When Chris Baker joined Clone, he brought with him a passion for problem-solving and logistics that perfectly matches our busy warehouse environment. Whether he’s managing stock systems or solving complex international shipping puzzles, Chris keeps everything moving smoothly behind the scenes. With heavy metal playing in the background and a team that tackles everything from volcanic soil to urgent trade show deliveries, no two days are ever the same.
What does an average day look like for you?
Every morning starts with our production meeting. We spend about 20-30 minutes going through what’s happening that day, what projects are coming up, and any preparations we need to make for tomorrow or the next day. It gives everyone a clear picture of where we all stand.
The rest of my day varies enormously, which I love. Stock arrives constantly, and everything needs to be counted and checked in properly. Sometimes it’s Gary handling deliveries, sometimes it’s me. We get shipments for specific jobs that might include 50 of this item and 567 of another – these can span weeks as we wait for all components to arrive before we can pack and ship the complete order.
We also manage ongoing fulfilment for clients. Swagpack, for instance, sends us weekly lists of names and addresses, and we pick their packs off the shelves and get them out to customers. It’s a constant flow of inventory coming in and going back out.
What do you enjoy most about your role?
The variety keeps me engaged every single day. I never know what challenge is going to land on my desk. People throw curveballs and urgent requests at us all the time, and I genuinely enjoy the problem-solving aspect.
What I particularly love is dealing with international shipping complications. I enjoy getting stuck into customs problems and working out solutions. We’re handling more trade shows for our clients now, and international shipping for exhibitions is significantly more complex – I get stuck in sorting those challenges out.
The warehouse itself has a great atmosphere. We’ve got music playing – the team usually have regular radio stations on, but when I’m down there, we switch to rock and heavy metal. It’s probably exactly what you’d imagine for a warehouse environment!
Can you share a memorable project you’ve worked on?
One of the strangest things we’ve handled was volcanic soil. The client wanted us to portion exactly 80 grams into small bags and send them to over 100 employees. We’ve actually done this job twice for them over the past couple of years, and they’ve placed another order for different soil. There’s still one bag sitting down there somewhere!
It was such a random project – you look at this tiny bag of soil and wonder what anyone can do with 80 grams. Maybe grow a tiny plant?
How do you handle the logistics challenges?
Because I don’t get involved in the design, purchasing, or client conversations, my focus is purely on the logistics – getting things packed properly and out the door efficiently. But that’s where it gets interesting with international work.
Customs can be straightforward, but sometimes, when you start digging, you discover the paperwork is missing something crucial that a particular country requires. Each destination might have weird, specific requirements that aren’t standard. Sometimes, working through these issues with the courier companies takes a while.
The satisfaction comes from solving these problems, especially when it’s down to the wire, and an event or deadline is looming. Getting everything sorted in time – that’s a result.
What do you get up to outside of work?
Life revolves around my two-and-a-half-year-old son, Obi. I don’t know how I managed to get that name past my wife – I’m a bit of a Star Wars fan! Weekends are spent running around with him, he’s quite the character!
For the past few years, I’ve been taking guitar lessons. I head round to my mate’s house every week for guitar lessons. We jam to a lot of classic rock and heavy metal.
And if you ever need exactly 80 grams of volcanic soil, I know where to find it!
