In my role as management assistant, I work closely with our two managing directors Simone Paulitschek and Dr Patrick Paulitschek. I have a classic staff function and carry out tasks on behalf of the managing directors, for example, I take care of process optimisation in the company or introduce innovations. I try to make our internal processes as efficient and effective as possible. My second role is that of IT system administrator. In this role, I am responsible for all of our company's hardware and software. It is very important to me that our IT systems are always up to date and that all employees have the best possible working environment. I am always on the lookout for technical innovations to ensure that our company continues to be equipped with the best possible technical standards in the future.

With pleasure. At the beginning of 2019, for example, I worked on optimising the process for adding new products to our online shop. There's more to it than meets the eye. As almost all of our products belong to our own brand, we create all of the texts and images ourselves. This means we have to gather technical input from our manufacturers and in-house specialists, write an informative text for the customer, take appealing photos, create structured technical data tables and enter everything into the PIM system. The starting point for such improvement projects is always an intensive dialogue with the teams involved in the process. We analyse the current situation together and try to find out what is currently not working optimally and which process steps are unnecessary time wasters. Based on this analysis, we develop a target process that only includes the steps that are really necessary and minimises the number of interfaces between different people and teams. The next step is to implement these changes in practice. In this specific example, we were able to drastically reduce the lead time of a new product from its receipt in our warehouse to the start of sales in the online shop from several weeks or even months to just a few days. As a result, we launched over 500 new products for our customers in 2019 - more than ever before within a year. The next processes I will be scrutinising are spare parts ordering and returns management. Due to our constant growth, there is always a need somewhere to improve processes or adapt them to the increased volume of work.

When I started working at paulimot in 2015, I only worked for the company on a part-time basis. During this time, I exclusively took care of all IT matters. Due to the dynamic growth of the company and the resulting steady increase in the number of employees, the amount of work in the IT area became ever greater, so that I was able to join paulimot full-time in 2018. In addition to my work as an IT system administrator, I also took on process and project responsibility and worked as an assistant to the management.

I enjoy all areas of my work and because they are so different from one another, no two days are the same. Every day brings new challenges that I have to face and deal with individually. Colleagues often come to me with concerns of various kinds, from PC problems to questions about organisational processes. Some problems are solved quickly, others take a little more time. But that's exactly what I like. I enjoy facing these constantly changing challenges and, if necessary, I also look strategically for a solution that will work in the long term. This applies to IT matters as well as to optimising interfaces or processes. If I can help my colleagues to achieve a smooth daily routine and contribute to the further development and growth of the company overall, that gives me drive and motivates me for future tasks.

I find the atmosphere in the company to be exceptionally human across all teams. Everyone is treated as a full member of the company community. What counts is the personality of the individual and not the mindless completion of predefined tasks. Personal initiative is required and all employees are encouraged to get involved and present their ideas. You don't feel like a number at work, but like a person who is shown genuine interest, whether from colleagues or superiors.

A major new building project is coming up soon at paulimot. Are you also involved in this project and how do you rate this expansion of the company's premises?

I am very closely involved in the project and am experiencing all the developments and progress at first hand. Of course, I am pleased that we are constantly evolving. Even compared to the situation in 2015, when I started at paulimot, a lot has changed and the company has grown considerably. The idea of the future is always present and plays a major role in all our plans. After all, we want to continue to improve and offer our customers interesting new products and first-class service on an ongoing basis.