LAST MINUTE LOGISTICS

Enhancement Of Experience

There is so much more to working for supermarket chain Countdown than what you see in store.

Behind the scenes are a myriad of specialists whose efforts enable the logistics and distribution arms of the organisation to work efficiently.

RICHARD LEE is part of a new generation of university graduates who began their careers with the Countdown graduate programme. Richard joined Countdown in February 2019 and is based at their digital office in Ponsonby, Auckland.

He has just completed one year as the lead for the eCommerce Logistics Routing and Optimisation team.

“I was leading the team as they sharpen up our logistics network and make it easier for drivers to be en route on time. It was about setting the roadmap and developing the culture to achieve our team’s mission of getting your groceries to you, where you want and when you want,” says Richard.

Richard (25) has just begun a new role with Countdown as the Product Manager for Delivery Experience.

“What we do is we listen to customers around how they feel their delivery experiences went and try and make technological enhancements to that experience.

“That can be anything from improving our transport management system or building on different parts of a customer’s experience, for example the accuracy of delivery estimates.”

What Richard loves most about his role is the opportunity for innovation.

“When it comes to problem solving, there is no set path. It is about understanding customers and understanding what kind of value we can make and then figuring out what we need to do from there.