Abby Ashbacher

Responsibilities

My responsibilities revolved around assisting my lead buyer with a variety of tasks as well as completing my own projects. Because I was the student buyer for supplies, I completed analysis on many different product categories such as backpacks, binders, writing utensils, and much more. I would create purchase orders and communicate orders with the vendor with the help of my supervisor. I also was in charge of coordinating weekly inventory cycle counts and communicating any adjustments to our accounting team. Lastly, I did a lot of merchandising around the store in order to effectively show our customers the best products we have to offer.

Accomplishments

I think my greatest accomplishment was my improvement in merchandising over the span of my internship. When I started, I didn't really know the tricks to creating a visually appealing display, however, after talking with other store leads and sitting in on a merchandising call, I started to become more proud of my work.

Learning experience

One lesson that I found valuable was to always double check my work, especially when working with specific numbers on inventory or sales reports. I also learned to never take criticism personally and remind myself that everyone is working towards the common goal of running a successful business.

What advice would you give?

My biggest piece of advice would be to keep an open mind during your internship process and accept all tasks that are proposed because you never know what may turn into a really good learning opportunity.