We are delighted to have welcomed a new member to the Replenishh team!

Lukasz Zamojda joins us as our EV Buyer. Lukasz (pictured, right) will be starting his Replenishh career by working from home, although hopefully it won't be too long before he and the rest of the Replenishh team are back in our office. Here is a quick Q&A to find out a little more about Lukasz and what he will be doing at Replenishh.

Welcome to Replenishh Lukasz. How did you get here?

LZ: I am Polish and came to the UK in 2007. Some of my friends were already living here and they convinced me to join them. I decided to take a risk and do it, initially only for a year. My girlfriend (now my wife) and I arrived at Luton airport and we had no idea what to do next, as neither of us could speak any English. But here I am, nearly 14 years later!

In Poland I studied Business management and had a variety of jobs in power tools manufacturing. In England I worked for Ichiban UK, the biggest UK manufacturer of Japanese inspired cuisine. I started as a production operative and worked my way up. After a few years in production I had the opportunity to join the engineering team, firstly as a “trolley technician”, then as Engineering stores controller. This is where I gained a lot of my procurement experience. My main responsibility was inventory management and sourcing MRO items.

What will be your main duties in your role?

LZ: As EV Buyer I will be responsible for overseeing the inventory and supply chain for the EV product range. My main duties will include:

• Product sourcing
• Inventory optimisation
• Supplier base review
• Stocks review
• Negotiating contract terms
• Daily management of purchase orders

What interested you about Replenishh and what will you be looking to achieve here?

LZ: I think the key factor which grabbed my attention was the EV industry in which Replenishh operates. I see Replenishh as a company with a huge potential for future growth. As we all know the automotive industry started transitioning from vehicles powered by classic combustion engines to going fully electric. As the amount of electric cars on our roads grow every year, demand for EV charging points will grow even quicker. I am a huge fan of cars and being part of an industry which operates so close to the automotive sector seems to be a great opportunity. I would also love to learn more about EV charging technology.

Looking at the EV industry as a whole, what do you see as the biggest challenge the industry faces?

LZ: I think there are two major challenges for the EV industry:

1. Current power network infrastructure. A growing amount of electric vehicles will have a huge impact on general electricity demand. I haven’t done deep research in this field, but I would think current infrastructure will need huge investment and development to cope with future demand.
2. Another challenge is technology limitation. Current batteries offer relatively low range between recharges and charging time can be long. I am pretty sure technology will change rapidly, and there will be new types of batteries and chargers available. From a buyer's perspective, changes in technology might have a huge impact on procurement strategy. There must be a constant focus on new technologies aligned to managing stock obsolescence.

What are the major opportunities for the EV industry in 2021?

LZ: I think major opportunities are driven by governments. New policies encourage drivers to go electric. For example schemes like the Plug -in-Car Grant Scheme, which gives drivers 35% or up to £2500 discount off electric cars priced under £35,000 might have a positive impact on sales. And as we know, higher numbers of electric cars on the road means a higher demand for charging points.

It's not all work, work, work. What do you enjoy doing outside the office?

LZ: I am a proper petrolhead. I like driving cars and also like to do services or repairs myself. Although I know that soon I will need to convert to being an electrichead, if that is a thing! I do love classic cars, especially from the 70s to mid-90s. I recently started looking at motorbikes as well. I have a two year-old dog, Doris. We spend quite a lot of time on long walks in local forests and surrounding countryside.