Sunnah came into logistics without really knowing what to expect; she hoped that the experience would be useful and she could build her confidence and capabilities along the way.

“My first impression of Wincanton was that everyone in the room is treated equally. It’s easy to feel intimidated when senior leaders are in the room, but it’s as easy to speak to the CEO as it is your line manager.”

The graduate scheme has seen Sunnah travel across the country, fulfilling her placement and getting a comprehensive introduction to the sector:

“I worked on an AGV project in Doncaster – which was a great experience for someone who hadn’t worked with robots before. My first placement was in Bristol as a transport manager for Howdens, then I went to Derby as a transport planner for Morrisons, and now I’m in the customer fulfilment centre for Waitrose in Greenford.”

Sunnah is revelling in the variety of the scheme and sees it as a potential positive for lots of other young people like her:

“My advice would be to not limit yourself when it comes to choosing placements, there will be many options to decide from but it’s good to go for roles that you would probably never go for!”

In her role as Early Careers Partner, Lucy manages and coordinates Early Careers and entry talent activities, the associated governance that comes along with it and employee experience, delivering a diverse pipeline of colleagues and entry talent into Wincanton.

Lucy was attracted to the role because she felt it was an area of talent acquisition where she could make a real difference. Her only knowledge of logistics came from her previous role as a retail manager, where she regularly dealt with deliveries and management of stock in a fast-paced warehouse environment with changing priorities. The skills she picked up there, such as communication, team work, problem-solving and people management have proven transferable and valuable within her role at Wincanton.

Lucy relishes the wide range of initiatives she’s able to work on within her role in Early Careers. To support her ongoing development, she was also able to complete a Level 3 Business Administration apprenticeship with Wincanton.

When asked what the best parts of her job are, Lucy says: “It is really exciting to be involved in new projects and programmes, and to support candidates through their recruitment journey with us. Seeing candidates succeed and join Wincanton is always very rewarding, for me as well as for them!”

Recognised by the managers in her team, including the Talent and Development Director, with a Managers’ Choice award, Lucy was praised for her work ethic and being a ‘go-to’ person in the team to support various projects and queries.

“It was great to know that I am making a difference to the wider team objectives.”

“I am the Managing Director of General Merchandise at Wincanton, responsible for online fulfilment, warehouse and transport logistics operations for well-known brands including B&Q, Screwfix, Halfords and Primark.”

Rachel has the honour of leading approximately 7,000 of Wincanton’s 20,000 colleagues, in her quest to deliver safe, efficient and low cost operations for Wincanton’s customers. Her team also drives and supports their customers’ growth through continuous improvement, collaboration, innovation and automation.

Rachel has worked in third-party logistics for the Retail and Consumer market for over 20 years, joining Wincanton as a graduate with a first-class degree in Economics. She progressed up the ranks, becoming a qualified CIMA Accountant within the first four years of joining the business. From there, she took on senior strategic commercial roles, most recently as Finance Director of the Retail and Consumer Sector.

“Having made the journey myself, I am a passionate sponsor of developing internal talent, both up the ranks and across business functions.”

She considers herself lucky to have landed in such a rich and varied industry as logistics, having been introduced to Wincanton by a General Manager who thought that the industry would be a great fit for her – she couldn’t have been more right!

“Logistics offers the variety to try different things. I worked my way through the finance and commercial career path before taking a complete change of path into operations. I haven’t looked back since!”

Rachel finds it hard to pick just one thing she loves most about her role, but the people take the biscuit.

“Nothing beats watching others flourish and develop, whether that be helping those with learning difficulties find employment, or promoting a senior manager to the next stage in their career.”