A year ago, Jan-Henrik Jankes stepped into the role of Global Operations Manager at Greencarrier Liner Agency, and with that also into the company’s new AI core team. His approach to both is the same: stay curious and don’t be afraid to try.
– I’m eager to learn, so I took every opportunity as soon as I could, says Jan-Henrik Jankes.
Jan-Henrik Jankes laughs when asked what has surprised him most since he took on his new role. As Global Operations Manager, he works across Greencarrier Liner Agency’s seven offices in Europe – a role that covers a bit of everything, from day-to-day operational questions to development projects meant to benefit all offices. Since each office has its own way of working, a large part of the job is finding solutions that work for everyone.
– I’m very humbled and grateful that I got the opportunity to grow with the company. It’s a diverse role, and it’s a fantastic opportunity to learn about so many aspects of Greencarrier Liner Agency that I hadn’t seen before, he says.
Growing at Greencarrier – learning the chain from both ends
Before taking on the role, Jan-Henrik worked with import and export at Greencarrier Liner Agency. He also spent a year at Greencarrier Consolidators Finland, where he experienced Liner Agency from a customer’s perspective. These experiences gave him a broad understanding of the logistics industry. They also made him wonder: Could things be done more simply?
– I’ve always been curious about that, and I love working with people. When the role came up, it was a no-brainer to apply.
Even so, he is quick to point out that he still has a lot to learn – and that his colleagues are his most important source of knowledge.
– Each department is so deep. You must be humble and willing to learn from colleagues who have much more experience than you. They’re the ones who give the best knowledge.
How AI is changing day-to-day work in shipping
Alongside his role as Global Operations Manager, Jan-Henrik is part of Greencarrier’s AI core team. The team works in two directions: identifying areas in daily operations where AI can take over manual work and helping colleagues start using AI as a tool in their own work.
While working at Greencarrier Consolidators, Jan-Henrik began testing AI tools on his own, for example, to speed up calculations in his daily work.
– It started out of curiosity, just trying it out and seeing where I could use it. It was quite a surface level thing, but it was new, and it was fun to try it out.
“At the end of the day, it’s about how creative you are willing to be”
Today, curiosity has become part of his job. However, implementing AI in a shipping agency environment comes with its own challenges. As Greencarrier Liner Agency acts as an agent for Evergreen Line, many of the daily processes and systems are closely connected to Evergreen’s ecosystem.
– A lot of how we work is within Evergreen’s systems and processes. That means any AI initiative must be developed carefully together with Evergreen, or we need to find solutions that can operate independently of their systems.
Making AI part of everyday work
To help colleagues get familiar with AI in a secure and practical way, Greencarrier has implemented Microsoft Copilot as a starting point. Jan-Henrik holds sessions where he shows how and where AI can be used in their daily work. The biggest obstacle is often taking the first step.
– More often than not, people are curious to try it, but a bit hesitant because they don’t know how to use it. So don’t be afraid to try. Just taking the first baby steps is usually a good help, he says.
As colleagues become more confident using AI, everyday tasks become easier and faster. This includes drafting emails, analyzing data in Excel, researching information and creating presentations.
– At the end of the day, it’s about how creative you are willing to be with it. You can find so many uses for it.
Turning AI into real value
For Jan-Henrik, the goal is not AI for its own sake, but to free up time for higher-value work. By automating manual and repetitive tasks, colleagues can focus more on activities that require human expertise and customer interaction. The impact today is still developing, but long-term potential is significant.
– As colleagues become more comfortable using AI, and as we identify the right opportunities within our operations, the benefits will become increasingly visible. The challenge right now is finding the areas where AI can create the most value, he says and continues:
– Now that I’ve found my stride, I want to dive deeper and help drive more AI initiatives within Greencarrier Liner Agency. The goal is to get practical projects off the ground that make a real difference in our daily work.
And what surprised him most during his first year? Not a specific challenge, but how broad the role turned out to be. According to Jan-Henrik, new challenges appear almost every day, and the opportunity to learn is endless. As he puts it:
– The sky’s the limit.
Read more about our people at Greencarrier here: https://blog.greencarrier.com/from-trainee-to-customer-service-annas-journey-at-greencarrier-liner-agency-denmark/
