Sebastiaan started as a supply chain planner thanks to valueXstream's Career Xchange route
Last year, Sebastiaan Heijster participated in the first Career Xchange programme of valueXstream. During this intensive two-week training, supply chain experts of valueXstream give you a crash course in the job.
Last year, Sebastiaan Heijster (32) participated in the first Career Xchange programme of valueXstream. During this intensive two-week training, supply chain experts of valueXstream give you a crash course in the job. After the training, you start working as a supply chain planner at customer sites. Sebastiaan successfully completed the programme and has been working as a consultant for a year. He shares his experience in this article.
How did you end up in the logistics world?
Sebastiaan Heijster: ‘As a child, I wanted to be a teacher. During my studies, I found out that teaching didn’t suit me. The question then was: what do I want to do? I joined a car rental company. It turned out that I have a knack for working methodically and logistics. My brother is an HR consultant; he advised me to move into the logistics sector.
For four years, I worked as a shipping agent. This ignited my passion for everything related to logistics planning. When Gumption contacted me for the Career Xchange programme, I was immediately interested. As a supply chain planner, you work in a broad field. Problem-solving thinking and solving puzzles: that is right up my street.’
What did you think of the training programme?
Sebastiaan Heijster: ‘The valueXstream training taught me to look at planning from a broad perspective. Why does a company do something in a certain way? Are there maybe other ways to do things? What works best? These are all incredibly interesting questions to me.
I love practice-based learning. Put me on the shopfloor for two weeks and I will learn more than I would if I had my nose in books for a month. That is why this programme suited me down to the ground. It is perfect for inquisitive people who enjoy hands-on learning and love a personal approach.
valueXstream is not a massive company: you get intensive individual support. I always felt that my colleagues had my back. Because I could always fall back on them, I learned faster. Without guidance, you have to figure out the simplest things on your own.
How did you end up in the logistics world?
Sebastiaan Heijster: ‘As a child, I wanted to be a teacher. During my studies, I found out that teaching didn’t suit me. The question then was: what do I want to do? I joined a car rental company. It turned out that I have a knack for working methodically and logistics. My brother is an HR consultant; he advised me to move into the logistics sector.
For four years, I worked as a shipping agent. This ignited my passion for everything related to logistics planning. When Gumption contacted me for the Career Xchange programme, I was immediately interested. As a supply chain planner, you work in a broad field. Problem-solving thinking and solving puzzles: that is right up my street.’
What did you think of the training programme?
Sebastiaan Heijster: ‘The valueXstream training taught me to look at planning from a broad perspective. Why does a company do something in a certain way? Are there maybe other ways to do things? What works best? These are all incredibly interesting questions to me.
I love practice-based learning. Put me on the shopfloor for two weeks and I will learn more than I would if I had my nose in books for a month. That is why this programme suited me down to the ground. It is perfect for inquisitive people who enjoy hands-on learning and love a personal approach.
valueXstream is not a massive company: you get intensive individual support. I always felt that my colleagues had my back. Because I could always fall back on them, I learned faster. Without guidance, you have to figure out the simplest things on your own.
You have been working as a consultant for almost a year now. How are you finding the job?
Sebastiaan Heijster: ‘Consultancy has always appealed to me because as a consultant, you come into contact with different company cultures. You end up in all sorts of companies, big and small in a variety of niches. As a consultant, projects are temporary and you learn something new from every experience. Not just about the job, but also about yourself. What makes me happy? What is my ambition? The better I know myself, the better I can map out my career. I get the feeling that at valueXstream, they really listen to this.’
What are you working on right now?
Sebastiaan Heijster: ‘I’m about to complete the first project I worked on, as a purchaser at one of our partners’ sites.. I look forward to sinking my teeth into something new. Maybe they will let me assist one of our senior consultants with a new assignment. I can learn so much from them.’
What do you think is an important characteristic of supply chain consultants?
Sebastiaan Heijster: ‘As a consultant, you are a chameleon. You always have to adapt and be able to perform in a variety of settings. I think it is important that you can give advice in an empathic, professional way. You have be able to talk to anyone at any level, from the warehouse operative to the CEO.
You have an outsider’s perspective. This allows you to see different things than the people who are on the ground day in, day out. After a while, you have a bag full of experience to dig into.
The companies that contact us are looking for ways to be more efficient. Not everything is running smoothly, and you have to do something about that. You have to be quite stress resilient to take on this kind of challenge. If you are a principled person who loves routine, you should find yourself another challenge. (laughs).’
You have been working as a consultant for almost a year now. How are you finding the job?
Sebastiaan Heijster: ‘Consultancy has always appealed to me because as a consultant, you come into contact with different company cultures. You end up in all sorts of companies, big and small in a variety of niches. As a consultant, projects are temporary and you learn something new from every experience. Not just about the job, but also about yourself. What makes me happy? What is my ambition? The better I know myself, the better I can map out my career. I get the feeling that at valueXstream, they really listen to this.’
What are you working on right now?
Sebastiaan Heijster: ‘I’m about to complete the first project I worked on, as a purchaser at one of our partners’ sites.. I look forward to sinking my teeth into something new. Maybe they will let me assist one of our senior consultants with a new assignment. I can learn so much from them.’
What do you think is an important characteristic of supply chain consultants?
Sebastiaan Heijster: ‘As a consultant, you are a chameleon. You always have to adapt and be able to perform in a variety of settings. I think it is important that you can give advice in an empathic, professional way. You have be able to talk to anyone at any level, from the warehouse operative to the CEO.
You have an outsider’s perspective. This allows you to see different things than the people who are on the ground day in, day out. After a while, you have a bag full of experience to dig into.
The companies that contact us are looking for ways to be more efficient. Not everything is running smoothly, and you have to do something about that. You have to be quite stress resilient to take on this kind of challenge. If you are a principled person who loves routine, you should find yourself another challenge. (laughs).’
Interested in taking part in the Career Xchange programme like Sebastiaan?
Find out more at https://www.gumption.eu/vacancies/supply-chain-planning-consultant