Purchasing, Buying & Quality Assurance

Purchasing Administration

The Purchasing Administration department is an exciting department that provides a key support function to the wider Purchasing team and indeed to the whole business.

Our contracts team works closely with the Buyers and our suppliers. They are responsible for creating contracts and sourcing product information for all items within our range. They work closely with our international colleagues for Irish sourced products that are available in Lidl around the globe.

The master data team maintains all of the product data on our live systems which enables items to be ordered from suppliers, received into our depots and ultimately to be scanned and sold to our customers in stores.

Our Orga team carries out the important task of ensuring that all of the team's work is accurate, manage our projects and also provides us with useful reports that help Purchasing fulfil its important function of sourcing products our customers want.

This year the focus of the Purchasing Admin team is on efficiency and innovation. The team is working on tools that help them work smarter and help ensure that they can remain a top quality and valuable support team to their colleagues.

Branding & Packaging

The Branding and Packaging team is responsible for the Brand creation, guardianship and packaging design of our own branded products from concept design to shelf. The team work closely with the Purchasing department as well as external service providers like design agencies, photographers, legal consultants, suppliers and printers to ensure all requirements for our brand and packaging are met.

With a big passion for design and attention to detail, the team works on portfolio of Irish and International brands ensuring our products will launch on time.

Quality Assurance

The Quality Assurance team is responsible for making sure that the products we sell in our stores not only comply with Irish and European legislation, but also that they exceed our stringent standards. We know a big part of our success comes from our customers trusting that the products they are taking home to their families will always be the best quality. That’s down to the passion for perfection which lies at the heart of our QA team. There are many areas of this department that work together to ensure the products not only meet our ambitious nutritional commitments, but that they also taste amazing.

What could be more important in terms of building our brand than sourcing the highest-quality products so that they continue to be the best on the market? Join the team which sources everything we sell, ensuring that our customers are satisfied with our range – from the freshest fruit and vegetables to Irish meat – every time they shop with us. As a Lidl Buyer at the cutting edge of our business you will have an ability to negotiate the very best deals; liaise closely and build relationships with suppliers; and have an eye for the design of our product packaging.

Within this department there is an enormous variety in terms of the positions involved and the skills needed to carry out these roles: we have teams closely supporting the Buyers on product comparisons; teams that create contracts between us and our suppliers; teams that update our systems with product information and, last but not least, the team that ensures accuracy across all documents within this key department. Where do you see yourself?

Fruit and Veg, Plants and Flowers

The Fruit and Veg, Plants and Flowers department is an operational team that consists of Buyers, Planners and Administrators. The team is fully responsible for all products in the assortment ensuring quality, availability and value for customers. They not only develop and negotiate products but are also responsible for the full supply chain of all of their items, from liaising with suppliers to generating orders, managing stock levels in the regional distribution centres, overseeing the quality of stock being delivered and communicating item information directly to stores.

Promotional Planning

Food Specials

The Food Specials department is one of the core parts of the

promotional side of our business. The team plans the sale of existing items on special offers – our weekly Super Saver Fresh Meat and Poultry items and our price-promoted branded offers form a large part of this. They also manage the planning of items for sale that don’t normally appear on a weekly basis. Examples of this being our Italian and Polish food themes, which highlight specialty products from these countries. The Food Specials department plays a huge role in offering new and exciting products to customers, that they would not otherwise be able to find in our stores.

An exciting project that the team is currently working on is the second phase of our “Kickstart” programme. This is a supplier development programme which provides coaching and advice to small Irish suppliers and also highlights new and innovative locally-sourced products that they produce.

Non-Food

The Non-Food Purchasing department plays a key role in the promotional side of our business. They buy and plan the Non-Food Specials promotions that are advertised in our leaflet every Monday and Thursday. As a team they work closely with the Marketing, Communications and Operations-focused departments to ensure our products achieve maximum visibility with customers and can pass through our store and warehouse network with ease. The department aims to offer our customers an exciting assortment of products at a market-leading price.

The Non-Food Purchasing department are currently developing our range of Irish sports goods. They are working closely with Irish suppliers to improve our offering of GAA and rugby items in particular.