How Do You Deliver, Ruslan? I Keep It Simple.
As Zalando continues to grow and evolve, so does our culture. Our Founding Mindset (OFM), first introduced in 2019, was designed to guide how we work together across the company. But it was never fully adapted for the realities of warehouses. Now, as part of a group-wide refresh, we’re doing things differently. For the first time, our warehouse teams have created a version of the OFM that truly reflects how we work, what we value, and what it takes to deliver – together.
But who really lives that? Meet Ruslan. He's a truck driver in the Shipping department at our Mönchengladbach fulfilment centre. For him, "We keep it simple" isn't just a slogan—it's his whole life motto. He’s about to show us why simplicity is the smartest way to get the job done.
3 min
30 October 2025
When Ruslan places two swap bodies one after the other, he doesn't do it by chance. He does it because it allows the containers with the parcels to be loaded onto the lorry in one go. "If drivers can do without uncoupling lorries in between and can also collapse 2x four support legs at the same time, this will definitely save 25 minutes," says Ruslan.
He always takes the quickest and shortest route, as a matter of principle. If Ruslan is parking a lorry in the yard, he parks it as close as possible to the office where the delivery papers are: this saves another few minutes. And when he is delivering a pallet of new cardboard boxes on a forklift truck, he cuts away the binding wire with his knife. "Then my colleagues can get to work straight away and start folding the boxes," he says. Our Founding Mindset (OFM) principle "We keep it simple" is actually Ruslan's life motto of sorts.
Ruslan Pays Close Attention
The former professional soldier from Siberia has been supporting us in Shipping at our fulfilment centre in Moenchengladbach since 2018. No matter what he is doing, if he realises he can help, then he helps. "I love finding solutions for how to make things easier for people, or make their work easier," he says. For him, this includes paying close attention to what his colleagues are doing so he can offer to help out at the right time.
For example, when he is training new drivers: "Sometimes they will take longer routes when starting out," says the 47-year-old, who worked as a lorry driver for nine years before starting at Zalando. "I show them how to make things easier, simpler and quicker." He smiles kindly: "People shouldn't make life so difficult for themselves." Sometimes people feel challenged with his suggestions at first, for example if he suggests an alternative approach to a job that he considers to be easier. But he can usually win them over in the end with the good points he makes.
It Doesn't Always Work Out
In his private life, however, Ruslan's motto sometimes reaches its limits, like when parenting his five children. "But especially when shopping with my wife!" he says and laughs, because she likes to browse around several shops and take her time, while Ruslan prefers to get in and out quickly. "'Do ‘we keep it simple'? Preferably yes, but unfortunately it doesn't always work out."
