Teamwork is an integral part of Parcelly and what fuels our success in many different aspects. Henry Ford once said - ‘Coming together is a beginning, staying together is progress, and working together is success’. From a Business Development and Marketing Intern to Head of Operations, David has been on a fascinating journey throughout his time at Parcelly and we want to celebrate that with you all. We sat down with David to discuss all things Parcelly and what he feels have been some pinnacle moments during his career with us.
Farewell Party, 2023
Source: Parcelly Limited
Tell us about yourself and how your journey at Parcelly began?
“What initially attracted me to Parcelly when I joined was the fact that they had all the right buzzwords attached to them- disruptive, innovative and start-up. But quite frankly when I joined I never expected to be here for 7.5 years, initially, I just wanted to get some experience in Marketing. I joined Parcelly as a Business Development and Marketing intern as that was what I originally wanted to do. The biggest positive for me was getting out of my comfort zone and transitioning into Business Development and Sales. I am truly blessed to have been able to work in all areas of the business including taking on the role of Client Experience Lead followed by Head of Ops and then Solutions Architect.”
First Company Awards, 2015
Source: Parcelly Limited
What would you say have been your biggest learning experiences during your time here?
“There are so many learning experiences I have had during my time at Parcelly it is almost impossible to narrow it down. However I will say that I was once a perfectionist, but learning that perfect is the enemy of done has been a crucial learning experience for me. Trying wherever possible to put trust and responsibility in the hands of my colleagues, and empowering them to do their jobs and do them better has been another stand-out learning curve for me. When I have so many tasks to prioritise, I try to bear in mind what is on my to-do list will enable most of my colleagues to do their roles more efficiently and prioritise those. Parcelly has taught me to try to have a mindset of pausing to enable others, rather than getting my own head down and focusing on my own tasks.
A key learning point has been to ask for forgiveness and not permission- to try and be able to roll with the punches and have the guts to just do what you think is best, even if you haven't got the quote-unquote permission. This is not a mantra for every single decision but I try and force myself in moments of doubt to veer on the side of action. The power and importance of good data have been a key takeaway from each role I have undertaken within Parcelly. I think acknowledging very early on at Parcelly that we need to be a tech company, and a data-driven company, rather than a logistics company has been fundamental in shaping how I think about a lot of elements of my role and business.”
What have you achieved that you are particularly proud of?
“Having been here from the very early days, I take immense pride in the simple fact of seeing the numbers in our system go up. To think where we’ve come from a handful of stores in London to now several thousand across continents is amazing. The resilience Parcelly has shown as a business, particularly through the pandemic, when our core business vertical took an unavoidable beating, we pivoted quickly and innovatively and had huge success through Hyperlocal Warehousing. We expanded our partnership with Krispy Kreme massively, allowing them to reach 5 million customers that they otherwise wouldn’t have been able to in the UK.
On a personal level, I flew to Edinburgh to sign up and set up the first Krispy Kreme Hyperlocal Warehousing partnership store. It was amazing to be involved at all stages of the process there and then see how that partnership snowballed. I take pride in looking back on the graft to get that first location up and running as a proof of concept. I don’t necessarily think I am the most creative person in the world, but I do crave having a creative outlet- and for me that manifested at Parcelly in helping shape the product. I try not to take for granted what a cool opportunity it has been to conceptualise and help build solutions that have helped many different people across different industries. From our Key Exchange service to Hyperlocal Warehousing- to be a part of a business where we can come up with services from scratch and make them a reality, often in radically quick times, has been an awesome and rare experience.”
What were the 3 standout moments from your time at Parcelly?
“There have been so many pinnacle moments, but I would have to say winning the DHL Innovation Challenge in 2017 is one that stands out for me. Sitting in the London Parcelly office, waiting for the live Slack updates and then finding out we had won. It really felt like we had won the Premier League as it was real validation from one of the biggest companies in the world. I would also say I am incredibly proud of the fact I presented Parcelly’s tech solution on stage to the Association of Convenience Stores. For me personally, it is probably still one of the most nerve-wracking things I have ever done. But the most nerve-wracking things are normally the biggest dopamine kicks once they have been accomplished and this was certainly that!
Completing the Tough Mudder challenge with the team was also another standout moment for me. To me, it is just as important in business to have fun and be successful as a team, and the Tough Mudder was an embodiment of that. I have begun to see the Touch Mudder as a metaphor for my time at Parcelly- a journey full of constant challenges, many ups and downs, and full of mud, but ultimately a huge accomplishment to look back on.”
David’s relocation to Japan, opening our Tokyo office, 2018
Source: Parcelly Limited
From the whole Parcelly team, we would like to thank David for everything he has implemented and achieved while being with Parcelly. He has not only contributed to monumental developments but also led the way in implementing innovative ideas throughout all aspects of the business that we will continue to use. David has passed the Parcelly Operations baton on to our new Head of Operations, Michael Jequier. Michael has come to Parcelly after running platform logistics at Bolt Food, Amazon and Uber. He has a long background in running hyper-efficient, multimodal logistics businesses, including 13 years in the military. Michael recognises the sheer growth potential that asset-light last-mile delivery offers and says that scaling this to help as many carriers, retailers and customers as possible and says is the main motivator for being at Parcelly. We are very excited to welcome Michael onboard!
“David's contribution to the business has been above and beyond the numerous roles he has been fulfilling since 2015 at Parcelly. Structured and with in-depth knowledge of our platform, David has been a true builder, a highly engaged top-class manager, and a great colleague - we went through a lot together over the years and it's impressive how far we have come. I would also like to thank David for ensuring all his responsibilities have been perfectly handed over to our new Head of Operations, Michael Jecquier - who joined to lift our Operations to the next level.
I look forward to staying in touch and wish David all the very best in his future endeavours. David, thank you, for all you have done!”
- Sebastian Steinhauser, CEO & Founder
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