In our new series ‘Meet the Crew’ we want to introduce you to some of our amazing team members.
Today, we are introducing Patrick. He is a customer success champion here at SHIPSTA and he’s writing his Bachelor‘s thesis on the logistics sector. We asked him a few questions about what it’s like working at SHIPSTA, and here’s what he had to say…
Meet our crew member Patrick:
- Studying: Business Informatics
- Location: Trier, Germany
- Department at SHIPSTA: Customer Success
- Working for SHIPSTA since: October 2020
- Fun fact: He's a big Star Wars fan
1. How did you hear about SHIPSTA?
"I first heard about SHIPSTA in July 2019 (back then it was still called Clear Logistics) for a project at university.
The project was designed to give students the opportunity to work independently on real problems in the business world and to establish contact with regional companies.
For the project, we could choose to focus on one of three possible topics from three different companies – one of those companies was SHIPSTA!
SHIPSTA’s topic was the prototypical implementation of a support center on SHIPSTA’s website and its coupling to the wiki software 'Confluence'. My group members and I were quickly sure that the project SHIPSTA offered was the right one for us."
2. What is the topic of your Bachelor's thesis?
"The topic of my Bachelor‘s thesis is agile software development in times of COVID-19 and working from home. In short, it is about the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on software development and the benefits of using agile methods during COVID-19 and when working from home.
This Bachelor‘s thesis examines the extent to which the use of agile methods and agile software-development techniques facilitate working from home. What are the advantages of using agile methods when working from home and how do they affect everyday work?
It will investigate communication and productivity in a home-based work environment. Can agile methods be used to maintain communication and collaboration during the COVID-19 crisis?
It also examines what IT companies’ product-development processes look like during COVID-19 and working from home. In doing so, the possible problems and advantages of working from home will be addressed and the extent to which working from home differs from working on-site in a company will be recorded. To what extent can agile methods and techniques be applied and, if necessary, adapted to working from home? What makes agile so special during COVID-19 and working from home?
The aim is to find out, through surveys in the form of questionnaires and expert interviews with numerous IT companies, how companies generate value for their customers in times of COVID-19 and working from home, what problems arise when working in home office, how they cope with the emerging problems associated with COVID-19 and working at home, and what agile practices are used to improve the development process in times of COVID-19."
3. What are your findings in your Bachelor's thesis?
"As mentioned earlier, the main aspects I explored were communication and productivity when working from home and how the use of agile methods can maintain or even improve these aspects in a home-based work environment.
The main findings of my Bachelor‘s thesis are that people are able to maintain productivity when working from home, despite the current conditions. Many people even report higher productivity due to fewer distractions in at home and better concentration/focus time.
Employees often report that the need for communication increased when working from home. Using agile methods allows employees to maintain or even increase communication at home. The use of daily standup meetings and other forms of meetings are extremely important to maintain communication in home office. The application of agile methods and techniques has a positive impact on work and communication in an home office environment. The use of agile methods provides a necessary and important structure for working at home.
Using agile techniques like conducting retrospectives allows teams to improve their day-to-day work at home, which means employees can work more efficiently and effectively, making them more productive. Whether using agile methods and techniques at home has a positive impact on productivity."
4. How does (your work at) SHIPSTA help you with your Bachelor's thesis?
"I got access to all the information I needed for my thesis. The development staff agreed to fill out the questionnaire I created, and Stefan (CTO) conducted an expert interview with me, which provided very interesting insights into how SHIPSTA works during the pandemic.
Since the Customer Success team also works mostly from home, I also get to feel the consequences of the pandemic first-hand and get access to information from my team members about the impact of working from home on their daily work."
5. What are your impressions of working at SHIPSTA so far?
"I am overwhelmed by how friendly everyone is. Stefan (CTO of SHIPSTA) had already mentioned that the working atmosphere in SHIPSTA is something special, but the friendliness and helpfulness of all employees has exceeded my expectations.
The integration into the company was not a problem, despite COVID-19. The cooperation with my work colleagues has been very pleasant: The employees I have had the pleasure to work with so far are all very patient and take the time to present the features and aspects of the system that are relatively new to me.
I receive all the support I need to get my work done. Even under the current prevailing conditions of COVID-19, the employees take the time to explain everything to me calmly and clearly.
The current prevailing conditions under COVID-19 and working from home can have a negative impact on the social component. SHIPSTA’s employees decided to conduct regular virtual social events or frequently ask about the wellbeing of the employees, which is extremely important, especially right now, and makes you feel are still part of the team.
The COVID-19 crisis has not yet allowed me to meet all off the employees in person. However, this is an aspect I look forward to in the near future."
If you want to be a SHIPSTA crew member like Patrick, visit our jobs page to find out if there's a role that's right for you.
About SHIPSTA
SHIPSTA is a digital platform that connects shippers and carriers to ensure a frictionless procurement process for spot and contract buying, entirely online. It automates complex tasks, provides unrivalled visibility and supports fast data-driven decision making.
Designed and built by experts in logistics procurement, SHIPSTA is bringing transparency, automation and efficiency to the global logistics industry. It is used by some of the world’s largest companies to respond to market volatility, control freight costs and manage risk. The company was founded in 2015 and is based in Mertert, Luxembourg and Hamburg, Germany.
