Have you ever wondered what it takes to ship your goods across the world, and who the people behind the shipments are?

We asked our warehouse manager, at Fritz Schur Energy, Allan Munch Hansen a couple of questions, and he agreed to take us behind the scenes into the nitty gritty work that involves plucking, packing and shipping containers filled with wind turbine hydraulics and components to customers around the world.

What is your role as warehouse manager?

“My role as warehouse manager is to create a foundation for our services. In the years I have been here, we have been exceptionally busy. In 2,5 years, we have gone from 8 employees to 27. This has of course required a lot of adjustments, oversight and change management. But otherwise, everyday life is about creating flow by getting everyone in the warehouse to cooperate.”

How does a good day at the job start?

“A nice day starts with a cup of coffee and a good morning greeting to the employees. Then I usually get an overview of how many we will be, answer emails and plan the day in the best possible way. In addition, various urgent tasks often arise throughout the day that need solving or coordination.”

What happens when an order goes through?

“The first of my teams to come into play is typically the reception. They make sure that the item or materials are put in place. After that, a picking slip is executed, after which the item is picked up by us and sent to our production, where the components are produced. The item then returns to us, where it is packed, given an address slip, and sent away by plane, train, truck, ship, or courier.

What do you do if the item is not in stock?

“We deliver to the whole world, and in that case, we have a customer group that is a little extraordinary, which is our aftermarket customers. In many cases, they need their spare parts here and now. Therefore, it is also extra important that we notify our purchasing department if there are items we do not have in stock. Admittedly, a tedious part of the job is when we cannot execute on the service and make our customers happy. That is why we do our utmost to avoid situations, where we cannot execute on our lead time.”

What is the default size of the orders you send out?

“The size of an order varies immensely. One day we send a tiny valve to New Zealand, and the next we send several large machines out the door to one of our OEM customers. So, we probably do not have any of the regular standard sizes.

How do you make sure things are packed properly?

“We have a carpenter who makes sure that all our items are packed safely and secured in the boxes. But it unfortunately happens from time to time that the carrier is a bit ruff in their handling. Therefore, we also have a lot of certificates and documents that we fill out prior to shipment, because some of the components we ship off are classified as dangerous goods. In the event of an accident it can be crucial for the carrier to know what goods they are dealing with and how to handle them, in case of a fire for example.”

How much can you send out in a week?

“In terms of volume, we are up sending 7-8 containers away weekly during the periods when we are most busy.”

Have you ever tried something that has disappeared?

“Yes, I have. After all, we are humans and we deal with humans. So occasionally the unfortunate happens, and a pallet gets shipped to the wrong destination. But in most cases, these kinds of slips get caught in customs - and should it happen that a pallet reaches the wrong recipient, well then, most people register if they have received a bit too many goods.“

What characterizes your employees?

Good mood and the fact that we always feel like favorites.