Celebrating the stories of unsung heroes behind every delivery

MANILA, Philippines — There’s nothing quite like the feeling of anticipation when you know that your online purchases are coming your way. So when you think of it, delivery riders do more than just hand over your parcels to you, because they brave the roads and endure the heat of the sun or the pouring rain to bring you happiness right at your doorstep!

As such, courier and logistics companies like Ninja Van Philippines and their personnel have become an invaluable part of the community with their role of ensuring that parcels get delivered on time and in best condition to their recipients nationwide.

By continuously boosting its efforts to focus on delivery speed and developing more value-added services for its customers, Ninja Van Philippines was able to observe a 150% growth in its parcel volumes in the past 12 months.

With this accomplishment, it aims to recognize and celebrate the people who make every Ninja Van delivery possible—from riders and drivers to warehouse employees, customer service representatives and more—by highlighting their stories of perseverance and hard work.

Vanessa Brillo: Delivery rider turned linehaul coordinator

Vanessa first started working at Ninja Van as a delivery rider in 2017. During her first week, she already showed her resourcefulness and dedication to her job by choosing to deliver items by foot since she wasn’t able to secure her motorcycle yet. This attitude impressed her boss and led to her promotion.

After being promoted twice, she is now a Linehaul Coordinator and is in charge of making sure that Ninja Van’s trucking services run smoothly. She’s also responsible for scheduling, troubleshooting and managing her team.

“Always focus on your goal and assess how your skills can bring value to the business,” she said.

Christine Runa: Customer service representative

Complaints and irate customers are not new in the delivery industry, but for Christine, a customer service representative for Ninja Van, her priority is always to provide the best assistance she can to any customer.

“When I deal with angry customers, I make sure to take a deep breath and engage with them calmly. I tell myself that the conversation is never personal,” she shared.

Despite the challenges entailed in her job, Christine finds comfort in being part of a team that works well together. “Our management team is very supportive and approachable, so we always feel comfortable communicating with them,” she said. “We also feel appreciated through various employee programs that recognize our hard work.”

Arjoe Mae Santos: Sort compliance officer

As a Sort Compliance Officer for Ninja Van Philippines, Arjoe has the important task of ensuring process quality in warehouse operations. The high expertise she showed for the role didn’t go unnoticed by her managers who decided to assign her more supervisory responsibilities to help her hone her skills and potential.

Arjoe’s hard work paid off as she became a subject matter expert for Integrated Operations Audit and became an auditor. “This was truly one of my career milestones. Despite sacrificing time away from family, I’m proud that I was able to deliver,” she said.

Karen Mae Alemana: Regional area manager

Karen wears many hats. At home, she is a solo parent to a 6-year-old daughter. At work, she is a regional area manager. Her subordinates fondly call her “mama,” who leads everybody and makes sure that everything runs smoothly at work.

She was hired as a Station Head at Ninja Van Philippines in 2018, becoming one of the very few female employees in a male-dominated company at that time. Soon after, she was directly promoted to Regional Area Manager because of her stellar performance.

In a short amount of time, Karen has made an indelible impact in Ninja Van Philippines and has become successful purely because of her hard work and passion. “No matter how insignificant you feel, you are still capable of making a positive impact,” she said.

Vanessa, Christine, Arjoe and Karen are just four of over 7,000 staff and employees of Ninja Van Philippines who play a big part in the company’s commitment to hassle-free deliveries. By learning of their stories, Ninja Van hopes to encourage its partners and customers to show their support and gratitude to these unsung heroes through small acts of kindness.

So every time you receive a parcel, don’t forget to say a simple “thank you” to your delivery rider and even offer them a glass of water or a snack, especially during sale seasons like 11.11 where many are just a little too excited (and sometimes, impatient) to get their deliveries. You can also make it a habit to leave a good review to show appreciation for the service you received.

All of these go a long way for everyone working behind the scenes to keep the country’s logistics sector moving.