5 YEARS AT PARCELLY! TEAM SPOTLIGHT: UMAIR VAYANI, HEAD OF NETWORK

Earlier this week marked Umair Vayani's 5th Anniversary at Parcelly! From starting his Parcelly journey as a Senior Business Development Manager in 2020 to now being the Head of Network, we would like to celebrate his successes with you in the second feature of our series of celebrated work anniversaries. 

We sat down with Umair to discuss all things Parcelly, reflecting on his journey so far and key standout moments from over the years.  

Tell me about yourself and how your journey at Parcelly began.

“I’m originally from Karachi, Pakistan. I moved to the UK in 2005 to attend the University of Manchester, where I spent four years earning a postgraduate business management certificate and a bachelor’s degree in economics. After graduating in 2009, I returned home to Pakistan for a while before coming back to the UK in 2014, where I was exploring what job industries I could go into, and this was when I discovered sales. 

I had always been good at sales throughout my university years and in business back in Pakistan, so I thought that would be a good segue into making my career. My first job in the UK was challenging, but it really taught me a lot about sales, how people work and what convinces them to sign up or say yes at the end of the day. After a few more years and experiences, I was working in credit card machine sales, selling to independent businesses, retailers, convenience stores, and restaurants. At this time, I knew that I had built good relationships with lots of merchants and shop owners, and I knew my career would be advanced selling to these businesses.

Then in 2020 I was introduced to Seb through a recruiter, where I had a two-stage interview. The first was with Seb and the second was with Dan at the time, and Michael Kuhlmann, who never does any interviews for the UK team, but he was fortunately there for mine! Within half an hour of meeting Seb, I knew I wanted the role. I knew that I could do great things with Parcelly and really expand their network because of my relationships and know-how of dealing with merchants, shop owners and retailers through my past experiences.”

How has your role evolved since you've been at Parcelly?

“One of the things I really love about Parcelly is the career growth that I have had and the career progression that is on offer here. I started as a Senior Business Development Manager, where my role was primarily signing up stores, and I have now morphed into the Head of Network, running the network in three countries, the UK, Germany and Ireland.

When I first started, my role was focused on setting up single stores and trying to convince them to become Parcelly locations. A big part of my role to begin with was that more stores would call in wanting to quit the service than actually join and I feel one of my biggest success stories is that now, 5 years on, we are in a position where we have turned that around to double digit number of stores wanting to join Parcelly and become a partner every week.

Also, when I joined, we had a large number of stores, but they were B2C-focused, which had quite low volumes. Now our average weekly volume is growing year-over-year at 28-30%, so it is a big improvement from when I joined and we’ve gotten to a really good spot.”

What have been 3 standout moments during your time at Parcelly?

"The first standout moment for me was growing the Krispy Kreme network during 2020. An interesting point to mention is that I got one week in the Parcelly office before COVID hit. I joined on 2^nd March 2020 and by March 10^th lockdown began for us, giving me literally one week in the office with the entire team and then having to work entirely from home. Even though that happened, we got the opportunity to expand Krispy Kreme significantly during this time, when most of their retail stores had to close. We reached out to stores wherever they were needed, all over the country. We split the postcodes among the team and went out to find stores. During that time, we grew the network from 12 dark stores to 85 dark stores, so I’m very happy with that.

The second standout moment would be when we hit 1,500 stores for DHL, of our 4500 total store network. When I joined Parcelly we had around 120 stores live for DHL and over time, we slowly this partnership to 1100 stores in October of 2022. I had a target of hitting 1500 by the end of that year and with a strong team behind me, my team and I achieved this target of 1500 stores. It was non-stop work for about three months to reach that goal, but it was one of the best times I've had at Parcelly because there was just a sense of accomplishment amongst the whole team that we achieved this.

The third one is our UPS partnership, which I’d love to shout out. UPS wanted in their first year to hit 400 stores, of our 4500 total store network, and we achieved that for them. And now, because of the relationship management that we have with UPS and the quality of our stores, they are expanding with us in three countries. And I think that's one of our biggest opportunities in Parcelly history. The growth we’ve had with them and the parcel volume that we’ve had with them, the numbers speak for themselves, with our last parcel peak being the largest by far."

What do you enjoy the most about working at Parcelly?

"The number one thing I enjoy working at Parcelly is the collaborative effort. I know it's cliché and everyone says they love their team and love working with them, but I actually do love my team, and I do love working with them! Number one, we get the job done, which is of course most important. Whatever target gets set for us, we work as a team to achieve that, and all departments support each other and help each other out where it's needed. I think that's the number one thing that makes me really happy about being at Parcelly.

The second thing is the growth. I love being in a high-growth company and seeing day to day, the impact that I make on a personal level and the impact that my team makes on a team level. I know if I sign 20 stores this week, two weeks later, when they're trained and live, the business performance numbers are going to go up. And I can see that with my own eyes and that’s what really makes me want to get up in the morning and come into work. I know what impact I am making, and I know that I can achieve great things with Parcelly, which is why I'm still here!"

What does the future look like?

"Looking ahead, I only see great, positive things for Parcelly. I believe we are on an unmatched trajectory within the logistics space. When I think about everything we’ve achieved over the last ten years, and especially the growth we’ve seen in the past two or three years, it’s clear that the sky's the limit for this company. 

There are a lot of clients that need us, a lot of courier companies that we would make a big impact on. And the fact that we are carrier-agnostic means that any carrier could sign up with us and use Parcelly, making us stand out in the market.

We’re now, I believe, in terms of network size, number three in the country, and the only one being fully carrier agnostic. To go from not being on the map to reaching that position is a testament to itself. I really do think we’re going to see very significant growth, with more stores and larger partners signing up, all interested to join Parcelly and be part of this rollercoaster ride."

Sebastian Steinhauser, CEO and Co-Founder of Parcelly 

"On behalf of the entire Parcelly team and board, I want to extend my heartfelt congratulations on your 5th work anniversary with us—what a milestone! I really owe you a huge thank you for your dedication, hard work, and the invaluable contributions you’ve made to Parcelly’s growth over the years. Your commitment has been instrumental in driving our vision and mission forward, and I’m incredibly proud to have you on the team.

Full throttle for the years ahead—here’s to more success, milestones, and achievements together!

Thank you again for everything, and congratulations once more!"

THANK YOU Umair for your commitment, drive and hard-work in everything you do at Parcelly. You are a true pillar of this company and we are excited to see how your Parcelly journey progresses!