There's so much involved in growing our fresh produce—the right soil, the right seed, the right growing conditions, the right time of harvest— and that’s just the beginning! Coordinating all logistics for when and how our produce is loaded and transported from our cooling facilities to our customers is an equally important process needed to get our fresh produce across North America every day.
We caught up with Glen Alameda, Logistics Manager (and our go-to facility tour lead), to learn more about his role at Ocean Mist Farms and the Logistics department he has been instrumental in building over the past 4 years. Keep reading to learn more!
- How did you start out at OMF?
In high school, I worked in the shipping office as an intern and post-college I worked in the Value Added department as the Technical Manager. My business degree and previous roles at Ocean Mist Farms certainly prepared me for my current role. I’ve been with the company for 5 years now, sure has flown by!
- What is your current job title?
Currently I am the Logistics Manager. I manage a group of 5 people that monitor the hourly harvest estimates, set the truck loading appointments and proactively work to grow our delivered program. Simply put, the work Logistics does is all about putting the correct product in the correct location for the correct customer order at the correct time.
- How involved is Logistics with other internal departments?
Our Logistics department is heavily involved with other internal departments because we always need a pulse on other departments to efficiently manage how we move product through our cooler facilities. For instance, we have to coordinate hourly estimates with our harvesting teams in the field given cooler capacity and the number of forklift drivers we have on the cooler floor. We also have to work closely with our Sales team to know sales quantities, and to coordinate transfers for order fulfillment. Given this information, we coordinate appointment loading times with truck drivers to stage the correct order to load onto the correct truck. As you can see, Logistics is responsible for moving product out of the cooler-- which is an intricate detailed process with allot of moving parts!
- What is the biggest lesson, or most unexpected thing you’ve learned on the job?
No day in agriculture is ever the same, and it's often governed by mother nature.
- What is your hidden talent?
I can play the piano!
- What is your most prized possession?
My 1969 Ford Bronco.
- What is the best advice you have ever received?
Patience, pressure, and time.
- Last movie/show you streamed?
The Righteous Gemstones on HBO.
- If you could have any superpower what would it be?
To time travel. I'd go back in time and invest in Amazon stock!
- If you had to eat 1 thing for the rest of your life what would it be?
Artichokes of course!
