Better than the Boys

Muna Hamood, Supply Coordinator,                               Reshu Lakhanpal, GM, Azeyan e-gistics
Shell Trading Middle East

There’s no room for tears or makeup in the logistics industry, say the many women working in the supply chain.

When Muna Hamood started her position as Supply Coordinator for Shell Trading Middle East, she says she knew very little about the supply chain. “I didn’t have a clue what logistics was, or how it worked,” says the 35-year-old Associate of the Chartered Institute of Marketing (ACIM), whose former position was with Shell’s Country Chair for Iraq. “I was struggling to get out of the skill pool of a PA, so I needed more challenge and to move out of my comfort zone.”

“On my first day I was wondering, ‘What is a berth?’”

But she picked up the job quickly. “I hit the ground running and I hit the ground fast,” she says.

“I’m very hands on, so I’ve actually climbed the tanks and stood on the top. I’ve even gone inside the tanks.”

Today, she has her hands on the primary transportation for Shell Middle East’s downstream sector, moving products from refineries to tanks for the corporation’s aviation, commercial fuels and marine divisions. She also manages stocks for Shell Aviation’s joint venture with BP and Emarat. Hamood describes her position in Dubai as a “one-man show”, as she works with a virtual team, reporting to Pakistan.

She says her goal of having “zero stock-outs” can be stressful. “You have to be available on your phone all the time.”

And supply tends to take most of the blame from traders and customers when anything goes wrong. “You have to have thick skin,” she says. “If you take things personally and are very sensitive, this is not the job for you.”

Still, Hamood insists being a female in the supply chain is no problem. “I have never felt I was in a male-dominated industry.” In fact, her three predecessors were all women.

“On the trading floor I sit on, I’d say 35 per cent are women,” she adds. “Shell is generally good with diversity.”

Hamood even says being a female can be an advantage in the industry.

“It comes down to how you manage people and conversation, and that’s one of the key requirements for this job.”

“I think women are naturally good at multitasking, relationship management, networking. These are qualities most women have.”

Reshu Lakhanpal, General Manager of Ayezan e-gistics agrees. “I think being a woman has always been an asset. I have never had a problem where a client felt, ‘Oh, she’s a woman and I can’t deal with her.’”

She says, she deals mostly with men. “It’s easy. Men don’t expect women in this field, so it’s a breather for them to work with a woman.”

“Some people even look at it that a woman is more practical. I have clients who feel that a woman will give them more practical solutions.”

“Men are more aggressive in business, especially in the service industry,” says her business partner, Geoffrey Moore. “But women are more able to open doors.”

“A woman will make her surroundings more calm in any meeting.”

Lakhanpal and Moore founded Ayezan, which specialises in post-production supply chain management, in 2000, after working together at Triburg Freight Services. Today, the business turns over more than US$400,000 a month, and is building a new 5,500 sq metre warehouse in Jebel Ali next to its already existing 4,000 sq metre facility. “Together, we will have approximately 18,000 pallet positions,” says Lakhanpal.

She says her son Dhruv was only 11 months old when she started the company and her daughter Annika was born three years ago. “I say I had three children, Dhruv, Ayezan and Annika,” she says, smiling.

Lakhanpal, who has her Masters in Banking and International Trade, admits balancing a growing family and a growing company can be difficult. “Your phone is on 24/7. You’re waiting for a client 24/7. We never say, ‘Oh, it’s a Friday”, or ‘It’s a holiday’. In the service sector, you cannot say you are not available.”

“It’s very difficult to juggle, but then again I made the choice to have both a professional and a personal life.”

She says her husband, who has his own trading company in Jebel Ali, has given her tremendous support, and she has no plans to be a stay-at-home mum. “I think of it all the time, but I know it’s not me. I’ll never stay at home,” she says.

Four women who are rarely at home are Abigail Garcia, Hina Abdul Rahim and Alma Mangalindan with Unilever, and Deepa Bhatia with Lipton and who shared their stories in a group interview at the Unilever off ice in Jebel Ali.

“We spend almost 70 per cent of our time at work,” says Bhatia, Supply Chain Coordinator F&B at Unilever’s Lipton Jebel Ali Factory, who commutes from Sharjah every day.

“You are not lifting any weights, but your mind and body and soul are very, very exhausted,” says Mangalindan, Customer Service Officer, Finished Goods Imports, for Unilever.

“When I first started at Unilever a few years ago, I didn’t have time to comb my hair, I didn’t have time to put powder on my face. I basically went to my chair in the morning and at the end of the day went home as is.”

“I can’t wear makeup anymore. I don’t have time,” she exclaims. “Even if you want to pee, you won’t have time.”

And how about getting married? “I cannot think about it,” says Mangalindan. “When you’re in the supply chain you become independent, your perspective becomes wider. I don’t need a man, I can take care of myself.”

Garcia, a Demand Planning Assistant with Unilever, whose boyfriend is in the Philippines, admits working so hard can get lonely. “Sometimes it gets to you, but I have to work,” she says.

While these women are working in jobs traditionally designated for men, Abdul Rahim, Planning and Customer Service Executive for 3rd Party Manufacturing with Unilever, says the trend is changing.

“Initially, when I started off, I was the only girl working in the supply chain with four men, and all the people we were communicating with were male. But now, I find the transporters have ladies communicating with us and the truck drivers, we have women working in warehousing, and we have a good number of women in customer service.”

She says she has at least three or four truck drivers calling her every day. “Sometimes truck drivers are so astonished to hear a female voice calling them from Unilever,” she says.

“I get more respect being a lady, because people hear you more and are really willing to help you out. Also, women are better at handling relationships in a healthy way.”

But, she admits working in the supply chain is a thankless job. “It’s not a job for every girl. I’ve seen girls initiating into this sector and they only last a few months.”

“If you’re not tough, khalaas, finished,” interjects Mangalindan. “They will eat you up.”

“In a supply chain organisation, people will not look at your gender, they will look at your work,” she says. “All people are equal. You have to perform. If you cannot, go. Do or dare. Take it or leave it.”