Always ones’ best

The Windhoek-born George Ya France obtained his bachelor's degree in logistics and supply chain management from the Namibian University of Science and Technology and was employed on contract by SBS Trucking as an operations supervisor.

Thereafter, he went to intern for Xtreme Transport. "I worked so hard and pushed myself to the limits, and as a result, I was the only one amongst the three interns at SBS Trucking who got a permanent position as a tracking controller and before I knew it I was promoted a month later to fleet controller," he said.

Unfortunately, France did not enjoy the spoils of victory for long as he was retrenched from both SBS Trucking and Pro Parcel, a company he went to seek refuge in. T&C saw his potential and employed him as their logistics coordinator and later gave him another position as a sales representative and here he gained more insight into sales.

France is now a trainee branch manager – it is more of a relief manager's position where one must learn as much as they can and acquaint themselves with the sales and operational duties within their organisation. This prepares them to take over when the branch manager goes on leave and might one day present them with a branch manager promotion, should the company happen to open a new branch.

Day-to-day

France’s workday starts with a sales meeting with the rest of his team to go through the monthly budget and their current progress in compiling and obtaining one. They also openly discuss and share ideas on where they can improve, as well as applaud the top salesperson for the previous day. The team is made aware of the company's goals and mission and discusses merchandising and key focus points.

"This has proved to be quite efficient," he said. He takes a floor walk after their discussions with either Titus Shentunynga, the branch manager, or Maria Namwiha, for procurement, and here, they look at areas they need to focus on, where they are short on stock, as well as basic housekeeping.

"Pupkewitz has always been a company that took care of not only its staff but the community at large, everyone would be privileged to work for them," he said.

He describes his experience as worth reminiscence, as the team he currently works with has made it a walk in a park for him. "My team has been very supportive and assists me where possible. Watching them work well together and help customers with ease pleases me a lot. I feel like I have been here for years already," he said.

Making it work

France describes the most challenging aspect of his job as keeping his team's morale high and motivated despite their budget falling behind. He says that keeping their momentum high and keeping them driven to push more sales is also one of the crucial aspects of his responsibilities. "Some days are more difficult but as the captain of a ship you have to push the team through the war even when the odds are against you," he adds.

In the future, he plans to obtain a master’s degree in logistics and supply chain management, but before pursuing that, he aims to work hard basis and prove to his superiors that he is worthy of running his own branch, if the need arises.

As for aspiring young professionals, he encourages them to push themselves, and not to let anybody tell them that they cannot do certain things, as this is merely a reflection of their capabilities they want to project onto other people to discourage them. "People will always project their insecurities towards you. So don't take advice from someone who is not in the position to give it to you," he says.