Process Expert: Commercial Planning

Are you looking for an expert role with a focus on processes, systems and optimisations? Do you have an affinity with Commercial Planning and planning systems? Do you want to be part of a fast-growing, international organisation with real career development opportunities? If so, become our next Process Expert Commercial Planning and hone your talent from our headquarters in Noord-Holland!

As a Process Expert Commercial Planning, you ensure that our commercial planning processes work optimally — today and in the future. You look end-to-end at how we plan, forecast and bring our assortment to the stores, and translate that into smart, scalable and efficient processes.

This is your daily action

Working at Action isn't like working at any other company. With more than 3,000 stores, distribution centres, hubs, crossdocks and an ambitious growth plan, our end-to-end planning flow is always evolving. As Process Expert Commercial Planning, you will play a key role in shaping and improving our Commercial Planning processes - with a focus on simplicity, scalability and system excellence.

Your core responsibilities include:

• Act as the bridge between the Commercial Planning team and IT, ensuring planning processes and systems support the business effectively.
• Analyze end-to-end commercial planning processes to identify bottlenecks, inefficiencies, and opportunities for improvement.
• Investigate process and system issues by identifying root causes and implementing sustainable solutions.
• Support and optimize planning activities across Demand Planning, Merchandise Planning, and Assortment Planning.
• Work closely with stakeholders to improve planning tools (including Anaplan) and ensure systems enable efficient business processes.
• Lead and support process improvement initiatives by introducing new ways of working and ensuring successful adoption across the business.
• Collaborate with cross-functional teams to ensure process changes positively impact the entire commercial planning flow.
• Contribute to strategic projects focused on enhancing merchandise planning, assortment planning, and demand forecasting capabilities.

Current key projects

Our team will be involved in one major strategic initiative. As a new team member, you will contribute to this project:

Tactical Planning

• Redesigning the Commercial Planning process from the ground up, including Demand Planning, Merchandise Planning, and Assortment Planning.
• Partnering with the business and IT to implement a new planning vendor and embed new ways of working across the Commercial Planning function.

Meet your team

The Process Expert is part of the Process Planning department within the broader Commerce & Supply Chain organisation. The team consists of Process Managers and Process Experts, each with a dedicated area of expertise: Commercial Planning, Supply Chain Planning and Tactical Planning.

As a team, we ensure that Action's buying and planning teams run as smoothly as possible — so hundreds of thousands of products reach our 3,000+ stores every single day. Your main stakeholders will be the Business (Commercial Planning team) and IT, with regular collaboration with external system partners and consultants.

This is you

You thrive in a dynamic, fast-paced environment. You are curious, structured and analytical — and you have a natural affinity for both systems and logistics processes.

In addition:

Related to study background or work experience:

• Bachelor's degree in Business Administration, Supply Chain management or a related field
• 1–3 years of work experience in retail, purchasing, commercial or planning
• Affinity with planning tools and Excel, and process improvement.
• Strong communicator in English - both written and verbal - able to bridge business and IT
• Structured and analytical approach to problem-solving
• Comfortable working across multiple concurrent projects with different stakeholders

What we offer

Surprisingly much! From our international headquarters in the Netherlands you have an impact on what happens in our stores across Europe. We welcome more than 15 million customers every week in more than 3,000 stores in 14 European countries. We have great growth ambitions. For Action and for you. Because our growth means that you can always take new steps. A different position, an interesting innovation project, new skills: you can continue to develop as a professional. And all this in a culture where our shared values are truly lived: customer focus, teamwork, simplicity, discipline, cost conscious and respect.

Did you know that you can also count on us for:

• A market-based salary based on a 38-hour work week
• 24 days of holiday and the option to buy 5 extra days (based on 38 hours per week)
• A temporary contract with the intention of offering you a permanent contract in the long term
• Flexible working hours and the possibility of working up to 40% from home, of course in coordination with your team and manager
• 15% staff discount on your purchases at Action
• A good pension scheme, collective health insurance and travel expenses allowance or mobility allowance (Zwaagdijk-Oost is traffic jam-free and only 30 minutes by car from Amsterdam)