It’s fine to make mistakes but learn from them

Victor Murungi has seen and done it all in the agro chemical industry on top of practicing in a number of districts. He believes in loving and enjoying whatever you are doing as it will eventually take you places.

What is your typical day like?

My typical day varies really depending on whether I am in the field or in the office. While at the office, I start by tending to my emails. I then give about an hour or two to understanding different competitor activities. I analyze their different strategies most of which I indirectly try to implement in my team to push to be on the same wavelength. There are so many phone calls from clients, most of which I try to take. I usually wind down by sitting at the front desk to help out in sales, an area where I gather a lot of information regarding our daily activities. This might not be exhaustive because I sometimes extend my work late into the night now that we are trying to get our own products. I will stay up a lot trying to have everything regarding drug registration in check. 

Did you set out to be an Operations Manager Veterinary Services when you were growing up?

While growing up, I always fancied engineering and maybe Law (I grew up in a judge’s house). For the fear of blood that I have, I never saw myself anywhere close to medicine. I didn’t think about management either. I may attribute this to insufficient career guidance back then.

However, when I got admitted to Makerere University for my Bachelor’s Degree in Veterinary Medicine, a lot changed. My fear for blood didn’t diminish but I thought to myself. What is it under this BVM umbrella can I embrace with minimal spillage? The answer was in Veterinary Pharmaceuticals. I set my sights on this path and from the time I left university, all I have done is in the Veterinary Pharmaceutical Business.
 
What does your role as an Operations Manager Veterinary Services entail?

My role is vast. I typically carry the entire sector on my back. The expectations are really high considering that your mother company is arguably the biggest and best in the region. I am charged with developing the product range which means that I read a lot. I meet a lot of potential suppliers, I read a lot about competitor products, Drug dossiers in the event we opt to register a certain drug.

I have a team that I manage which means that you have to make sure everything the team does propels the company forward.

There is a problem of short expiries that you have to deal with

I forecast for the company how much of each product we need to stock.

I occasionally do sales

I help in the marketing and promotion of company products and so many more.

All this is of course done with the help from other departments within the company.

You promote, market and sell a good number of products and services. Are there some business titbits you would like to share?

There isn’t anything extraordinary about how to run a business. The concepts are pretty much the same. In my opinion, if you are consistent, trustworthy, customer centric, patient and most importantly love what you are doing, You will thrive. Business can have its lows and highs and I believe if you can manage both ends of the spectrum correctly, you are good to go.

Don’t forget to have the right team with the right attitude. I don’t believe in micromanagement but as earlier noted, you must have the right team.
 
What skills/does it take to be a good Operations Manager Veterinary Services?

You have got to be very patient. Because you work with so many people, not everyone is at your wavelength. Some people are quicker than you and others are not as quick so you need to find a balance which will help you move smoothly. You need to acquire as much knowledge as possible, Business dynamics keep changing and you need to be up to speed.

Because you are selling something and the customers are the ones who will shoot you forward, your customer relations should always be at an all-time high i.e., your emotions should never interfere with your judgement. You have to be willing to work an extra hour or two.

Lastly you have to be able to make quick but well thought through decisions. This is a skill that comes with experience and any one starting out should be excused if they blunder here and there. 

What has been your greatest challenge in your career path over the years and how have you tackled it?

I have been lucky enough to work under very good employers like Eram, Bimeda and Now the mighty Bukoola. To be honest I can’t point out a time in my career where I have had huge challenges that were not of my own making. Most of the challenges faced were predominantly my faults which could have come due to inexperience and how I could have handled might not be the best but now I know better and I believe the sky’s the limit for me.

What has been your career highlight? Have you registered any achievements in your career path so far?

Working with Bukoola in this capacity is hands down my biggest achievement. When I joined the pharmaceutical industry, I always prayed that I would get to this point. I didn’t expect it to come as soon as it did but I serve a living God and despite all the highs and lows of my career, God has put me here and In a special way I thank the management of BUKOOLA chemical industries for having blessed me with this opportunity
 
Has there been a time when you felt you were on the wrong career path and should be doing something different and why was that if so?

Definitely when you go through some turbulent times, you always rethink your decisions and more often than not you want an easy way out. Yes, there are times when I thought twice about the career path I was taking and the people around me didn’t help either. But I have always had that self-belief and I can be patient. I have always known that this is my path. It is not easy but it’s nothing I cannot do.
 
Where do you see yourself in regards to your career, five years down the road?

I want to see Bukoola veterinary climb to the top of the business chain in the Veterinary Pharmaceutical industry.  Career wise I feel I am where I think I should be but like I said the sky’s the limit and if I can climb to the clouds with my current employers, I would be more than happy because they made my dream a reality and why not reciprocate the favor.

And yes, Bukoola has a Veterinary Section which is almost as powerful as the Agrochemical side.