Simon Gilchrist

Our Meet the Team series is back, and we're kicking things off with Simon Gilchrist, Dispatch and Transport Manager at Ecoglass. 

With 10 years of service and experience across different areas of the business, Simon talks us through his day-to-day role, his ambitions and why Italian cuisine is simply the best in the world. 

Interviewer: Thanks for agreeing to kick-off this year’s series, Simon. To begin with, can you please tell us a bit about what you get up to? 

Simon: As Dispatch and Transport Manager, the team and I are the final stage between production and the customer, which makes us the final gatekeepers of quality and customer experience. 

Day-to-day, the role varies from managing driver working hours and ensuring we're meeting compliance standards for both driver welfare and vehicle maintenance, to overseeing all planned preventative maintenance needed across the fleet, among other things.  

Interviewer: Sounds busy – and stressful! 

Simon: It can be! A driver might get caught in traffic, a customer may need an urgent delivery that wasn't on the original schedule, or a vehicle might break down – one thing has such a massive domino effect on everything else, so keeping the plates spinning is something of a speciality for me at this point! 

Interviewer: How did you come to this role? 

Simon: I've been in glass for close to 25 years. I've worked on the production floor, and that insight really helps in this role, so I know exactly the pressure the team is under, and anything I can do to pre-plan and ease that pressure from my end, I will. 

I've been with Ecoglass for 10 years, and around four years ago, Gaby Mendham supported me in completing the Transport Manager CPC qualification. 

Interviewer: How did that course affect the way you approach your role? 

Simon: It provided frameworks and rigour to my approach. It's easy to get caught up in the daily whirlwind of the job, but taking a step back allowed me to spot opportunities to do better and identify programmes we could implement to improve our efficiency and operations. 

The senior team at Ecoglass are really good at supporting people development. I'm currently researching an accreditation I'd like to work towards as a department, which would not only showcase continued investment in our processes and output but also provide external validation that we're meeting high standards of operation. 

Accreditations like this are a great reflection of the hard work of the team, but they also give us a benchmark to improve from. The culture of constant improvement and going the extra mile is embedded across the business, and it's something I feel responsible for championing within my own team. 

Interviewer: How would you describe your department’s impact on the customer experience? 

Simon: Dispatch sits at the end of the production process, so we're responsible for product quality at the final stage, preparing and packaging loads, route planning, fleet management and people management. There's also a constant element of crisis planning from blocked roads and breakdowns to loads taking longer than expected. 

Our biggest challenge is always getting deliveries on time when so many elements are involved that are outside of our control. We're the last checkpoint for quality before a product reaches the customer, and it's our job to make sure it arrives on time and in the right condition, every time. 

Interviewer: And outside of work, tell me about your favourite food haunts in Norwich. 

Simon: It’s Italian all the way for me

Interviewer: What is it about Italian food in particular? 

Simon: I love that its simple food done very, very well. It's not about fancy ingredients –  it's about making the simple taste amazing. Paolos in Norwich is my favourite place to eat, and one that even my Italy-based family rate highly, which feels like a proper seal of approval! 

Interviewer: High praise indeed! Thanks for your time today, Simon! 

Simon: Thanks!