My first book – “Delivering Change” is now launched and available on Amazon – visit https://rodturnerlogistics.co.uk/author/ or search “Rod Turner Delivering Change” on Amazon to buy. To review the content in more detail before buying, download a pdf of the introduction on the “Author” page. I am really proud of the finished book – but what exactly does it cover and who is it for? This blog post tries to explain…..

“This is the biggest project we’ve had in logistics for years!”
“None of the team have experience of managing a project like this!”
“I’m worried that if this project goes badly, it will set my career back many years”.
“I am not used to being in the spotlight so much”.

Many individuals handed the task of managing a project in logistics will experience thoughts like these as they embark on a complex journey to deliver their project according to expectations.

In the pipeline for over five years, my first book draws on experiences in my career delivering many different types of logistics projects, including warehouse automation and major equipment changes; site closures, openings, and relocations; in-house and outsourced activities, to provide a handbook for successful logistics projects.

I wrote this book because I realised that this experience I had gained had been stressful and time-consuming to acquire but could greatly improve the chances of a successful project if it was made available to people embarking on similar projects for the first time. The book is a mixture of background knowledge, “tips and tricks”, examples of success and failure, downloadable templates of key documents for editing and customisation, and an overall road map for logistics projects.

During the last 15 years operating in regional and global roles, I had increasingly found myself operating on the margin between logistics operations (running warehouse and distribution activities on a day-to-day basis), procurement (working on tenders and building relationships with third party logistics providers) and Continuous Improvement. My job required operational expertise, awareness of best practice and latest innovations, but also managing tenders, contracting and supplier negotiation. As a result, I could see the gaps in knowledge between those people who had a background in project management but little experience of logistics operations; those who had the background in logistics operations but not in project management; and those who came from a procurement background. I was fortunate enough to be in job roles where I was able to deliver many different projects but to observe the impact of many more, including examples that went badly as well as examples that delivered according to plan. With the benefit, I saw colleagues making poor decisions and wasting time and energy when simpler, tried-and-tested methods were available – if only they had known where to look! With this book, I hope to provide some solutions and guidance for future logistics projects

Check out the “Author” page on the website https://rodturnerlogistics.co.uk/author/ or send me your comments on the contact page at https://rodturnerlogistics.co.uk/contact/ – all comments and feedback gratefully received!