About Us
Mainfreight Limited is a global Supply Chain Logistics Provider, specialising in the handling of freight that is Less Than Container (LCL), with businesses operating in 165 branches throughout New Zealand, Australia, Asia, and the United States.
The company was founded in 1978, with a 100 year vision, and has become the pre-eminent Supply Chain Logistics provider in New Zealand and Australia. We provide customers with world class service across a full range of Logistics services that include Managed Warehousing, Domestic Distribution, Metro and Wharf Cartage and International Air and Sea freight operations all linked by sophisticated technology.
In 1996 Mainfreight listed on the New Zealand Stock exchange. Today Mainfreight has a team of over 3,200 people and in excess of 20,000 customers worldwide. In forging a 100 year business, we have never adopted the latest trends or wavered from our long standing values. We have found our own better way of doing things and have always rejected mediocrity.
Today, while we are a true mix of ethnicity and cultures, we are bound by the same principles of passion and pride that are uniquely and unashamedly, Mainfreight.
Uni's nearing an end - Where to now?
We operate a Graduate Programme whereby recent graduates start in operational areas where you will be exposed to all facets of the business before being given areas of responsibility. We work with you to develop a career plan based on your strengths and areas of interest, rather than churning you all through the same static programme without any flexibility.
You will start in an entry level position but we have found that this is the only way in which to impart all the necessary knowledge. Building your career from the ground up gives you the mana and respect of your workmates and this becomes invaluable when you start managing people.
Within our New Zealand business we have over 130 team members at various stages of the graduate programme. They play an important role in the evolution of our business as they bring new ideas and challenge existing concepts. Promotion is always from within which creates opportunities to promote a number of talented people through the ranks.
The one thing we will not do is baby-sit our grads or hand their career to them on a platter. You are expected to prove yourself and will only be promoted based on ability, not merely for the fact that you are a graduate.
Every new graduate is assigned a mentor and regular graduate meetings increase your profile within the business and become a great networking tool.
Within New Zealand most of our graduates will start in either Auckland, Hamilton, Mt Maunganui, or Christchurch but there are also positions available in smaller regional centres.
"I wouldn't want to be anywhere else"
- Mitch Gregor, Otago University Graduate, 2001
Currently Australian Supply Chain Manager based in Melbourne
Travel and Training Opportunities
Central to the success of the Mainfreight Group are our people. We live by our motto "Special People, Special Company". We believe this is at the foundation of our difference and the cornerstone of our competitive advantage.
In recognition of this we are committed to investing in providing our team members with the skills they need to meet both our customers' expectations and to contribute to the ongoing development of our business. Specifically every new team member attends a week long Induction Course at the Mainfreight Training Centre in Auckland. This is a major commitment by Mainfreight which is unprecedented within the industry and reflects the forward thinking and innovation which is helping us create a 100 year company.
In addition to this, every year Mainfreight sends two groups of potential leaders to Outward Bound for personal development and leadership training. Once team members reach a point where they are being considered for Branch Management roles, they are nominated for our annual "Emerging Branch Managers Course". Team members from around the world are brought to Auckland for this comprehensive week of training delivered by our CEO and National Management Team.
Overseas postings are available to our top graduates and with branches throughout New Zealand, Australia, Asia and the USA our graduates can operate on a global level.
As the business moves into different markets it is more important than ever that we have people who not only understand the local market and customs, but also understand the Mainfreight culture and way of doing things.
Graduate Programme Success Stories
Riyaz Jordan
Branch Manager New York
Currently responsible for revenues of $USD15 million and manages a team of 26
In 2000 I was given the opportunity to start my career with Mainfreight after finishing my BSc. As part of the Graduate Programme, my first year was spent loading and unloading freight at our Auckland depot. The transition from varsity life to a work environment was made easier by the fact that I was placed on the afternoon shift which meant I didn't start work until 1.00pm. This encouraged my sleep in's and late nights which all students become accustomed to.
After mastering the art of loading and unloading I was given the opportunity to learn the Customer Service and Pricing side of the business with the intention of moving into Sales as my knowledge increased. This was around the time that I hit a roadblock in my career as I wasn't too interested in the Domestic Transport part of the business. Luckily for me, my manager at the time saw this and to keep me challenged and stimulated, sent me across to the Logistics division of Mainfreight (Third Party Logistics - 3PL - in those days was the new and exciting catch phrase).
From here I continued to learn the business from the ground up. After a few months on the warehouse floor I realised that this industry excited me and decided to learn more about the whole 3PL business and what was required to service this industry effectively and efficiently.
Progression through the business was also easier as I was given a mentor who gave me side projects to complete which I enjoyed doing in my own time. This assisted in my move into the Logistic's Sales Team.
The promotion from within policy gave me my first true test as I was given the opportunity to become a Branch Manager of a Logistics facility. At only 26 years of age this was a scary move but it provided a great opportunity for me. It gave me a chance to learn leadership skills plus help grow the business into profitability.
As time progressed and more changes came along, I moved from Branch Manager to the Logistics National Support Team. With the growth in the Australasian market, in 2005 another career change came my way, this time to move across the ditch and assist with the development of our Logistics Business in NSW. Again I had no hesitation in saying yes to this new and exciting role and made the move from New Zealand to Australia.
2005 - 2008 saw new and exciting developments in the 3PL industry. We went from having one warehouse facility in Sydney to three warehouses. During this period I had the opportunity to oversee these three branches and saw new talent (graduates) emerge into the business. Mainfreight has always encouraged the promotion from within policy and it was great to see graduates who had started on the floor make their way into Branch Managers roles.
For myself, I decided to change my career path once again mid 2008. This time around it was more the personal need to travel and experience the world.
Mainfreight once again looked after my interests by offering me the New York Branch Managers role for one of our businesses in the USA - Carotrans International. This has given me the opportunity to stay within the Mainfreight Group and progress my career, whilst at the same time experiencing a different culture on the other side of the world.
Looking back I would have never imagined ending up in New York. Over the past nine years I have changed roles eight times (all of them good), and have had the privilege to work with some great people and leaders, and have grown with a business which is fast becoming a global identity.
This career path has given me a complete overview of the supply chain business and strengthened my knowledge of our industry. This would not have been possible if it wasn't for Mainfreight's flexible attitude.
It's all about having fun and enjoying yourself whilst still performing to the best of your ability . Mainfreight creates a working environment that makes this all possible, which makes me think of the famous Mainfreight catch cry - "With Passion Anything is Possible".
Rachael Moore
Mainfreight New Zealand
I arrived at Mainfreight's door in 2002 completely by accident. I was fresh out of university and keen to start my career. Like a lot of graduates I had no idea what it was that I wanted to do. Completing a Bachelor of Commerce didn't qualify me instantly for any particular role, so instead of what ‘job' appealed to me, I started looking for companies that I wanted to work for.
What sold me on the job was that Mainfreight has a very strong culture. Sitting in the office waiting to be interviewed, through the driveway would pour immaculate blue trucks with black tyres. Team members walking through the depot in pristine uniforms, driving blue signwritten(!!) Mainfreight forklifts. A bubbly receptionist who was delighted when the phone rang every five seconds, and was just as happy to greet the next caller as the last.
My first role at Mainfreight was in Customer Services at Mainfreight Transport in Christchurch. Even though I was ‘starting from the ground up' I was astounded by the responsibility I, and the other team members had, and the number of decisions that I was allowed to make - decisions which didn't and don't need to be passed through five sets of managers first. We delight the customer first and then ask questions later.
After six months I was then given the opportunity to be Customer Services Team Leader. While my experience grew, so did my thirst for knowledge.
I was lucky to have a lot of old-hands around me, who knew the business from the ground up and shared their knowledge and skills with me. Each of the teams that I worked in, I was then given the opportunity to lead.
During my time in Christchurch I was offered many different roles in many different branches in different cities. Mainfreight promotes from within, we grow our people organically, and because of that there are so many opportunities for people with entrepreneurial, energetic and motivated attitudes and personalities; there are no boundaries to what your next role at Mainfreight will be.
In 2005 I accepted a role in Australia working in our Human Resources Team. At the time my experience had been in the Domestic Transport side of our business and now my new role would be predominately focused on Logistics. This again allowed me to increase my knowledge in a different area of the business. My role includes people development, recruitment and training. The most special part of my role is meeting and spending time with our team all over Australia, helping them develop their strengths, and helping them push the bar to ensure we are always doing our jobs better than the day before. I love what I do, but Mainfreight being Mainfreight, I know it isn't the last thing I will be doing!
Why Join Mainfreight?
Here are some reasons why working for Mainfreight is a rewarding experience:
- Promotion is always from within and on those rare occasions when a senior person leaves the company, we look upon it as an opportunity to promote a number of talented people from within;
- We have an ever growing emphasis on teaching and training, with both internal and external programs in an endeavour to develop peoples' full potential;
- We have huge understanding from our whole team about the things we believe in, like clean trucks, care for the environment, world class service, constant improvement, weekly profits, the hundred year aim and a bit of rule breaking!;
- We are in a business which by it's very nature requires us to react quickly to the needs of our customers. To be pro-active we have taken a long term view of where we are going and how we will get there. We have to do this by giving our team members an environment to grow and experiment, succeed and fail, but never to accept mediocrity.
Benefits
We offer our team members the following:
- A fun but focused social work environment;
- Total inclusiveness through information sharing;
- Regular PAT meetings (Positive Action Teams);
- Annual salary review;
- Profit share bonus scheme;
- A young, entrepreneurial team;
- Subsidised lunch schemes in our bigger branches;
- Discounted health insurance through our partnership with Southern Cross.
