Q+A with Aura, Logistics Manager and Camp Mother

Can you tell us a bit about your background and what you do at Mr Ralph?

My background has been mostly retail – selling everything from jeans and clothes in Australia and New Zealand to sun cream and diamond rings on cruise ships.

I did break away from this for 4 years to go work as a deck hand on a superyacht which was choice, but back in the home land now and enjoying my role as Logistics Manager for Mr Ralph.

I manage supply and distribution of stock from our warehouse, with the support of the wonderful warehouse crew!

 

What does a typical day look like?

I'm spending far more time in front of a computer lately whilst working to set up our new website and warehouse system!

Check banking, check e-mails, check in with the warehouse girls and see what they are up to and if they need anything, work on my to-do list (product jobs/website jobs/manage stock orders/moving stock around warehouse/unloading containers/warehouse improvements/cleaning and tidying etc etc etc), get distracted from to-do list with urgent e-mails/ issues that arise, check in again with the warehouse, try and get back to to-do list – and this kind of makes up my week. Split up with a day out of Paeroa for a meeting every now and then.

 

Tell us what you love most about your job?

100% The team! The girls that I work with in Paeroa and Phil (our token man) are totally awesome, Rach is an incredible boss and always has something new and interesting to tell you, and the wider team whom I don’t get to see nearly as much as I would like to but are all an absolute pleasure to work with.

Supply and demand is a logistical nightmare at the moment, can you tell me what steps Mr Ralph has taken to ensure our customers receive their product?

Order early and often, and then put a realistic buffer onto availability dates. If stock arrives before the date the customer expects it then we exceed their expectations and that is a win – and our preferred outcome. If there are delays (which often happens, hence the need for some buffer time) then hopefully it still arrives within the expected time frame. We try to avoid having to e-mail customers telling them that the stock will not be available when they were expecting it due to delays. Our customers are pretty wonderful though, when we have had to communicate this almost everyone has been very understanding and appreciates that we will help come up with an alternative solution if necessary.
 

What’s the most challenging part of your job?

Keeping the warehouse full! Last year I couldn’t order stock fast enough, and not through lack of trying!! Business is busy 😊
 

What’s the best piece of advice you’ve ever been given?

At the end of the day – its only lights. No one is gonna die if their lights aren’t here on time.
 

What upcoming project are you most excited about? 

The new warehouse system is going to be next level awesome once we are into the swing of it, and then looking at improving the space by installing more racking and any other bits we can do to make everything run as efficiently as possible. We have also been working very hard to remove the polystyrene packaging from Mr Ralph product. We are most of the way there apart from some of the large and tricky shaped items so looking forward to the day we can be totally polystyrene free!

All Ralphettes have a favourite light - what's yours and why?

The Boho - I love the personality you can put into the design and the earthy natural vibe that they give to a space, and you can mix it up with any of our cool bulbs!  

What do you do outside Mr Ralph to relax?

Spend time with family and friends, go for a bike ride or a walk around the stunning Karangahake walkways that are on my doorstep. Explore new places, get out on a boat and when I am really lucky and the stars align correctly (which can be tricky as I have a small child) l love to go scuba diving with my husband.