Tender Management is an important part of our business which we take a lot of pride in. In this interview our Senior Tender Manager Paul gives an inside scoop of his department and tells us more about Tender Management at InstaFreight!
1. Introduce yourself!
I am Paul, 35 and I have been leading the Tender team at InstaFreight since November 2019. I hold a Master’s degree in Industrial Engineering and prior to joining InstaFreight I have had 8 years of professional experience in the field of logistics consulting, especially with regards to 4PL transport network management and freight procurement.
2. Tell us a little more about Tender Management at InstaFreight and the department!
Our department focuses on driving customers’ freight procurement projects through our internal organisation with the ultimate goal to find the best individual solution at competitive rates. We use advanced tools, apply network analyses and do real-time matching with our data to do this efficiently and together with our Sales and Operations teams we develop customized solutions!
Every day I get to work together with a dynamic international team of supply chain analysts. Our typical work day starts with screening our CRM and project management tools, making sure that everything is running smoothly and most importantly that all Tenders are submitted on time and in the right quality. A big part of our work includes processing customer data and creating tailored solutions for our partners. Calculation of route parameters, transport network visualization and data analytics methods to derive price indications are all part of that…
Our job requires streamlined project management between our departments, profound skills to work with large data sets and expert technical knowledge about road freight processes. During each Tender process we stay in close contact with our account owners within the Sales and Operations teams, moderating the price finding from the initial kick-off meeting up to the final Tender submission. We are also involved in driving changes together with our Tech and BI team. At the moment there are several exciting ongoing projects, such as further optimizing our advanced pricing algorithm and data visualization in dashboard solutions.
3. Very interesting, thank you! And, how do you help your team work successfully and effectively, especially during times of home offices?
Like in every other InstaFreight team, we allow employees to take the driver seat early on and to manage their own Tender projects end-to-end. We also try to ensure that everyone is capable of executing all standard Tender processes independently, to help us cover each other if necessary. We regularly rethink our approach and process landscape and actively ask for everybody’s opinion, no matter if manager or intern. Transparency about what we do and why we do it is one of our core principles, which is also why the entire team is present in the weekly meetings with our managing directors.
In terms of the transition to home offices caused by the current Coronavirus Crisis, InstaFreight’s startup structure and especially its agility have been very beneficial. The shift to home offices went smoothly for us as our whole system already runs in the cloud, which means we can access it from anywhere at any time. Through several daily virtual standup meetings we keep in close touch and ensure that everybody is up-to-date on all relevant topics and no one is missing their office buddies too much 😉
4. Lastly, what is it that you love most about InstaFreight?
The most exciting part of my job is that I get the chance to gain many insights into how world-class companies are building and managing their freight networks. My creativity is challenged every day to help me find the optimal solution for different processes and customer requirements. Also, I like that from the data side there is so much potential that can be unlocked by applying analytics and business intelligence methods.
What I love specifically about InstaFreight is that deep logistics expertise comes together with an agile and open-minded company culture. I believe in a traditional industry like ours, creativity can help to let go of old beliefs and open doors to new and innovative solutions! So, no day is really like the other – it always stays exciting!
A big thank you to Paul for giving us insights into Tender Management at InstaFreight. If you have a Tender, feel free to reach out to us via email at tender@instafreight.com or sign up for our free digital platform!
Leave a Reply