Kerry Radford joined Kukla UK in 2021 having spent most of her career working in specialist freight forwarding. She knows only too well about how cellar closures, strikes, weather conditions and the peaks and troughs of seasonal demand can affect equipment supply.
Her role as General Operations Manager is to understand this and manage the day-to-day business of the Kukla operations team, which is key to its success. Working closely with our operational carrier partners, Kerry’s commitment to meeting customer expectations and providing excellent service is what drives her.
Although it’s one of our busiest periods of the year, she took a rare moment to speak with Chris Porter and Kukla News about her role, its challenges and rewards.
Chris Porter: Kerry, thanks for taking the time to talk to us. How’s your day going?
Kerry Radford: Every day is different. Always busy, always varied, lots of questions needing solutions, some take longer than others. But there’s always a solution.
CP: What are the key qualities needed in your role?
KR: Being organised is key. Applying knowledge gained over my career thus far helps me to understand much of what’s required. Over and above that, a lot of patience, too!
“The most satisfaction: Making the customer happy.”
CP: Which things give you the most satisfaction in your role?
KR: That’s easy. Making the customer happy.
CP: And which do you find the most frustrating?
KR: Delays to vessel sailings and loadings caused by bad weather, port closures, road closures, the unforeseen circumstance that was not there the previous day.
CP: You have a great team of operational colleagues around you. How do you keep their morale high at times when there’s so much pressure on the team and meet our high standards of service?
KR: Yes, it can be very stressful, especially at peak times. I’m sure we’re not alone in that experience. Clients, carriers, warehouses—we’re all under pressure to deliver. It’s important to recognise these times. I think a few short breaks during the day really help. We return to the desks refreshed, having shared a coffee and perhaps a few laughs, too, which helps lighten the load and make potentially stressful situations much more manageable.
“Communication at every level in the shipping chain is another key to delivering great service. Sharing information with our customers is part of our role and is appreciated.”
CP: It’s vital that we have good commercial partnerships with our carriers and warehouses of receipt to ensure the smooth running of the day-to-day operation. What other areas of our business are also key to delivering great service?
KR: Communication at every level of the links in the shipping chain. Knowing that a short delay in the journey can become a longer one if left unchecked. Sharing this information with our customers is part of our role and is appreciated. You could say it’s good old customer service which people seem to like and makes us stand out.
CP: Customers often tell us to let them know if there is any area of the order shipping process with which they or their suppliers could help or give more information. This can be extremely useful, so what would be your message to them when this is offered?
KR: Most are really good about sharing information with us and their producers. At peak times this is really crucial – the more notice we can have in advance of especially urgent orders, cellar closures or any temporary “local” issues especially at the loading points is all great information to have.
“The changes have been vast, both in terms of technology and administration. Obviously, Brexit was a challenge for everyone. We emerged stronger.”
CP: There are many people at Kukla who have all worked together in various roles and previous companies, but always in this very special business of forwarding for the UK drinks industry. What is it do you think that holds such an appeal and how much do you think it’s changed over time?
KR: It’s the people who make it for me, the fact that we have achieved so much in a relatively short space of time proves that. You work with who you trust, respect and rely on to make the service work. The service works, the customer is happy – refer to my answer above about what gives me the greatest satisfaction.
The changes have been vast, both in terms of technology and administration. Obviously, Brexit was a challenge for everyone, especially understanding the customs changes that we all had to get used to and work with and help our customers through that time. The opening of the KCD (Kukla Customs Division) meant we took our in-house Customs offering from 4 to 12 people in a matter of months. We emerged stronger as a result.
CP: Any final words, thoughts or messages for readers of Kukla News?
KR: Thanks for all your support!
CP: Kerry, thank you so much, especially during what is obviously a very busy time. We’ll let you get back to the team.
