27 September 2023
Over the past five years, Anja has explored AAE procurement in great detail. Thanks to collaboration, resilience and a drive to improve and grow, Anja has developed into a seasoned professional in her field. This is her story.
Five years ago, Anja Geboers took her first steps at AAE. "As project buyer, I am the link between procurement and the project teams. My responsibility is to ensure that all required materials are available on time, under the right terms and conditions. The past few years have been an exciting journey as AAE has gone through significant changes and growth. When I started, there were only two business lines and 200 colleagues. We now have a third business line and I work with more than 500 colleagues."
The growth of AAE opened new doors for Anja and took her workplace happiness to new heights. "Every day I go to work with enthusiasm. This is mainly due to AAE giving me the space to grow. AAE is growing, and I am growing with it. The freedom AAE offers me is invaluable. You are free to develop in the direction you want. AAE respects my choices, and that makes me feel valued for who I am and who I want to become."
Making the impossible possible
No result without hard work. So too in Anja's career. During the corona pandemic, Anja faced a huge shortage of suppliers. "The corona period was a bizarre period, especially for us in procurement. Components became scarce, and some suppliers could no longer supply essential parts. In such situations, you have to work with your teams and suppliers to make the impossible possible."
"It is in these moments that AAE's can-do culture stands out. Both the team and the suppliers think in solutions and are determined to move forward. Problems were recognised and taken seriously, and everyone did their bit to solve them. Both colleagues and suppliers put in a huge effort to make projects succeed. It was hectic, but at these times I appreciate my work and colleagues all the more."
Striving for continuous improvement
Over the past five years, Anja had one clear driving force that she drew energy from: striving for continuous improvement within AAE. "I get satisfaction from my work, especially when I can make AAE smarter and more efficient. It is wonderful to see how my work has an impact, by applying automation and other efficiencies."
Improving processes within procurement is not easy, because procurement within AAE involves many departments and disciplines. "It is not always easy because improvement and automation requires in-depth expertise, especially in the beginning. You have to replace human tasks and for that you need to understand processes thoroughly, besides that you work with many stakeholders and different data. Fortunately, there are plenty of colleagues willing to help and support where necessary. However, the end result is what you do it for: as a buyer, you need to check less and less standard processes and you are only concerned with the deviations in the process. At that point, you are really doing procurement in its purest form. That makes me happy."
Has this story inspired you? Then take a quick look at our vacancies and who knows, you might soon be working with Anja.
