Get to Know your Betabound Test Managers! Part 5: Patrick Canez

Welcome back to another Centercode Program Manager Interview!

Today, I am doing things a bit differently since I already made blog posts about the entire project management team. I had the opportunity to chat with Patrick Canez, our Shipping and Logistics Manager, about his hectic but rewarding job instead. He had a lot of great advice that came from his many years of experience in the field. If you’ve ever wanted to know who was responsible for ensuring all packages for tests are delivered, this is the interview to read!

This is now the fifth interview I’ve done with the program management team. Previously I interviewed Carol Lee, Cameron Bell, Ty Wells, and Mike Fine. If you happened to discover this interview and are feeling eager to start testing with us, registering for Betabound will get you started on your beta testing journey!

An Interview with Patrick Canez

Can you talk a little bit about your background and how you came to work at Centercode?

My experience with logistics first started about 20 years ago when I got a job with UPS. While there, I was a dock manager for a couple of loading teams and eventually started managing small sort and helping with dispatch. Once I had enough experience at UPS, I decided to leave and move to a more logistics-centric office job and went to work for C2O Coconut Water. At that point, I was importing containers from Thailand to the U.S. including direct containers to other countries while handling the distribution orders from Distribution Centers across the U.S.

That taught me a lot about the bigger aspect of logistics. With UPS, I was only able to see domestic parcel shipments. At C2O I was taking care of freight and rail lines, importing drayage (transportation of shipping containers), and coordinating with our suppliers in the shipyards. After C2O, I got a position at the car company Brabus, where I imported products from Germany and exporting to our clients in Canada and the United States. Eventually, I decided I needed a change, applied for Centercode, and got the position. It was a great decision and the best move of my life.

“A successful logistics manager is always ahead of everything that is expected. You need to be proactive about regulations, international and domestic shipping policy changes, and potential weather-related shipping delays.”

What is your daily routine like as a Shipping and Logistics Manager?

On the daily, I open up our active projects that have shipped within the past two weeks to either make sure that the delivery has been made or to see if the testers are following the compliance rules when it comes to returning the product on time. I will open up the UPS and FedEx software to ensure tracking is complete. I will also reach out to testers who are non-compliant and have short conversations with them regarding the return, making sure I can help them out. 

When it comes to international testers, I’m making calls at the beginning of my day to Europe, and at the end of my day to Asia due to the different time zones. It can be a bit of a juggle to make sure everything is done at the best possible time. Every day, I also reach out to my team members who are running projects to see if everything is good on their end and if they need anything from me. I’m constantly checking in with my coworkers to make sure that everything is good on their side.

What are some things that make a successful logistics manager?

First of all, you have to care. There are a lot of moving parts in logistics, so nothing is consistently going to end up the way that you expect. It’s about caring for your projects, caring about the travel time, and making sure that this one person on this one test picked up their test unit when they requested to send it to a drop zone. It’s all the little details that go into the work that make it successful. 

There are a lot of things you might think won’t need attention. That is until you’re warned about it by either the shipper, the receiver, the client, or the project manager. A successful logistics manager is always ahead of everything that is expected. You need to be proactive about regulations, international and domestic shipping policy changes, and potential weather-related shipping delays. Transportation is a constant juggle.

“Testers may think that they are just one person and do not matter for the results of the test, but that is far from the truth.”

What do you enjoy about your role?

I like that I am not talking to the same people every day, and every day brings something different. My days are not repetitive, which makes it fun. It is a bit stressful, but I find the constantly changing nature of my job the best part.

What piece of advice would you like to give to testers?

For testers, it’s being able to be forthcoming. You are not going to get in trouble if you can’t test for some reason, or if you have to drop off in the middle of a test for a family emergency or other personal reasons. Some testers may think they will get punished by our tester scoring if they decide to leave in the middle of a test. However, it is better that you leave in the middle of the test, so we can get responses from a replacement tester. 

Testers may think that they are just one person and do not matter for the results of the test, but that is far from the truth. Instead of a client thinking that there is an inactive tester, we can tell the client the tester dropped out. We can replace them and still get them the desired amount of feedback. In general, just being vocal and letting us know your thoughts on how the test is running is super valuable when testing.

If you could choose any one thing to test, what would it be?

I would love to test e-motorized vehicles. The industry is really growing and the technology is getting a lot better. Now we have scooters, bikes, hoverboards, and skateboards. I would love to test one of these on a long-term basis.

What’s your favorite hobby outside of work?

My normal year-round hobbies are mountain biking and road biking. I am lucky enough to live in an area where there are mountains or hills in almost every direction. Where I live, we have an amazing road biking system where I feel safe. As for mountain biking, I can easily drive to the best spots, do my thing, come home, and not have it be an all-day event. So cycling is the thing that I find fun and like to do the most often.

Fin.

With that, this is the end of my interview with our amazing logistics manager. You typically do not want to be chatting with Patrick (as it means you have not returned a device yet and should have), but if you are on a hardware test you can be certain he played a part in getting your product to you. If you want to give your thoughts on the interview, feel free to leave a comment below or reach out to us at hello@betabound.com and I’ll make sure Patrick sees your message!

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