Gareth Powell

Delivering meaningful supply chain transformation and improvements projects together with our clients

I joined Hatmill in 2019 following over 10 years’ experience in transport and logistics, including time as a Transformation Programme Manager at Arriva, a major public transport operator.

I started my career at XPO Logistics on their Fast Track Talent Programme after gaining a degree in Business Studies at De Montfort University. The scheme gave me a wealth of exposure early in my career to warehouse operations, dedicated and shared user transport networks, management and development of 3^rd party operations and delivery of strategic and tactical projects. This two-year introduction into logistics provided an excellent foundation as well as proving that this was a sector that I thoroughly enjoyed working in (and continue to do so).  I went on to take further roles within XPO Logistics where I worked as a dedicated project manager at a major retailer’s ecommerce fulfilment centre implementing profit share projects into the operation and as a project manager in the XPO’s transport division, where I had a remit for project delivery across all areas of the business. The activities and achievements I proudest off during my time at XPO are:

• Major rework of ecommerce operation to enable removal of 3^rd party carrier for instore collect delivery’s by utilising existing food network, enabling significant cost savings.
• Implemented many new contracts and operations into the transport division, from solution design to handover into business as usual. Including a brand new logistics solution for horticultural goods for a major garden centre group, saving significant cost and vastly improving speed of delivery from nursery to store.
• Supporting the coordination of the realignment of the national shared user transport network with the opening and closure of operating sites.
• Working in an analytical control tower identifying and implementing commercial and operational efficiency improvements across the shared user transport network.
• Short listed finalist for the Motor Transport Award 2013 for Team of Year, for a project relating to the London 2012 Olympics.

After 7 years with XPO I moved to UTL (Unipart Technology Logistics) to work as part of the central projects team. Here I gained my PRINCE2 qualification and delivered projects utilising the Unipart Project Delivery Systems which incorporates Unipart Way principles and robust project governance. During my team at UTL I predominately worked on projects for Sky, the majority of which I was the PM on the Sky Mobile contract.

My next move was to Mark and Spencer at the Castle Donnington Ecommerce Distribution Centre. Here I worked as a project manager delivering a wide range of projects into the DC. I headed up the peak operational planning in my first year at being at the site, gaining an internal M&S award. This included redistribution and balancing of stock across partner sites based on a capacity and throughput requirements v cost to serve, set up of dedicated peak warehouse chamber on site and other build work to increase peak throughput capacity, as well as the coordination of over 15 functional delivery workstreams. Later projects delivered improvements and development of the complex automation on site (hanging and boxed). These were mainly logic changes and improvements in functionality to increase capacity and flow to the automation to meet peak requirements for following years. I also completed a significant project which drove improvements across the major inputs (forecasting, supplier inbound quality and presentation, stock cover and range) into the DC across the M&S supply chain.

My final role before joining Hatmill was with Arriva as part of a Transformation Team. Here I supported the creation and direction of the Transformation programme and then specifically managed the Engineering Excellence programme (approx. 70 engineering sites), which was delivering cost reduction through project delivery utilising business excellence methodologies. Change management and increased colleague engagement where significant factors in the programme delivery.

Now that I have joined Hatmill, I am extremely impressed by the quality of passionate supply chain professionals I am working with. The experience and expertise within this team is outstanding and I am personally looking forward to delivering solutions that are right and add value for our customers.