Logistics and distribution - Case Studies

Paul Morgan

Paul Morgan left the Army’s RLC in 2004, with 24 years’ Service behind him in Germany, Northern Ireland, Bosnia, Cyprus and Canada. Now out of uniform, the former Movement Controller notes that ‘All experience gained throughout my varied career has been useful in making me a well-rounded manager, but sadly military qualifications and experience do not apply on the outside.’

He left the Forces with qualifications including: Certificate of Professional Competence (CPC) – Freight (National & International); an NVQ in Management; and BSc (Hons) Supply Chain Management and MSc Logistics (both from the University of Wales).

A Career Transition Workshop offered useful CV writing skills, and he found his first job – as a Transport Business Manager for Fleet Support Limited – through an ad in the Chartered Institute of Logistics and Transport’s Focus magazine: ‘I have since been promoted to the post of Deputy Head of Logistics, a position I have held for four years.’

He says, ‘I enjoy the challenge of problem solving. As with Army logistics, no two problems are the same (or if they are it means we haven’t learnt from our last problem!). Similarities to life in the Forces include ‘juggling scant resources to overcome short-term problems, and making sure that the customer is satisfied’. Differences include the fact that, ‘in industry, there is no “Officer and other rank” class system, so all staff are judged on their own merits and qualifications.

‘I am fortunate’, he says, ‘to have gained some good civilian logistics qualifications, which means that I am reasonably well paid, however with extra responsibility come extra hours and additional pressures.’

Published June 2008