People @ Proxiad: Todor Sotirov and Svilen Vuchkov, Senior EDI Specialists
No, you’re not seeing double. Our second People @ Proxiad interview will introduce you to two valuable members of our FM Logistics team that was formed back in June 2020. They are Todor Sotirov and Svilen Vuchkov, and though their job descriptions may be the same, their Proxiad journey couldn’t be more different!
How did you become a part of the FM Logistics team?
Todor: Long story short, I applied awhile back for a different position at Proxiad, but didn’t make the cut. Last year, in the middle of the pandemic, I had to switch jobs. A Proxiad recruiter contacted me on LinkedIn about a new project that was going to start soon. I decided to see what this project would be, even though I had already found another opportunity.
Svilen: I’ve been a part of Proxiad for 10 years now and during that time I’ve worked on several different projects. A year ago, we received an inquiry by a potential client looking to build an EDI team. Based on my previous experience, I was asked to help prove our domain expertise by solving a task sent by the client together with the team. The solution I provided secured the contract signing with this new customer. I was so excited to see this new opportunity come to our Proxiad family but stayed on with my previous team for the time being. 6 months later, I couldn’t miss the chance to join the FM Logistics team.
How did you expect it to go?
Todor: To be frank, I didn’t know what I was getting myself into. I’m not the most technical person in the world, so I knew I would need some time to get a grasp of the work dynamic. I knew it was going to be difficult at first, but again, I like a good challenge, so either way, I would have tried to give it my best. I had already worked with some of my current colleagues before, so I knew that we would collaborate well.
Svilen: I knew this new challenge would give me the opportunity to gain more knowledge in the logistics domain. Of course, I was going to rely on other team members’ help at the beginning so I could quickly dive deeper. I also expected that my mission would be to see if the team lacks some process experience and try to implement new ones if needed, based on my previous competence.
How did it actually go?
Todor: So far so good! The customer seems happy and we work well together as a team. It’s been fun. Though we have had some periods during which work was intense, we’ve always managed to pull through and give it our best. We have built a good team, efficient yet fun.
Svilen: Actually, I was pleasantly surprised that most of the things actually happened pretty much the way I thought they would. Now I have 6 months behind me in this project and I feel more comfortable each day. This is because of my colleagues here but also thanks to the team that is working with us in France.
How would you describe your job to someone who doesn’t know anything about what you do?
Todor: We work for a logistics company which has a lot of ongoing projects with different customers. It’s our job to make sure that the technical side of the communication between them and their customers is created and maintained. This is linked to creating and opening data communication channels on our side. It’s a complex job, but it does make sense in the big picture.
Svilen: I work for an internal team of specialists that are responsible for the smooth flow of document transactions linked to the warehouse management systems and structures. Our main activity is to do the technical translation of different incoming or outgoing files that are different in format – our goal is to make various systems that use different languages understand each other and communicate in order to facilitate the logistics process. The main technical formats that we maintain are REFLEX, INFOLOG, IDOC XML, and multiple in-house flat file formats. Another aspect of our work is the setup of customer flows, connections between servers, and timely coordination of tasks that cover the EDI processes.
What do you think people should know about Proxiad?
Todor: I came to work for the company in the midst of the pandemic when the office was empty, I didn’t meet my colleagues (outside of my team) for quite some months. Nonetheless, when I met each one of them, it was really easy to get to know them. The people make up Proxiad and the atmosphere is different from what I’ve seen in other companies – they are cool, nice and easygoing.
Svilen: The first and most important thing for me is the friendly atmosphere in Proxiad. For sure this comes also from our management team who are ambassadors of this social environment. They make sure everyone feels comfortable in their own way so we could do our best every day. Another important thing is that our Proxiad family is growing each year and new joiners are always welcome. Here you could find many different technologies and plenty of projects. We also provide the opportunity to switch between different projects and thus remain motivated in the same company. And last but not least, in August we are moving to a great new place with a 360-degree view of Sofia and plenty of other benefits which I hope will bring all colleagues back to the office, so we could finally meet again in person.
