"Not all purchasing is the same"

I had already worked in logistics in Sonnefeld before my studies, so I was already familiar with the BAUR Group. I really liked the working atmosphere and the company itself. When I was looking for jobs for my internship semester, I came across the BAUR Group again and applied for an internship in the Toys Purchasing department because of my good experiences at the company. After an interview, I was accepted a short time later.

During my internship, I mainly processed customer inquiries and supplier appointments, as well as maintaining new articles in the Primary system. Every product that you see on Otto.de or baur.de was created and processed in Primary beforehand. Those were my three main tasks. I also took part in toy fairs, which was very interesting for me. At the end of the internship, I was allowed to work on a project on the topic of "sustainability". The aim of the project was to find out which topics are important to customers in terms of sustainability and how the topic is communicated to customers on the market and among competitors. The aim was to compare Otto with its competitors and identify the extent to which the Toys, Music, Luggage, Schoolbags & Baby/Toddler department can transfer the knowledge gained during the project to its own product range or online store.

As a working student in the shoes department, everything is a little different. I still work with Primary and maintain the articles, but we also receive a lot of samples of shoes that have to be compared with the system. That's what I mainly do now. I also edit the telepurchase notes. For example, if the shoes are smaller or tighter, I enter this in Primary and in the Stern program so that both our customers and the purchasing staff are aware of it.

After completing my six-month mandatory internship, I did a one-month voluntary internship. When this came to an end, I was asked by my department manager whether I would like to continue working as a student trainee in the BAUR Group, but in a different department. Shortly afterwards, I was approached directly by the head of the Retail & Marketplace department and asked if I would be willing to switch to the Shoes Purchasing department as a working student. Well, and since I had already worked in Purchasing and knew the processes and systems, I thought it would be a great opportunity 😊.

For me, there is nothing better than a working student position, because you learn a lot that is important for the future. Not all purchasing is the same, because it varies a bit from department to department. That's why it's also nice to see and get to know a different perspective. Of course, the money I earn is also a nice side effect.

The omnipresent: Corona. It wasn't as bad as I thought, but the personal contact was still a bit lacking. Fortunately, although there was actually no one left in the office, I was still trained on site for a week. That was great. After that, I was really only in the Anywhere Office. I got to know my department, but I didn't really get to experience office life. It was quite a challenge for me to sit and work within my own four walls every day.

With the shoes, I'm in the office more often now because I have to match the samples we receive. I have to have the shoes in my hand to do this. I didn't need that with the toys, everything could be done digitally.

Yes, my expectations were totally fulfilled. Above all, it was important for me to take away and learn as much as possible from the internship. I definitely managed to do that, because these requirements were definitely met during the internship. And although I always had a contact person to answer my questions, I was otherwise able to work on my tasks independently and flexibly.

I always have a pen and a piece of paper next to me, because I really do write everything down. I also always have a cup of coffee next to me. But pen and paper are priority 1.