Leeyarna Kanniappan

5.30 AM

After snoozing the alarm a few too many times, it’s time to jump out of bed, throw on some gym attire and drag myself to the gym for a quick workout. No better way to wake up the body and mind ahead of a big day at work!

7.45 AM

After a good gym session, a quick breakfast and a shower, I begin the journey to Southbank. This typically involves a 30-minute commute via train, where I pop in some headphones and listen to a great podcast or playlist to set my mood for the day. I also take a quick moment to review my calendar for the day, to make sure I am aware of all appointments and don’t miss anything (also taking note of every available coffee break!)

8.30 AM

Following a quick walk from Flinders Street Station, I arrive at the office. After stopping at almost every floor on the way, the elevator doors open to Level 27. I drop my lunch in the fridge and set up at my desk. As a daily ritual, Ellie (another grad) and I meet for a quick chat and coffee run each morning. It’s impossible to start the day’s activities without a good cup of coffee! 

 

9.00 AM

My day begins. Following up with suppliers, processing shed orders and invoices are this morning’s jobs – essential tasks to ensure that everything runs smoothly throughout our key activation periods! This encompasses designing, producing and delivering all point of salematerial across the country, such as posters, towers, brochures and wobblers. I am currently in the process of collating all the information for our Winter Trade Presenters, so will use this time to gather the final pieces to ensure our reps have all the important information to provide their store managers ahead of our winter campaign.

10.00 AM

Today, we hold our All Hands Sales Meeting, a monthly meeting with the entire Kraft Heinz Australia Sales Department. Here, our Head of Sales presents the past month’s national sales numbers and sets the objectives and goals for the month ahead. We also receive important information from our account managers regarding upcoming activations, new product launches and strategic direction for the upcoming month across a range of key categories. This month, there is a strong focus on our Soup and Gravy portfolio. This is a great opportunity to make sure we all aligned and working toward making this winter as successful as possible across our Heinz and Gravox products.

12.00 PM

As the clock ticks over midday, it’s time for lunch! I use this time to catch up with my fellow grads and enjoy some time out of the office. We typically find a nice spot outside or enjoy a short walk (usually in search of the newest Butterbing cookie flavours) before heading back upstairs.

1.00 PM

Arriving back at the office, I head straight into our weekly national cascade call with our five state leads. Here we discuss the previous week’s retail sales performance and brainstorm action plans to close any gaps. This is also the time where we discuss key events for the week, notify the team of any important information and answer pressing questions or concerns from those who represent our brand instore. This information is then filtered down to state level to ensure that each member of the team is briefed and are on the same page about the week’s activities.

2.00 PM

As it is the start of the month, I join a meeting with the National Account Executives to discuss this month’s priorities and any support required in terms of point of sale. This is critical information as this is often the crux of the brief I provide suppliers to ensure we are generating as much impact in store as possible.

3.00 PM

I head out with a Field Sales Representative and make sure our promotions and sales activations in store are in place. This is a great break from the back-to-back meetings from earlier today. It’s always insightful to be out in the retail space so we can understand what customers are looking for and find ways to add value.

5.00 PM

Once all the work set out for the day is complete, I typically wrap up by writing a to-do list for the day ahead, this ensures that I can switch off for the night knowing what tomorrow is going to look like. I then enjoy some fresh air on the walk back to Flinders Street Station to begin the journey home.

6.00 PM

Arriving home, I enjoy a nice evening walk to wind down from a busy and information-heavy day, before preparing a quick dinner and settling down on the couch to enjoy a few episodes of a binge-worthy TV show (at the moment, it’s Fleabag!). Tomorrow, I will be out in the field with a sales representative who will take me through their territory, visiting key stores that are participating in our current campaigns. This is a fantastic way to see how our products ultimately make it into stores! So, it’s time to get a good rest before a busy day on my feet building displays and activations.