So I established Women in Logistics UK (WIL) with Clare Bottle in 2008. This group has delivered so many amazing benefits, for me and also the thousands of women – and men – whose lives it has touched. The group’s strapline is “Connect, Engage, Inspire” and we truly achieve all three. WIL UK organises a number of events every year, including a national conference which this year attracted 170 people with 50 more online. We also organise netwalking events all over the country where women and men can meet up and chat informally on a Saturday during a relaxed walk and a pub lunch. We want to ensure that women gain confidence to network effectively, and we always have lots of fun. WIL UK also strives to be welcoming to all, and to be educational; we have a number of logistics visits scheduled in 2024 including a visit to a Ministry of Defence (MOD) warehouse facility, and recently we visited the DHL carbon neutral e-fulfilment site in Coventry. I also ran a significant networking and educational event at IWLEX recently, for Women in Warehousing and Logistics. We had inspirational speakers, plus energetic speed mentoring; I also spoke about Banishing Mum Guilt. You can watch the unusual video we made to demonstrate why logistics mums should definitely NOT be feeling guilty. The whole half- day session was incredibly well received and, as we ate pizza listening to a Queen Tribute at the end of the event, everyone agreed it was the most female-friendly exhibition they had ever experienced. Next year’s IWLEX event is 3rd and 4th June 2025. If you’d like to find out more about any of the above subjects, or get involved with Women in Logistics, please find me and request to connect on Linkedin. You can also find out more at www.rwconsulting.uk As a business, working with and collaborating with the transport and logistics sector is really important for us, which is why we partner up with Lanpro and Leathes Prior Solicitors to host The Supply Chain Supper Club twice a year. Usually hosted in Spring and Autumn, we bring together contacts throughout East Anglia, who are passionate about the sector, for a chance to network and hear from some great speakers.
I am incredibly proud to have co-written the UKWA’s Warehouse Manager’s Certificate of Professional Competence (CPC) qualification. I also got the qualification certified at Level 3 (A level equivalent) standard by the CILT (UK). Finally – and most importantly – I deliver the course content to students alongside Gwynne Richards FCILT. The course covers not only all the technical aspects of warehousing but also the critical elements of Health & Safety and managing people. Those who have attended the initial cohorts have been amazed by how much they have learnt even though they may have been in the job for 10 years. So many logistics roles are learned on the job, with bad habits and work rounds picked up from colleagues. This course goes back to the basics and explains how things can be done the right way, and crucially how to save your organisation and customers a lot of time, money and energy. There is a formal exam at the end of the course – two papers – akin to the Transport Manager’s CPC.
I love the logistics industry, particularly the variety and the fast-paced environment, and the fact that you can make decisions quickly and get stuff done. I have met some amazing people from forklift truck (FLT) drivers to Managing Directors and I love the fact that “all life is here” which you don’t get in all professions. However, it is still quite old-fashioned in some ways, attitudes to people who don’t fit the traditional mould can still be jarring. The toughest barrier for me at the start was that there were not many younger people or women. I felt isolated and this gave me the original idea of setting up a group for women.
If you are interested in attending one of our upcoming events, please register your interest by emailing events@scruttonbland.co.uk
TRANSPORT AND LOGISTICS | SCRUTTON BLAND | 9
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