A day in the life of a food trader at Kühne + Heitz
8h30 - @ the office
You check the requests you received overnight through WhatsApp and e-mail. In Asia they woke up 7 hours earlier than we did here, so there already happened a lot there while you were asleep. The requests you got, you immediately forward to your colleagues of the purchase department. Great! You started the day with a 1-0 lead against your competition.
With a quick look at the big screen above your desk, you decide what you are going to do next. What are the targets and are you meeting them? Thereafter, you check your e-mail again and call a couple of clients to help them with their questions. You do not want to make them wait after all.
9h15 - @ the office
Coffee time! Or tea if you prefer. With a couple of colleagues, you agree upon grabbing some lunch together in the afternoon. That way you can have a quick chat about that one client with who you have some difficulties.
But first, a quick look at the economic news about the region you are responsible for. What is going on? Are there any remarkable events? And how can you respond to that? Because of your up-to-date knowledge on the market development, price differences and exchange rate changes, you can close the right deals at the right time.
What our traders
have in common?
10h00 - @ the office
Client management is one of the most important responsibilities as a trader. Therefore, you will be in contact with them all day long, preferably by telephone. To inform on how things are going and to make sure you are helping them the best as you can. Maybe they are interested in any other products you sell? If so, you immediately discuss this with your colleagues of the purchasing department.
12h30 - @ the office
Lunch time. After lunch you double check if you have everything set up for your business trip to Brazil next week.
13h30 - @ the office
You sit down with your administrative and logistics colleagues to fine-tune current orders. An intensive cooperation in the workplace is a must!
Then you have some meetings on your to-do list, with some new potential clients. Continuously looking for new business opportunities is one of your main tasks.
16h00 - @ the office
For several weeks you have been exploring the Costa Rican market, because you believe there are good opportunities here. You now summarize your plans in a presentation for the management team with who you’ll discuss this matter later this week.
17h30 - @ train
On your way home, you are casually scrolling through some economic news when you come across an interesting article for your colleague. Because you want to keep your colleagues updated as well, you forward it to him directly.