Technology in his genes
Even as a young boy, Oliver Jarmuszewski was drawn to the inner workings of electrical devices. His fascination with technology paved the way to a career with a promising future.
Oliver Jarmuszewski was just six years old when he started repairing electronic devices at home. If anything around the house needed repairing—whether it was a Walkman or a video recorder—this kid was only too happy to take it apart. And to the astonishment of his parents, when he put the devices back together, many of them actually worked again, too. The tech enthusiast received his first computer at age 14. “My friends and I taught ourselves everything there was to know about computers. It was a case of learning by doing,” Jarmuszewski recalls.
A dream job
So it was only logical that he should turn his hobby into a career. Unfortunately, as a young man Jarmuszewski never really warmed to his training as an IT specialist in application development at a previous company. He didn’t want to be just a programmer, he also wanted to work closely with people. Then along came DACHSER in 2012. Jarmuszewski, a native of Berlin, came across a job advertisement recruiting apprentices in IT Management for the Berlin-Schönefeld branch.
In 2015, DACHSER's Berlin-Schönefeld branch took Jarmuszewski on as an IT coordinator. He says it’s his dream job, and that he is thankful to his trainers and colleagues “each and every working day.”
“During my interview process, fully four people said they were interested in me. I was so surprised and thrilled at the same time,” Jarmuszewski says. He then joined DACHSER as an apprentice and immediately had the feeling he’d arrived where he wanted to be: a part of the family-owned company. It took him just two and a half years instead of three to complete his apprenticeship—with outstanding examination results. In 2015, DACHSER's Berlin-Schönefeld branch took Jarmuszewski on as an IT coordinator. He says it’s his dream job, and that he is thankful to his trainers and colleagues “each and every working day.”
“My job is very varied. You have to tackle new challenges every day, and it’s always about finding the correct balance between complying with the standards and specifications of an international company while maintaining a certain degree of flexibility on site and creating sound solutions,” Jarmuszewski says.
New challenges every day
Today, he is one of around 230 IT specialists worldwide in the DACHSER network who act as an extension of the Corporate IT unit, applying a uniform set of standards and guidelines around the world. Whether in Asia, in Bucharest, or in Berlin-Schönefeld, the IT systems in use are the same everywhere. In Berlin-Schönefeld, Jarmuszewski and three colleagues are the first point of contact for IT questions, tackling a wide variety of issues. These include on-site IT infrastructure support and maintenance, setting up the necessary hardware for their colleagues, dealing with all IT security issues, managing the IT equipment inventory, processing mobile-device repairs, administering the telephone system, and training new colleagues on the network server environment and e-mail client. “I am also the customer contact for our eLogistics internet portal, for EDI data connections, and for our new web services in the API portal,” Jarmuszewski adds.
“Here in Berlin-Schönefeld, we have five warehouses and one office building. The premises are very large, which keeps me on the go,” Jarmuszewski reports. One of the 30-year-old’s extraordinary duties involves working high up in the air to take care of the distribution cabinets inside the warehouses.
Always ahead of the curve
In order to stay abreast of the fast-paced world of IT, Jarmuszewski and his DACHSER colleagues complete regular training and continuing education courses. The Head Office in Kempten offers 14 training modules, ranging from purely technical courses like VoIP&Wireless to soft skills training. “As focused as we all are on the professional topics at hand, we always work in a pleasant family atmosphere. I really appreciate that,” Jarmuszewski says. The IT coordinators make a good team outside office hours, too: for instance, Jarmuszewski and his colleagues went on an excursion to a cabin in the Allgäu mountains together.
Childhood dream with a future
Twice a year, the IT Coordinators Competence Circle—a committee of selected IT coordinators and IT managers—meets to discuss new developments and requirements for IT colleagues; each IT coordinator can have topics raised and is informed about the results. Jarmuszewski is thrilled that teamwork across the entire network is just as strong when it comes to rolling out new technology at various locations. For example, in the fall of 2020, drivers in Berlin-Schönefeld will be provided with new handheld devices to simplify the process of documenting the supply chain. “There’s always something new being developed, and that’s what makes this job exciting. At some point, artificial intelligence will also play an ever more important role in logistics,” Jarmuszewski believes. And when it does, he’ll be ready: “As an avid gamer, I’m already familiar with a lot of the things that might make their way into everyday work not long from now. I take the term nerd as a compliment; after all, I’ve managed to turn my hobby into a career. For me, it’s a childhood dream come true—and it holds so much incredible potential for the future.”
