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I A N ROBBINS

INCLUSIVITY OF DATA

GXO’S IAN ROBBINS DISCUSSES HOW HAVING A STRONG, SUPPORTED NETWORK CAN CREATE ENDLESS OPPORTUNITIES FOR ANY COMPANY, AND WHAT YOU CAN DO TO CREATE THE PERFECT ENVIRONMENT FOR SUCCESS. SUPPORTED BY:

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Ian Robbins, Business Change Analytics Manager at GXO UK & Ireland, joined the company with a personal mission to meaningfully transform its future, and create a sustainable data culture.

And he’s certainly done just that.

Currently leading Digital Transformation across the Technology & Consumer Goods Business Unit within GXO in the UK and Ireland, Robbins also influences the global GXO strategic agenda on data and analytics.

In 2021 he joined GXO, the world’s largest pure-play contract logistics provider, which was formed over just two years ago. He moved to the company after 20 years in the John Lewis Partnership (JLP), where his work was always data and data solution centric across both Waitrose and John Lewis supply chains.

“As a qualified industrial engineer by trade, my thought process is always centred around data, process simplification, efficiency, and end user experience,” Robbins says. “In my mind, this toolkit is the most transferable and applicable of skills in the digital age.”

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And working in logistics, no two days are ever the same. After being scouted on “LinkedIn by a truly wonderful person”, Robbins began his journey at GXO. “It felt like a seamless transition to the world of logistics.

“Forging strong relationships with like-minded colleagues who shared the same vision for data inclusivity and culture was my primary goal. I now have a strong, supportive team and network from which to accelerate our enterprise digital transformation,” he says.

And Robbins says digital transformation, which isn’t just “nice to have” anymore, 28

is the fundamental foundation for longevity of success in business.

WORLD CLASS “Businesses need to appreciate and accept that the only way a transformation can be truly successful is to engage with everyone in the same way across the organisation.

This is a team sport; it cannot be ego led,” Robbins adds.

And when it comes to teams, Robbins says the “wonderful” colleagues he had the privilege

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of working alongside in his logistics career were his inspiration for the GXO Data Academy.

Partnering with Multiverse, a world-class training and coaching company, Data Academy sets out to increase data literacy and drive efficiency across the GXO organisation in the UK, while providing a clear and rewarding career path for employees.

He says there is a drive to be inclusive, as data is everywhere and is all inclusive by nature. “For me, the area that has always

been predominantly exclusive until recent years has been data sharing,” Robbins says. “My ambition has and continues to be democratising data and putting it in the hands of those who can truly drive efficiency and change with every action and interaction.

“The challenge has always been the need for fiscal justification, when fundamentally, the need is more primal, driven by a cultural shift and shared strategic vision,” he adds.

An example of Robbins’ primal drive is the scale of the Data Academy’s impact, which 29

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was implemented across different business units in the UK at an incredible rate. Robbins credits this quick turnaround to “sheer grit, determination, and an unwavering ambition to deliver something truly game-changing for GXO. “The applied learning model means individuals are learning new skills and practically applying them into their tasks from day-one to deliver business value,” he says.

By far the biggest financial impact the team has seen to-date was a cost avoidance of £240k. By using their new data skills to model the projected ROI of the proposed process change, an apprentice was able to challenge the client request and present it back to demonstrate that their ‘gut feel’ decision would not deliver the desired ROI.

“Forging strong relationships with like-minded colleagues who shared the same vision for data inclusivity and culture was my primary goal.”

As the GXO Data Academy team plans to launch the scheme globally, starting with the U.S., Robbins says they are “extremely fortunate to have the governmentbacked apprenticeship levy within England as the catalyst for the GXO Data Academy, which is now part of the GXO University ‘Grow’ track offering.

demand (reduced programme length, modular approach). We are currently evaluating options to ensure equal opportunity across all regions of the business,” he says.

“With funding in other territories requiring full justification pre-approval, our approach needs to be tailored accordingly to meet

At the beginning of the Data Academy journey, Robbins was only approved for a 20 England-based colleague pilot from

CHERRY PICKING

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“Businesses need to appreciate and accept that the only way a transformation can be truly successful is to engage with everyone in the same way across the organisation. This is a team sport; it cannot be ego led.” helps make us shine as an organisation,” he quips.

“I used my business knowledge to effectively ‘cherry-pick’ some high-performing Tableau users to join the academy pilot,” Robbins says. This enabled them to see almost immediate ROI.

And when leading a team, Robbins reckons communication, trust, integrity, passion, and authenticity are key to being a successful manager. He is “very much a ‘heart on my sleeve’ person and throughout my career, this has led to some interesting conversations at times.

And when it comes to the success of the Data Academy, it wouldn’t be possible without partners.

“Throughout my career, I have ensured that hyper-collaboration has been promoted and celebrated, as we don’t know what we don’t know, but someone else might, and we can benefit by working closely with them,” Robbins explains.

“But for me, it’s the positive impact that being myself makes on people’s lives and careers that keeps me motivated,” he explains.

And every decision and interaction made contributes to ensuring data-driven decision making across GXO. And for a successful future, he believes the logistics sector is the beating-heart of the economy, but it must remain agile and laser-focused against the tough macro-economic environment.

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“More importantly, by including colleagues from our newly acquired business (Clipper Logistics), we not only retained top talent in the business but also enabled them to achieve their full potential. The pilot cohort success opened the door for any England-based colleagues to apply for the second cohort in September 2023, where we increased our intake from 20 to 170+, from Warehouse Operators to Senior Management,” he explains.

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within his business unit, (due to apprentice levy application).

“AI and other technologies have the power to accelerate growth potential if correctly applied but should always be underpinned by people, and a unified and adaptive change culture to ensure long-term success,” Robbins adds.

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For the Data Academy, he chose Multiverse as partner, not just because of what they had delivered, but more for ‘how’ they delivered.

“I often comment that the Multiverse team 35