Interpath Services is a purpose-led business with highly trained specialists and experts in every team. This month's Interpath Expert is Andrea Stokes, Operations Manager, who has years of experience in logistics, warehouse management and operations within fast-paced businesses.
What is your career background and how did you end up at Interpath Services?
I started my career in administrative roles and then moved on to work for an international freight forwarder and customs agent supporting the sales team. After taking maternity leave and returning to work I moved into an import role for a local private company. A couple of years later there was an opportunity for an inventory controller in their imported goods warehouse and seeing the change as a growth opportunity, I jumped at the chance.
From this point I continued to grow within the business, leading to my appointment as the Warehouse Manager. This role was interesting, encompassing the supply of goods from their on-site production facility and also their global import business. I took all this experience into my next role as Head of Logistics for a global company where I was responsible for their supply chain, warehousing and distribution. I learnt a lot in this role with a broad range of project delivery from implementing warehouse management systems, relocating warehouses to qualifying and achieving Australian Trusted Trader status with ABF for the business.
Ready for change, I undertook a contract role as a business analyst for a large Distribution Centre (DC) who were consolidating smaller business units into their facility. But my grass roots were calling me back and as luck would have it Interpath Services presented the opportunity of Operations Manager, I was appointed in July of 2022 and it’s been a whirlwind journey since then and one which I have thoroughly enjoyed.
Tell us about your role with Interpath? What is your area of expertise?
As Operations Manager I oversee procurement, supply chain, warehousing and distribution. In essence, I handle the supply and movement of goods from our global suppliers to Australia, through our DC and finally to our end customers, whilst at the same time always keeping a close eye on local suppliers.
I continuously focus on operational efficiency, cost performance, inventory accuracy, resource management and facility management, whilst ensuring above all that our company mantra of safety first is fulfilled.
My expertise is underpinned with strong analytical skills and the depth of my knowledge and understanding of importation shipping workflows, warehouse operations, inventory management and product distribution and how they all connect to manage logistical workflows efficiently.
What most do you like about your role and why?
I thrive on improving systems and processes which ultimately keep the day-to-day logistic operations running smoothly. My solutions focused mindset helps me to drive continuous improvements to support the business needs and to deliver a best in class operational process, one which rounds out and compliments the expertise of my colleagues. Doing this helps deliver the complete package of both service and product to our customers and this fills me with an immense sense of achievement at the end of each day.
Along with every team member at Interpath, I take pride in every operational aspect, knowing that we are supporting our customers in the best possible way and ensuring they receive a quality service that in turn supports their clinical outcomes.
When you started with Interpath what most surprised you?
What surprised me most when I started was the extremely high level of staff engagement, everyone is genuinely invested in delivering the best product and the best service to our customers.
Not long after I started, I was speaking with a senior colleague and they said, always remember the end customer, they may be a patient within a hospital, or a laboratory where our products are the day-to-day tools required to continue with a medical research procedure.
I’ve never forgotten these comments and I reflect on them if I’m faced with a challenge as they can bring situation perspective and clarity on the best way forward.
What are your main priorities for 2025?
The overarching priority is to manage our inventory effectively. There are numerous complexities within our business for example, shelf life constraints and managing these with our supplier fulfilment and global shipping disruptions can be challenging. Delivery in full on time (DIFOT) doesn’t happen without effort and it’s not a seamless process, my team put an enormous amount of time and focus into ensuring we optimise efficiency and minimise our costs for timely and reliable product delivery to our customers.
Secondary to this, is the on-going development of my team, of course we are customer centric, but we believe it’s equally important that as a business we continue to invest in each individual’s professional growth and our company offers several learning and development platforms as enablers for this to happen.
What's the biggest challenge facing the industry right now?
Logistically speaking, the ongoing disruptions in the Red Sea, with no clear resolution in sight remains a significant source of uncertainty for the industry. Together with the increasing risk of trade disruptions being compounded by ongoing geopolitical uncertainties puts pressure onto our business to mitigate risk being created through Strikes, Port Congestion, Vessel Omission, Weather Events.
The issues experienced in other ports of call within the sailing service, impact us here in Australia. As we know global supply chains are all connected and volatility remains an inherent market challenge, our global suppliers are positioned predominantly in Europe, therefore our supply chain strategies have not been set and forget, our approach is quite the opposite as we pro-actively review and revise our requirements in an environment where conditions can change rapidly.
What's the biggest lesson you've learned over the past 12-18 months?
Reflecting on the past 12 months, my learning is to act straight away on lessons learnt and not rely on people to remember them the next time a similar situation arises. If it’s a procedure issue update it immediately, maybe a communication issue, once it’s identified share the learning with the team so everyone is better prepared and placed for next time.
Real improvements come from taking immediate action to properly mitigate risk and not hoping for the best next time around, and sometimes the best lessons often happen when we least expect them.