Please introduce yourself to the Plus Mag audience?

Mehdi Ansari, with a degree in Industrial Engineering with a focus on Industrial Management, has been working at Mammut Company for 20 years in various departments, including: warehousing, planning, management accounting, support and sales systems and methods, domestic and foreign trade, and the executive director of the TacTic line project. I am currently serving you as the deputy director of planning and logistics.

How do you define logistics and how do you think the logistics department supports the organization’s strategy and goals?

The term logistics is currently widely used in the commercial sector, especially manufacturing industries, to refer to the management and movement of resources throughout the supply chain. In fact, the management of storage and movement of resources from warehousing to the point of production of the final product are affected by this issue. The truth is that in the real world of operations, the concept of logistics goes beyond this and requires systematic and coherent integration with all the units involved.

Logistics and planning are also closely related, and in the Tactik complex, I am responsible for these two important areas, and I am trying to create and maintain a balance in this area using the latest methods that have become indigenous to the organization.

What do you see as the main challenges facing your field of work and what suggestions do you have to deal with them?

One of the most important challenges these days is the field of human resources and the management of valuable human capital, which affects almost all industries and different sectors of each industry.

But if I were to talk about the specific challenges in the field of planning and logistics, I can mention the following:

The challenge of risk management: Supply chain management is associated with inevitable risks that can cause disruptions such as delays, consumer dissatisfaction, and increased costs.

The challenge of unforeseen delays: In our country, we must always be prepared for unforeseen issues, and this affects all sectors, especially logistics.

The challenge of adapting to changing trends: The world is moving forward at a high speed. Naturally, trends in every industry change over time. Adapting to these trends is challenging for the supply chain, as it requires inevitable learning, adapting to new processes, and abandoning outdated methods to adapt to new methods, which can require resources and costs.

The challenge of digitalization: Another challenge of supply chain management that can be mentioned is the digitalization of the supply chain, which provides a fundamental step for the possibility of growth in the industry. Of course, with the Mammut Group moving forward, very good measures have been taken in this area, and we hope to hear good news about the digital transformation in Mammut.

These are general challenges in this area, and every industry or factory faces challenges according to its operations that it must be prepared to solve or face.

How do you evaluate the role of innovation in your work?

Today, no one can deny the role of innovation in sustainable development, and logistics and planning, like all sectors of every industry, need innovation, and in other words, innovation is the blood flow in the organization. New technologies, new processes, and even new paths are all innovations in this area. There have been many innovations in this field over the years, each of which has connected the world more than ever before. Everything from the invention of controlled trailers to the development and implementation of new systems such as JIT transportation. There are always new ways to make the supply chain more efficient and effective. Due to the impact of logistics on all businesses, there has been a focus on the field of logistics innovation. All goods are somehow dependent on the supply chain. Also, logistics and transportation are often considered a bottleneck in the overall operation. Therefore, when new innovations are made to improve logistics, other processes are actually improved as well.

We, for our part, are always looking for improvement and use knowledge and experience inside and outside the organization to innovate.

If we want to know what exactly is innovation in logistics and supply chain; We must understand that innovation is much more than the use of new means of transportation or serious planning systems. A major innovation that has occurred in recent years is the Internet of Things.

The Internet of Things has connected a set of devices and processes that can be used to transfer data. This has helped logistics by improving transparency in most aspects of this area and leading to better management.

The emergence of artificial intelligence and machine learning has also led to much more accurate identification of trends. In addition, better AI has led to greater productivity, which ultimately leads to lower operating costs. Of course, we still have a long way to go to use all these innovations, but we hope to make useful use of these technologies in the near future.

Final words:

Finally, while thanking you for creating the opportunity for these discussions, my recommendation for improving various areas of production and operations is to pay special attention to the areas of logistics and planning, along with emphasizing modern and correct human resource management. I hope that these materials will also be useful for the readers of this magazine.