“I enjoy being in logistics and I believe in having work-life balance. If there’s no balance, then what’s the point of working? We, as humans, need to have rest—whether it’s taking a nap, talking to colleagues or having a quiet time by ourselves.”

_{– Khristino Abdullah}

Khristino Abdullah works as an operations executive for Janio Singapore. He started as a warehouse driver in 2018 and is currently responsible for handling our last mile and network partners. This involves ensuring service-level agreements (SLAs) are met and issues are handled properly. He emphasises the importance of having constant communication and good judgement, which are vital to excel in this role.

Khris has a certificate in chemical process technology and began his career as a process technician at a healthcare company. As his whole family is in the logistics industry along with his own enjoyment of being involved in logistics as well, he eventually found his way to Janio. As part of Janio’s operations team, he often talks and deals with different individuals to sort out problems. At times, he feels like an investigative officer who helps customers find the cause and solutions to their parcel issues.

Khris believes in having a good work-life balance. He knows that taking breaks are needed to be productive and why we should take care of ourselves. Aside from having soya bean curd during his breaks, he enjoys spending time riding his motorbike either alone or with his fellow Janio colleagues, especially after a stressful week at work. His usual ride consists of a coast-to-coast route in Singapore or even crossing over to Johor Bahru. Although his favourite route so far is the one crossing the Senai-Desaru Expressway — the bridge makes him feel like he’s in Los Angeles.

Getting to know Khristino:
Q. What is your favourite memory with the Operations team?
A. A lot! One of them is back in Namly, our first office, where some of the guys and I like to play pranks on each other. In general, I like to talk to my colleagues and ask them about their well-being or if they have already eaten breakfast. If they haven’t I get them something to eat.

Q. What’s a typical day like for you?
A: I talk to a lot of people—colleagues, customers, partners. I get all types of questions like the whereabouts of a parcel or any last-mile delivery issues. So it is essential for me to constantly communicate with everyone. If I don’t, I won’t know anything happening in the warehouse.

And in this line of work, you need to trust your guts. You need to consider what could be the right solution, you also need to think about the after-effects of your decisions. There are times when a customer asks us to leave their parcel at their riser but when our driver reaches their destination, they cannot open it and the customer is unreachable. So I have to make a call about what’s the best thing to do at the time.

Q. If you weren’t an operations specialist, what would you be?
A. I’ll probably be a process technician. I have a chemical process technology certificate and before joining the eCommerce or logistics industry, I worked as a process technician at a healthcare company. My family are all in the logistics industry and I briefly tried a different path, but my heart really belongs to logistics and I really enjoy working in this industry.

Q. How do you manage your breaks outside the warehouse, especially during peak shipping season?
A. It’s all about time management. Based on my experience, the problems and issues come in the afternoon. So I make sure that I have had something to eat and finished up any work that needs to be done before then. I believe in having a work-life balance. If there’s no balance, then what’s the point of working? We, as humans, need to have rest—whether it’s taking a nap, talking to colleagues or having a quiet time by ourselves.

Q. What are your hobbies or activities that you look forward to doing
on the weekends or after work?
A. After a stressful week, I ride my motorbike. I usually go by myself or with colleagues (and ex-colleagues). We often ride coast-to-coast around Singapore or sometimes cross to Johor Bahru or Malacca. My favourite route is the one going to Desaru. There’s a long bridge there and I often imagine myself to be in Los Angeles.

Q. What is the one thing you can’t live without?
A. Food. When I joined Janio I weighed 106 kg only and after three years, I am now 120 kg. I would say that it is one of the sources of my happiness. I love having soya beancurd which I usually get from Giant. I can definitely eat it all day.

Interested in joining us? Check out our open positions here or share your CV at HR@janio.asia.

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