outside sales representative

driver

customer service representative

warehouse worker

warehouse/driver

Distribution International

I attained this temporary role after graduating from college. As a recent graduate, I was very excited to learn and grow as a finance professional. I learned a great deal about accounts payable and corporate accounting and finance, in general. The department manager was very helpful and supportive of the team, they always kept their cool during times of stress and knew how to proceed and direct the team. The person responsible for training me, however, wasn't always approachable and, quite frankly, constantly seemed impatient and overwhelmed. As a result, I was sometimes reluctant to seek help and proceeded to either figure things out on my own or consult other team members. A small department combined with a constantly expanding company made for heavy workloads and often long hours resulting in overtime, which was frowned upon but inevitably necessary to complete our tasks. 

Overall, the culture at DI was centered around "family" and teamwork, though in reality, it seemed rather cliquey and, at times, gossipy. The particular office I was at exuded an uninspiring corporate ambiance: no windows, dim lighting, workers frequently complained, loudly sighed in disappointment, cursed out loud, became upset, and some didn't seem to care about their responsibilities at all. Working with various internal stakeholders made me realize the structural inefficiencies present at DI. Inconsistent and outdated processes, favoritism, incompetence, and lack of communication and transparency led to frequent instances of miscommunication, misinformation, delays, and unnecessary frustrations. Despite my efforts to streamline my tasks, the aforementioned hindrances didn't subdue and only continued to render my job dissatisfying. Several months later I was unexpectedly let go due to "unsatisfactory performance." As discouraging and hard as that was, I accept that it was for the best in the long run.

My advice to DI's upper management is clear: prioritize standardization and modernization of internal operations, thorough implementation and adequate training, and appropriate discipline regardless of tenure and/or relationship with management. From what I learned and saw during my time at DI, the main expansion strategy is growth through mergers and acquisitions. While I don't necessarily oppose this, I do think it's indispensable to also focus on revamping DI's operations structure, especially in regards to efficiency and scalability. Otherwise, these mergers and acquisitions will only lead to increasingly mediocre and inefficient business procedures, and overall "unsatisfactory performance."

What is the best part of working at the company?
Winning customer bids and servicing them for these projects. 

What is the most stressful part about working at the company?
It's a hypercompetitive industry. Success is driven by sales volume at very low margins and it's very relationship based. It's challenging for anyone new to the industry. 

What is the work environment and culture like at the company?
The work environment and culture amongst all the branches are inconsistent because many branches were purchased from smaller companies over time. They were not created and grown organically. So each branch had its own culture and operated like it's own entity. The company is so big and corporate direction so minimal that most branches operated inconsistently. 

What is a typical day like for you at the company?
Morning meetings with the team, helping to process customer orders, inventory checks, helping to pull orders, helping to receive orders, scheduling next day deliveries. Note there is a lot of lifting in volume. The insulation material is heavy and bulky and contains dusty fiberglass particles that get all over the body.

A typical day at my branch of Distribution International consists of answering sales calls and helping any customers at the counter, as well as helping any customer with any questions or concerns pertaining to orders or technical questions on material. I've learned the basics of sales, customer service and logistics. This position has helped me immensely in almost every field of office work. Our management at times is not up to par with what a company of this size should be, but it's better than any other company I've been with previously. My co-workers in sales are great, however, my peers in the warehouse can be spotty as most of the time they are only in temporary positions. The hardest part is dealing with the lead times for most contractors, they need their material ASAP when some material can't be ready for weeks at a time. Overall I just enjoy having a customer express their gratitude for my hard work and dedication to customer service, it makes the job all worth it.

Company under management change and culture change without clear path to accomplish this transformation. Labor force currently with fear of the unknown with many task at the same time a little time to do it.  Limited resources and poor management experience in current manufacturing environment is creating Caos that will take at least 3 years to settle down.  They are currently looking for the magic formula and it is not dictatorship management.  If you are a Servant Leader or Diplomatic leader this is not a place for you at this time. They want hard hand with will affect production and morale at all levels.  Thrust is not a word to have there because it might change 
next day as new leadership is changing.  It does not matter what you have done if you do not agree then you are out.  If you want to work here you have to be a Yes man and follow the flow to oblivion.   This company has a lot of Potential and great workers with longevity and very loyal to the company.  This will be lost!

The job used to be fun. New hires and petty employees put in positions with no experience ruined that. The people I worked with used to be happy to show up to the job, which in turn had them working better.
The branch I left had it's drivers doing what their "warehouse coordinator" should be doing on a daily basis, and those that spoke up about it were "punished" with extra work. 
Management knows when the "higher ups" are coming so things definitely change the week they're expected. In my opinion, they shouldn't announce visits and just drop in unannounced to see the real day to day operations. 
Overall the job was steady with decent pay. If you like to be recognized for your work and are looking to advance then this is not the place for you.


A typical day consisted of getting to work, settling in, working through the orders that would be upcoming and reviewing the delivery schedule. Once the day began, it is working through quotes and orders, cutting purchase orders and transfers to fill orders and dispatching drivers to their delivery sites. During the down time it's cold calling potential customers and filling the shoes of an OSR.

A typical day at work you learn different trades cutting sheet metal fabrication. You learn how to drive a forklift propane forklift electric forklift learn how to operate it. The workplace culture is great the friendly environment. The hardest part of the job is mainly watching out for the blades when you cut the material is more of a safe work environment. The most enjoyable part of the job is showing up and getting ready for work in the morning cuz you know your day is going to be filled with a lot of productive and active duties.

What is the best part of working at the company?
Wonderful coworkers, hours, P.T.Os, weekly pay, weekends off. 

What is the most stressful part about working at the company?
Unloading a truck filled with Calsil unpalletized.

What is the work environment and culture like at the company?
A steady work environment, there's always something to do to make time pass. 

What is a typical day like for you at the company?
A normal, or typical day consist of pulling orders, filling stock, keeping all areas clean from trash & debry.

Everybody walks around miserable because the management is untrustworthy, unprofessional, and only out for themselves. There is very little respect shown for employees. Again, lots of unprofessional behavior - including verbal abuse of employees by management. No concern for excelling for the customer either. Very disheartening experience.

The staff at the facility where I was based are some of the most decent people I've ever worked with. They are the reason I was there as long as I was. And the physical part of the job was actually enjoyable enough. But the erratic schedule and the fact that it wasn't quite a "local" job made it challenging to stay. The pay was about average, the facility was a joke, and the trucks weren't really suited for the job. And there wasn't any room at all to move up the ladder. I don't really regret my time there, but I don't miss it either.

Top Job Titles	Average Salary
Outside sales representative 13 salaries reported	$111,548 per year
Driver 5 salaries reported	$21.70 per hour
Customer service representative 1 salary reported	$19.00 per hour
Warehouse worker 1 salary reported	$20.00 per hour
Warehouse/driver 1 salary reported	$22.50 per hour

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