Copyright © 2020 Marujin Sun Apple Co,Ltd. All rights Reserved.
Purchasing Operations Employee Interview
Sales Department
Deputy Manager
Shintaro Yamaguchi
Q. Why did you join the company and what was your career path after joining?
I joined the company as a part-timer, but the following year I was offered a position as a full-time employee, and I was promoted to full-time.
In the first few years after joining the company, I worked in the field as a forklift operator at a fruit selection station and deepened my knowledge of apples. After five or six years in the field, the president asked me if I would like to try my hand at purchasing apples. After five or six years of experience in the field, the president asked me if I would like to try my hand at purchasing apples, and I was assigned the task of purchasing apples.
After a while, the president said to me, “If you are going to buy apples, you have to sell them,” and I became involved in sales. The scope of my work has been expanding.
Q. What are the difficulties, rewards and interesting aspects of your job?
The most interesting part of my job is when I am able to purchase good quality products at a reasonable price. In purchasing, you need to have a good eye for the quality of apples.
In the tense and fast-paced auction scene, you have to instantly identify the variety and quality of apples you want to bid on, and raise your hand to appeal to the auctioneer. I would like to continue to improve my confidence in my own eyes to see apples so that I can confidently assert myself to the auctioneer with my fingers.
I think the most interesting part of sales is when you get a high price for your apples. Apple prices fluctuate every year depending on the season. You need to be able to read market prices by communicating daily with the people in charge of the markets in each region and gathering information.
I find it challenging to grasp the needs of the marketers, consider our own inventory situation, make proposals, and handle the inventory to generate profits.
Q. What are your future goals and what do you want to work on?
I am the only person in the company who is involved in both purchasing and sales. Because I am able to be involved in the whole process of purchasing, selecting, and selling apples, I have come to understand both the fun and difficulty of each job. I would like to pass on the excitement to the young staff who are growing up.
Since the quality of apples varies from year to year, there is no “perfect” line of work. I will continue to strive to understand apples more deeply.
