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Meet the team: Interview with John van der Wal
Quote: ‘I’m not going to retire, I like ShipitSmarter too much.‘
Meet John van der Wal, our singing and guitar playing Implementation Manager who joined ShipitSmarter in 2009.
What do you do at ShipitSmarter?
In my current role as Implementation Manager, I take care of functional technical elements of our solution. I know ShipitSmarter since 2001 when I worked at DHL where I was responsible for carrier relations. The cooperation arose from the linking of our software platforms and as a result I joined ShipitSmarter in 2009. This, for me, was a great step towards an innovative organization with a wonderful solution for transport and logistics.
How does ShipitSmarter in your opinion support organizations in their logistic processes?
The ShipitSmarter Shipment Management Platform is used as an engine by many companies for their transport and logistics process optimization. It helps them for example to get the best price for their transport, based on their negotiated carrier rates. The system simply offers the best carrier options. In that process we also provide solutions such as transport labels, carrier management, service monitoring and invoicing. We create management dashboards for the logistics– and operational management to provide them with real-time business insights and KPI management for example based on costs, delivery times and shipping trends. ShipitSmarter is a SaaS product, which means that our customers have access to their shipping data anytime, anyplace and anywhere.
What defines ShipitSmarter for you?
As an organization, we are keen on getting the best out of our colleagues. We are continuously professionalizing, further optimizing and (re)designing processes. Everybody is able to contribute to the organization based on their specific expertise. The organizational structure and the management team offers space, frameworks, structure, priorities, vision and future. Our leadership team also contributes greatly to job satisfaction and organizational success by establishing a solid foundation for the future. I am definitely in the right place and have been given the space to develop, learn and contribute to the growth of our organization.
What do you need at work, at the end of the day, to be happy or satisfied?
I am eager to learn by nature and keen on finding solutions for specific customer challenges. I’m proud to say that I do always find them, these solutions our customers need. That is why I actually have several moments of happiness throughout the day.
What characterizes you?
My keywords are cheerful, creative, recognition and competence. I attach great value to knowledge.
What is your passion or favorite leisure activity besides ShipitSmarter?
I play guitar, both electric and acoustic and I am a singer in a band. I am the founder of our local music café. The main purpose of this café is to provide local musicians a stage, the opportunity to do more than just play their music in the attic. As a result of this café a tribute band was established, called Pink Floyd the Wall. The band consists of 9 musicians performing at our local beachfestival. We can’t wait for this beachfestival to be possible again.
My favorite song is ‘Cinderella Man’ by Rush. Symphonic rock, with a raw edge. The guitarist adds classical guitar tones to rock music. The song ‘Cinderella man’ is about doing something for your fellow man. I think that is very important in life.
Quote:
‘The fun factor is here, always. Despite corona, we make every day a fun day together, and for our customers.’
Want to meet more team members? Read the interview with Shalini Mangalgi.
