Yesterday marked Vinayak Sharma’s 5th Anniversary at Parcelly! From starting his Parcelly journey as an intern in 2019 to now being a Senior Key Account Manager, we would like to celebrate his successes with you in the first feature of our series of celebrated work anniversaries.
We sat down with Vinayak 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.
"Hello, my name is Vinayak Sharma! Vin for short. I’m previously from India, Delhi but moved to the UK in 2018 for my Masters. Thankfully in 2019, I found this nice job at Parcelly as an intern for 1 year as a Business Development Associate and since then I’ve been here… like a leech maybe?! It’s been a fun journey, I’ve seen the team go from as small as it could be, to medium, to big, to now the most efficient size possible.
After the Business Development Associate position, I moved into different accounts to get exposure within the company. Working initially with Krispy Kreme helped me to understand Parcelly’s warehousing product really well. For most of the initial years at Parcelly, I was very much involved in the warehousing and Krispy Kreme projects.
The journey has had ups and downs, for example, when Covid hit it brought difficulties like it did to all businesses. However, given our warehousing solution, I believe Krispy Kreme was the apt client to help push our business forward, enabling us to open over 50 dark stores from our existing 12 or 13, so that was a really integral part of my journey at Parcelly. During that time, I truly realised what this company was about and how dynamic it can be."
Source: Parcelly Limited
How has your role evolved since you have been at Parcelly?
"So as mentioned, I did start as a Business Development Associate for my internship. Here I was assisting my line manager for Krispy Kreme and helping with DHL as well, learning the know-how. After around a year and a half, I became a Client Experience Manager, as my role with our client Krispy Kreme became even more key and centred around that warehousing product. This role was focused on client management and ensuring that the client was happy. Also, client onboarding as we had lots of stores to add and lots of stores to manage whilst also working alongside the likes of Uber Eats, Deliveroo and Just Eat. It was pretty much a one-man show on the client experience side of things for Krispy Kreme UK.
We then had Krispy Kreme US come in which was a pathway to me becoming an Operations Manager. In this role, I was laying out operations for the US team to make sure that we could replicate what we have done for Krispy Kreme UK. As dynamic as we know this company is and the clientele can be, we had a few changes strategically after almost a year and a half.
My role was very client-facing, even as an Operations Manager, and during this time the company saw that I could manage clients successfully, ensuring that we kept upselling and managing their requirements. This meant that in April 2023, Parcelly decided to move me into key account management officially, where I became a Key Account Manager and was offered the DHL account to take care of. Since then, I’ve been very much into the PUDO (Pick-Up and Drop-Off) side of things which I believe is exciting as it is a new product for me to learn. I was grateful to also get UPS as an account to manage in September 2023 as the team believed I could take that responsibility on.
Through managing both DHL and UPS and getting experience on multiple different accounts, the team decided to give me the Senior Key Account Manager title earlier this year in January 2024. There’s been good upward progression here and I hope the trajectory is the same. I couldn’t have asked for more."
Source: Parcelly Limited
What have been 3 standout moments during your time at Parcelly?
"In no preferred order, I’ll start with receiving the Series A funding. When I joined the company, we were still in that startup phase. We’d be hearing from Sebastian that he’s doing investment rounds and trying to find the right type of investor. The whole build-up from my joining to receiving Series A was full of effort and hard work. The experience of witnessing it and being able to say that you were part of an investment round, the largest round yet for the company, is something I hold very close to myself, and I believe that opened doors for quite a lot of people in the company. Professionally you start feeling a bit more confident because you can see the company is headed in the right direction as not just anyone invests in a company these days.
A second standout moment of course was hitting the UPS target of 400 Access Points in December 2023. We started with UPS only in September and then completed our testing phase during that month. Therefore, we only had October, November and December to meet our target of 400 Access Points. I believe the Key Account Management, Network and Marketing team knows what it took to reach that target. Training endless numbers of stores, going live with maybe 50 stores a week, managing the existing network and making sure all materials were ready both digitally and physically. It was of course a collective effort; it was fascinating to see us reach that target. Especially given that peak period is always crazy in a logistics company, yet we managed to onboard a new client and meet their first target. So overall I’m very proud of that.
A third standout moment was me receiving the promotion for Senior Key Account Manager. It came about after the top management asked me what my goals are and how I see myself progressing here. It’s nice to know that management sees you as a responsible person when sometimes you can doubt yourself. Having that trust and assurity from people around you in the workplace is vital and makes you more confident. It makes you feel that you add value to the company which is always nice to know."
Source: Parcelly Limited
What do you enjoy most about working here?
"At Parcelly, the number one thing that I’ve found different in comparison to other companies I’ve worked at is, of course, there is a hierarchal approach in the company but in terms of getting in touch with and speaking to people, it’s a very egalitarian approach. You can always discuss your ideas or any new processes you would like to propose and introduce to the company. Also, if you have any queries or feedback, everyone is always very supportive in making sure you are headed in the right direction. The ability to speak to anyone in the company regarding their department gives you that feeling of validation in that people are listening to you, your ideas and any processes you would like to bring in.
Another would be that working at Parcelly builds drive in you, in the sense that you have to have a routine. Every day is a new day and every week is a new week, you always have to give it your all. It’s a good challenge to have as you can develop a disciplined routine rather than prolonging tasks or relying on motivation. You know when you have a deadline you always work the best? I used to always work in that last-minute way, but I feel like I can now manage my time better. By looking at the bigger picture you can prioritise what needs to be done first. Working in a very process-orientated way helps you to start thinking in that manner and helps you to work better. It’s a good thing to pick up!
And finally, personally, coming from India, Parcelly is based in London, which helps me explore one of the best cities in the world. So that is the cherry on the cake. Now I’m super excited to see where the company is headed."
Sebastian Steinhauser, CEO and Co-Founder of Parcelly
"On behalf of the entire team and board of Parcelly, I would like to congratulate you on your 5th work anniversary with us! You have demonstrated your dedication, hard work, and invaluable contributions to our platform in various roles over the years. You've truly been shining with exceptional skill and commitment, playing a significant role in our company's success. We are grateful for your continued efforts and look forward to the next 5 years of achievements and growth together. Thank you for being an essential part of our team, our journey and for contributing towards our vision and mission every day."
THANK YOU Vinayak for your continued commitment, hard work and drive in everything you do at Parcelly. You are a true asset to the team and we are excited to see how your Parcelly journey progresses!
Source: Parcelly Limited
