Meet Lisanne
“In my job, I’m concerned with food trends across Europe.”
Lisanne Mars, Buying Assistant (food & drinks)About Lisanne
According to Lisanne Mars, she embarked on a ‘difficult journey’ after completing her higher education in Small Business & Retail Management. What exactly did she want? She worked as a category assistant at a large Dutch supermarket chain, but it was not dynamic and creative enough for her there. She went on to work at a well-known interior design store, but she didn’t feel at home there either. A colleague alerted her to Action as a possibility. She instantly thought this could be what she was looking for.
Why did you immediately find working at Action so interesting?
Because of its international nature. I found the idea of working with products across national borders very appealing. I started as a purchasing assistant within the Pets product group, i.e. pet-related products, as a replacement for someone on maternity leave. We had agreed that if that worked out well on both sides, a position would be made available for me in another product group. After a few months, that turned out to be Food & Drinks.
Food & Drinks: is that a fun product group to buy for?
At Action, Food & Drinks refers to non-perishable products that do not require refrigeration. For example, soft drinks, sauces, oils, nuts, chocolate, crisps, chewing gum and so on. Eating and drinking are very personal matters; everyone has an opinion. It is also a product group where there is a lot going on, with many new trends and developments. People love to try new things and experiment with food. And because we, as (assistant) buyers, purchase products for all Action stores, we look far beyond the standard syrup waffles and cans of cola. What is happening in Slovakia, Italy and Spain, for example? Of course, each country has its own tastes and preferences.
“The Buying department is really at the heart of the organisation. You are involved in a lot of things.”
What do you do on a typical working day?
One of my regular tasks is promotion planning: planning which products will be ‘special offers’. What products will be included in promotions for which weeks? Which quantities should then go to which stores? And if we want to sell a specific volume at a reduced price, can we still get the margin we need? I also enjoy working on packaging. Our in-house design team designs quite a lot of the packaging for Action products. As a purchasing assistant, I get to provide input on the best, most attractive or most suitable designs. This autumn there will be new baking mixes in our stores, with packaging I helped to determine. And I can tell you now that some of those are really nice.
What do you find challenging about procurement at Action?
Our Buying department is really at the heart of the organisation. We have daily contact with Inventory Management, Planning, Marketing, Commercial Operations, the promotions team and also with stores when they have questions, via the service desk. You are involved in a lot of things and build up an understanding of the organisation as a whole. This is also necessary to be able to deal with complex questions and cases. I continue to find that a fun challenge every day.
Is it easy to keep growing at Action?
I think it’s important to keep on developing; I don’t like to stand still. Action encourages me to work on my personal development plan. I want to develop, especially on a commercial level – to set product prices, to be in communication with suppliers. To support my development, I also have regular one-to-one discussions with my manager. The first question is always: how are you doing? I feel like I can talk about anything here. I am free to ask any questions I may have and discussion is always possible. Action is an employer with an open and down-to-earth, West Frisian work culture. That suits me very well.