The latest addition to our Forward Thinkers series is EDI Specialist, Kevin Bell.
Kevin joined Forward Computers in 1998 and has over 25 years of experience in the freight industry under his belt.
His first introduction to Forward Solutions was when he worked as a Technical Director at Ecotrans Ltd in 1986. The transport and logistics service were one of the first customers of Forward Office, with Kevin becoming hugely familiar with the capabilities of the software during his 12-year stint at the business.
In March 1988, Kevin was eager for a new challenge. After his experience with the system at Forward, he applied for a position at the company and took on the role of Project and Implementation Manager. In this role, he was provided with his own set of clients to look after. His skillset is focused mostly on Electronic Data Interchange (EDI) and he created documents for the external and internal use of EDI for a selection of customers.
After progressing into an Integration Specialist role, he has recently transitioned into a training-focused position alongside Nigel Smith, with the pair looking to share over five decades of their combined knowledge.
Although he will be helping the internal team and customers with different modules of the system, he will be specifically positioned to ensure that his knowledge of EDI is passed on to them.
Kevin added:
“As I have been at Forward for over 25 years, I have seen massive changes in the way the business operates. I used to deal with a lot of face-to-face communication with customers and the internal team, but now I will be hosting training sessions, both online and in-person.
“I am eager to share my knowledge with our people, especially when it comes down to EDI. The staff at Forward always need to have lots of knowledge of all the systems, but It’s great to be an expert in an area as specific as EDI. It means I can give confidence to the next generation of our staff who are coming through, and we, as a business, will retain this information.”
Outside of work, Kevin is a huge music fan and aims to attend up to 50 gigs each year! His favourite song is Sweet Little Mystery by John Martin. He is also into lots of sports and is a supporter of Manchester City FC.
