Switch on your IT future at Foodstuffs

If you’re the kind of person who gets excited about the future, then IT is the perfect career path for you. And if you’re the kind of person who wants to make everyday life easier in that future, then the fast-paced world of supermarket technology is the ideal combination.

As a customer filling your trolley each week, you might think supermarket technology is limited to the reassuring beep you hear as your milk and cereal is scanned at checkout. But it’s so much more than that. Just ask Matt Currie and Amanda Hayes. They each have discovered exciting and rewarding careers working behind the scenes in technology at Foodstuffs South Island and Foodstuffs North Island, respectively, helping make supermarket shopping easier and more efficient for more than 2 million New World, PAK’nSAVE and Four Square shoppers nationwide every week.

Currie is Business Systems Development Manager for Foodstuffs South Island and has worked his way up the ladder at the Co-op since starting as a junior programmer 17 years ago after studying business and software development at University. He’s the first to say he didn’t expect to work for the same company for quite so long, but every time he wondered if it was time to move on, another exciting opportunity popped up.

‘‘Probably like most people, my knowledge of supermarket technology was limited to the point of sale. But when I started working at Foodstuffs South Island, I was surprised to learn just how much technology sits behind our retail stores. You’ve got supply chain, transportation, finance, back office functions, and much more. There’s a lot going on that most people don’t realise,’’ he says.

‘‘One thing I love about Foodstuffs South Island is that the technology is wholly integrated throughout the business, so there’s always something new and exciting on the horizon that keeps you interested.’’

Some of those projects included initiatives like SHOP’nGO, currently available in a handful of South Island New World and PAK’nSAVE stores. With SHOP’nGO, customers scan their products as they work their way around the store.

‘‘SHOP’nGO gives the customer all of the control in the palms of their hands with the handheld barcode scanner. If you are working to a budget, you know what you have spent and whether you can add that extra luxury item without worrying if you’re going to go over budget or not.’’

As interesting as the technology is, Currie says delivering a memorable shopping experience for customers is at the heart of his job.

‘‘The way I look at it is we leverage technology to build better, more rewarding shopping experiences in our stores. If we can harness the power of efficient technologies, and pair it with human interactions, then we’ve been successful at our jobs.’’

That’s also the emphasis behind Amanda Hayes’ job in the Foodstuffs North Island Support Centre where she is an Article Data Manager. Her team is responsible for ensuring that from the time a product leaves a supplier, to the time it arrives on store shelves, all the data about the product is accurate. This includes verifying the product’s barcodes, the size and weight of its packaging, the correct buy and sell price, its images online, its ingredients and adherence to food safety regulations.

It’s not only the integrity of the data that fills her day, Hayes works hard leading her team.

‘‘What’s rewarding for me is seeing other people grow and enjoy their workplace,’’ she says.

Like Currie at Foodstuffs South Island, Hayes is a long-time Foodstuffs North Island employee, but her start was in a store, working on checkouts first while at high school, then at University. The birth of her son made combining University study and parenthood difficult, but a very supportive owner operator employer at New World Te Rapa meant she could complete management and leadership development programmes through Foodstuffs North Island, while still supporting her young family (Foodstuffs North Island spends $6 million each year on staff development). The fact that her on-the-floor experience counted towards the programmes’ qualifications worked out perfectly for Hayes.

‘‘I learn by doing. For some people, learning-bydoing is how they adapt, grow and are able to lean into their careers.’’

After 10 years at New World Te Rapa, Hayes made the move to Auckland to work for Foodstuffs North Island, but after a while it was clear her family needed to be back in Hamilton. Foodstuffs North Island and Amanda worked it out so that she could work three days a week in Auckland with her team and two days remotely from home. Hayes also serves on the board of the Foodies Foundation, which supports the wider Foodstuffs North Island family (22,000 employees) during tough times in their personal lives.

‘‘It’s truly amazing to work for an employer that supports you professionally and personally and encourages you to give back and support others in need,’’ she says.

As senior leaders, Hayes and Currie are both committed to mentoring new employees and making sure they are given the same opportunities that they themselves have enjoyed at work.

‘‘There are work opportunities around every corner for those who are ambitious enough to find them, step up and take them,’’ says Hayes.

See if your next career move is waiting for you at Foodstuffs North Island or Foodstuffs South Island.

If you’re South Island based, visit https:/ /foodstuffs.careercentre.net.nz/Job.

If you’re North Island based, visit https://www. foodstuffs.careers/.