supplying joy:our warsaw supply planning hub

First Impressions

I started my career in supply chain management with a leading organisation in Cosmetics, working across Russia and Poland, before going into consultancy for some time with one of the Big 4 consulting companies, where I was responsible for the supply chain of our customers in the energy and FMCG markets. Following the consulting company, I moved back into direct sales, working with another leading organisation in Cosmetics, where I was responsible for distribution planning across Europe and Africa, before joining MDLZ in 2015.

When I joined MDLZ I was immediately hit with how excited people were at work – incredibly engaged – and it was fantastic to see. In my role as platform leader, along with my team of three, I get to manage the end-to-end supply chain for three of our factories across Poland and the Czech Republic. This includes everything from the procurement of materials, to production, to distribution.

Living in Warsaw

Outside of work, Warsaw is a great city perfectly sized. It is not so big that you can feel lost, but it is big enough so that it has everything you need. Everybody is very friendly, very open and there is a lot of investment happening. The city’s very green too, actually it’s one of the greenest European capitals, so it’s a very nice place to live. It’s also in the centre of Poland, and Europe as a whole, so it is very easy to travel to other cities and countries.

Building My Career

Funnily enough, I started my career in supply chain 10 years ago in the same company and department as Michal at a leading organisation in Cosmetics . When Michal moved to Russia, I moved to Germany and led our category supply planning. Following which, I was given the opportunity to supervise customer services across 14 markets, including a range of exotic locations.

I later moved onto a Tobacco organisation as a Scheduling Manager, which was equally challenging and rewarding. I was able to see the other side of the mirror and experience the impact we, as planners, have on schedulers. Alongside this, I also had opportunity to work on new product innovations and implementations, and manage teams ranging from 3 to 30 colleagues.

I came to MDLZ last year joining the Hub, and my scope is very similar to Michal’s, with just scope of plants varying. I currently manage four plants across Italy, Germany and the UK. If I were to sum up our key aim, it is to ensure we strike the right balance between service and cost. Our challenge is to maximise and provide exceptional customer service, whilst also being conscious of cost. This balance is key to all which we do.

Working in Warsaw

The Hub is really at the heart of our operations and central to what we want to achieve, and this provides an exceptional opportunity for people to partner a wide range of colleagues across a variety of locations. With this, we need people who are comfortable taking decisions, managing expectations and thinking creatively.

Like Michal mentioned, Warsaw is very green and it is not too big or too small. The office is centrally located, as is the airport, and this makes the rest of the country and Europe very accessible. There are also a variety of music festivals throughout the year, and a very nice social scene around the river, with bars, restaurants, etc. There’s also the beach and mountains to go out and explore.