Meet Jereon
"My first meeting with Action felt natural straight away."
Jeroen Janssen, Process Control EmployeeAbout Jereon
With a temporary contract following a merger and a restructuring, Jeroen Janssen felt like he was in limbo, and unsure about what to do next. He was looking for a challenging job near his home town of Sittard – preferably one in logistics, a field in which he had built up years of experience. A manager from his previous employer pointed him towards Action and the brand-new distribution centre that had just opened in Echt.
What were your first thoughts when you started at Action?
"Honestly, I was completely surprised. I'm not much of a shopper and rarely visit shopping centres, so I wasn't that familiar with the diverse range of products on offer. I also wasn't aware that Action is a Dutch company, and that was a huge draw for me. The first person I spoke to was an old acquaintance. It felt natural and right straight away."
What exactly do you do as a Process Control Employee?
'At Process Control, we manage the day-to-day operations within the distribution centre in Echt. Among other things, I make sure the order pickers can start work, and that the correct roll containers arrive at the right dock and on the right truck. Ultimately, the right orders have to arrive at the right Action store on time. We supply around 300 stores from the distribution centre in Echt, with these stores being based in the Netherlands, Germany, Belgium and northern France. You can well imagine how many freight trucks leave the site every day.
As well as my 'usual' daily tasks, I do a lot of troubleshooting. If we encounter any process disruptions, such as the ICT infrastructure failing or problems with loading or unloading, the Process Control department shares this information with all internal and external departments involved. The order pickers have headsets to receive instructions about which aisles they need to pick products from. It's crucial that the system runs flawlessly."
"We supply around 300 stores from Echt. That means a lot of outgoing freight every day."
Is every working day the same?
"Absolutely not! At Process Control, we have three different shifts: you can start at 5 am, 8 am or 4:30 pm. The shifts determine what your working day looks like. If you start at 8 am, you do quite a lot of administration and inspection work. The other two shifts focus on the order picking process and any associated inspections. This means your working weeks are very dynamic, and the different times offer lots of flexibility on a personal level. I have two children in school and my wife is studying alongside her day job. When the home front requires my attention, I always manage to arrange my work and deal with it."
What do you have to be able to do as a Process Control Employee?
"I think it's very important to be analytical. I deal with lots of different data in my role, such as data on products, customers, suppliers and transports. You then need to know what you're looking for and how you can find it. What's more, it even includes some initial experience with SAP!"
What would you miss most if you left Action?
"The staff discount! It saves me a lot of money. I now buy brushes, paint, tape and garden equipment from Action instead of the the DIY store. And I'd miss my colleagues, of course! We respect each other and get on well together. That familiar feeling I felt at the start has never left me."