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DB Schenker Employee Simon IT Developer

Simon underlines how every cog in the wheel is critical

At the Technology Solution Center in Nanjing (China) Simon is in contact with customers from all over the world.

“As an IT developer, my job depends on customer demand, the development of the corresponding task, and that the development of the maintenance program is running. I’m getting information via a customer question or request and specify what they want and where,” says Simon. “Using their files and incoming data, we then map the content of the files to specified needs.”

Communicating with a global customer base, Simon is in contact with people from all over the world. Customers from different regions with different writing styles have all kinds of requests. As an IT professional, Simon works directly with the client to decipher those needs and respond with specific actions.

What I’m doing here is playing a small part of a big system. Every cog in the wheel is important to bring the customer further.
DB Schenker Employee Simon

A Significant Repositioning

An important aspect for Simon as a developer was the repositioning of the company’s IT department. The Technology Solution Center was formerly known as the Shared Service Center. The division transformed into a Technology Solution Center that delivers a complete package of solutions. “This approach also makes it interesting for me as a developer when it comes to planning and implementing long-term projects,” explains Simon.

DB Schenker Technology Service Center Nanjing                                                                                              Technology Service Center, Nanjing (China)

“I am particularly proud when I was able to proactively use the different time zones to my advantage. When working with one customer from the USA, there was a communication gap with a lot of questions and answers,” say Simon. “In stepping up to the challenge, I worked proactively to determine what the customer wanted based on our experience, technology, and skills.” So rather than sending that customer a long list of questions and then having to wait for a reply (which could take a long time, due to the time difference), Simon acted based on his past experience. He delivered a solution to see if this implementation was what the customer wanted. “In this case, it was a direct hit,” says Simon. “The customer informed me that this was exactly what they wanted — and we saved a whole day.”

A Fun, Engaging Work Environment

Simon likes the DB Schenker workplace atmosphere, where camaraderie among team members is high and office politics is kept to a minimum. “We all like to joke around and have fun with each other,” he says, “and all while we focus on finishing our tasks on time and accurately.”

DB Schenker Employee Simon IT Developer

Simon enjoys a relaxed approach in day-to-day life. “It's casual Friday every day, and it’s even nicer when we dress up for special events,” he says. “For the annual dinner we wear suits and dresses as if it was a wedding venue. This is something special that I've never had at any other job.”

He also enjoys the work-life balance that his position at DB Schenker offers him — something that’s not always easy to attain in the IT development environment.

“Chinese IT companies typically have the ‘9-9-6’ working code (9:00AM to 9:00PM, six days a week),” Simon explains. “It's actually amazing that we only work until 5:00-5:30PM at the Technical Service Center. It’s been great for my private life because I also have time for my family and my young child.”