations traineeship. In September 2019, three fellow trainees and myself started our onboarding at Picnic. We first spent a month getting to know all aspects of the company, by visiting all Fulfilment Centers (FCs) and joining almost all possible teams within the company for a day. Throughout this period, we got to know the open, hands-on and ambitious nature of the company. We also had the freedom to come up with several improvements that we presented and that were actually put into practice afterwards. This was exactly the type of action I was looking for!
After this impressive onboarding period, I started with my training to become an Operations Manager in FC1 in Utrecht. This meant getting to know a lot of people and deep-diving into the processes of the FC. Following the true Picnic spirit, I got a lot of responsibilities in just a few weeks time. I quickly picked up several projects such as improving the picking productivity in the FC. In this project, I analyzed picking data to spread the pick density throughout the pick circuit and improved uptime monitoring of our electric pick carts. I also started leading several teams in the FC. At the same time, I was, and still am, responsible for running the daily operations in the FC a few days a week.
I have just celebrated my 6 month Picnic anniversary and I can definitely say that I have already learned a lot. We are now facing different challenges in meeting the demand which is as high as ever due to the current COVID-19 situation (time of writing: April 2020), whilst keeping the working environment for our Shoppers safe. This creates a whole new feeling of team bonding and also makes us proud to be able to serve many customers every day.
The learning curve in my young Picnic career has been exceptionally steep and will continue to be like that, since I am now temporarily taking over the role of FC lead as an interim FC Lead. This step is characterizing my experiences at Picnic where every day is different and new challenges are there for you to jump into all the time!
– Stefan Tjeerdsma, Trainee in the Fast Track to Leadership – Supply Chain & Operations program
