What's your background?
I grew up in Hawkes Bay, before moving to Auckland to study at the University of Auckland. I graduated with a Bachelor of Commerce in Marketing and Information Systems at the end of 2020. During my time at uni, I had the opportunity to work for the Ports of Auckland, as part of their Learning and Development team. This gave me my first exposure to the logistics industry and helped steer my career direction towards joining the DHL Supply Chain graduate program.
After an exciting journey through the DSC grad program, I took on an operations supervisor role for around a year and a half, and have just recently moved on to an Account Manager position.
What's your job about?
I am currently an Account Manager for a few of our customers in the consumer sector. Based across a couple of sites, these operations service our customer's warehousing and distribution requirements in New Zealand. My role as an Account Manager focuses largely on maintaining DHL’s relationship with these clients, including financial aspects and working with the operations teams to share customer feedback and areas of focus.
How has the Graduate Program contributed to your journey?
The graduate program at DSC was a great way to experience all aspects of what we do as a business and understand the wider industry we work in. It allowed me to work in different teams, sectors, support functions and operations, to develop my skills and build relationships with many great people working for DHL SC. This networking aspect of the program is the biggest contributor to where I am today, with the opportunity to work alongside mentors and figure out my next steps after the program.
Could someone with a different background do your job?
Definitely! I didn’t have a degree in Operations/Supply Chain Management, so coming into DHL has been a chance to learn on the job and grow in my current position. Having the right attitude, and being open to learning and building relationships is the key more than anything.
What's the coolest thing about your job?
Fairly cliché – but it’s the people you get to work with! I loved working as an operations supervisor in the warehouse because of the variety of characters you get to spend time working alongside. As an Account Manager, it’s the same, with the added benefit of engaging with customers in a different way, as well as all the other stakeholders you end up working with across the wider supply chain network. Probably because of the industry we work in, and the shared goal of getting the job done, I’ve been able to build really strong connections with people from all walks of life that I wouldn’t have otherwise, which I’m grateful for.
What are the limitations of your job?
Like most jobs I’m sure, there are busy periods where a lot is going on! I found this particularly working in the operations as a supervisor, there’s always a new challenge to address or a problem to solve. As I’m fairly fresh in my new role, I can’t speak too much about its limitations. There’s plenty more I’m learning each day, and there’s been a great support structure to help me with that.
Three pieces of advice for yourself when you were a student...