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Management Assistant Wholesale and Foreign Trade (m/f/d)

What is it about?

Wholesale and foreign trade clerks specializing in wholesale buy goods of all kinds from manufacturers and suppliers and sell them on to retailers, tradespeople and industry. They ensure cost-effective warehousing and a smooth flow of goods, i.e. they monitor the logistics chain, check incoming goods and stock levels, reorder goods and plan the delivery of goods.

At the interface between manufacturers and retailers

Wholesale and export merchants specializing in wholesale ensure that pharmacies and electronics stores, for example, do not remain empty and that craft businesses do not run out of building materials: They take on the role of “resellers” at the interface between manufacturers and (retail) trade. They ensure that a product is available at the right time and in the right quantity at the place of order. They correspond with manufacturers and customers and process offers and orders. They conduct purchase and sales negotiations by telephone, e-mail or occasionally directly on the sales floor, sometimes in a foreign language. They also act as market, sales and sales consultants, design tailor-made product ranges and offer their customers all-round services in a rationalized and cost-conscious manner. Service orientation, negotiating skills, precise knowledge of goods and good manners are essential. It goes without saying that respectable clothing is a must.

All about warehousing, sales and shipping

Warehousing plays an important role. To ensure that their customers can be supplied with the desired product at short notice at all times, wholesale and foreign trade merchants specializing in wholesale monitor stock levels and manage the warehouse. They check incoming goods, storage and outgoing goods. They use sales figures to calculate how long stocks will last and reorder goods with foresight – sometimes several months in advance.

Finally, they organize the shipping of the goods. The merchants write invoices, delivery bills and shipping documents for the goods shipments and check whether due invoices are paid on time. You work on the computer with the relevant software and use state-of-the-art logistics systems. Depending on the industry, having your own online store is no longer dispensable. This must be kept up to date and designed in a user-friendly way. Through search engine optimization (SEO), retail companies ensure that they can be found quickly. In the internet-based B-to-B business (the sale of goods between companies), wholesale and foreign trade merchants specializing in wholesale are also involved in gaining market share, acquiring customer groups and introducing and improving business processes.

Wholesale and foreign trade clerks generally work independently and have to be very flexible and problem-oriented. They work in the field to look after long-standing customers, acquire new customers and open up new markets for their goods. Irregular working hours, overtime and business trips are not uncommon.

These are your tasks:

• Advise customers and acquire new customers, create offers
• Create contracts
• Buying and selling goods, calculating prices
• Checking stock levels and goods
• Create and check delivery bills, invoices, etc.
• Constant customer contact, e.g. during telephone calls due to orders

What you should bring with you:

• (University entrance qualification
• Good language skills
• IT skills
• Personal skills:
  • Ability to work in a team
  • Personal initiative
  • Willingness to perform
  • Diligence
  • Organizational talent
  • Communication and contact skills