BIFA Awards
Problem-solving Jenna seeks diverse challenges
on one of KN’s largest UK healthcare customers. Another focus is mentoring a new intake of graduates. “It feels almost full circle,” she reflected. “When you first enter the workplace it can be daunting, especially if you are living away from home or it is your first experience of the working world. Mentoring is not just about training: it also involves key leadership and development skills, understanding conversations about their roles, how people are doing outside of work, what their hopes and dreams are for the future and enabling them.” Observing that younger colleagues – who have only known life with the Internet – will take the industry forward, Jenna said that relationships with customers will always be critical in freight forwarding, but automation and digitalisation will enhance services. “Automating the easy processes will help us drive a more patient- centric environment. For example, one of my customers produces dialysis kits for patients’ homes. Those patients have every right to know exactly when their kit is turning up at their door. If that can be automated and accurate, it will change many people’s lives and we, the logistics experts, can provide more value-add services and be more efficient,” she explained. Challenging preconceptions Jenna is passionate about improving diversity in the logistics industry to inspire and encourage anyone to join the industry by providing access to someone they can identify with. “UK logistics is still very male, white and able-bodied – but there is no reason why it should be,” she said. “It is not just about gender. The industry is a huge employer with people from a wide range of backgrounds. A great example is education level. “Starting with the apprenticeship scheme, there is an appropriate education opportunity at every stage of your career in logistics and that seems to be unique to this industry. There is a focus on mentorship and case studies of people’s careers from all walks of life. We must reflect not only our customers’ reality, but also the communities in which we operate.”
Jenna Speed entered the logistics industry after completing her fi nance degree and was awarded Special Recognition in the BIFA Young Freight Forwarder of the Year Award category for 2022
A born problem solver with a keen sense of accountability and desire to fi nd ef fi cient ways of doing things, Jenna Speed said: “I searched online which jobs these traits would be good for and logistics came up. Forwarding was not something I was familiar with but after researching the industry, I was excited and applied. “I handed in my dissertation early programme with Kuehne+Nagel (KN). At the time I wondered if it would be worth missing our celebration party but seven years later, I would say so.” Looking back on her decision, to be able to attend the job interview for the graduate Jenna remarked that the one thing that really piqued her interest in logistics was that “it is not just a desk job. It is a real game- changer.” Team leadership Jenna started her logistics career in warehousing, soon moving into team leadership and customer- facing roles. She learnt quickly, working in a number of modes before moving into sales. Jenna is now a national key account manager in the healthcare vertical, an area she has always been drawn to. “I really enjoy working alongside the healthcare industry, understanding their drug pipelines and then strategising with the team to get the supply chain ready. In some cases, we are planning supply chains for drugs that are not even available to patients yet. “One research area for me
As part of KN’s sustainability agenda, Jenna and her colleagues volunteered at City Harvest, a London-based charity that delivers surplus food for free to struggling families
currently is how the commercial, public and charitable healthcare sectors can work together better for more efficient and effective distribution, and where KN can support this as a forwarder,” she said. Jenna is eager to scale up her responsibilities further and at the time of writing was about to take
Young Freight Forwarder Award
Virgin Atlantic Cargo is proud to sponsor BIFA’s Young Freight Forwarder Award to recognise and encourage the next generation of industry leaders. As well as rewarding the progress of the best young people, this award helps to highlight the vital role freight forwarders play in the growth and development of the industry. VAC recognises the importance of developing and retaining talented young people and is confident this award will help to attract more recruits that want to build a future career in a sector that is so important to the economy and international trade.
18 | May 2023
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