Cécile, plant commercial / logistics manager
What has been your career path?
I got my degree at the ENSIA chemistry school in Toulouse. I then did an 18-month V.I.E. program in the USA, working in R&D at Atofina, in King of Prussia. When I came back to France, I did a post-graduate degree in industrial engineering at the École Centrale Paris, which led me to join Arkema at La Défense as a demand/flow manager. Later, I went to work as a technical operations assistant in Monts, before becoming manager of the plant commercial/logistics office three years ago.
What is your job about?
The purpose of the job is to avoid having to slow down or stop the production lines because of supply or packaging problems. That means I have to manage the raw materials orders, freighting, production shipping, the consumption report, as well as overseeing the service provider in charge of packaging, storage, and loading the trucks and railroad cars.
What is your typical working day like?
I have to manage the daily hiccups. Truck deliveries that do not meet the technical specifications, delayed deliveries, and so on. I have to anticipate needs and plan everything because we work to a tight schedule on some production lines! Finally, I oversee the teams and the service provider, and look after all the HSE aspects of the plant: audits, observations, work sites, performance and reliability reviews, etc.
What do you like about your job?
I like the variety of tasks, and the fact that my job consists of responding to urgent situations by making the right decisions. It also puts me in contact with a lot of different departments. The industrial division obviously, but also central management and many others.
What do you like about Arkema?
The company has always trusted me and let me change my job (R&D, logistics, department head). Also, an accident left me wheelchair-bound and for the last four years, Arkema has been sponsoring my "athletic" life. I am ranked 130 in the world in tennis. In addition to a specially-adapted wheelchair, the company helps me financially when I travel to take part in international competitions!